Products that smell amazing...

Are you a sucker for products that smell amazing? I am!!! Don't get me wrong, quality, packaging and price are all important factors but, in my book, a product gets bonus points for smelling delightful.

I'm going to start with a type of product that you wouldn't expect to smell good...nail polish. Revlon has a range of nail polishes that have different scents. Their 'Parfumerie' collection of nail polishes have three different types of scent: sweets & spices, freshes and fruits & florals. I have four polishes from this collection and all of them are consistently good quality. My favourite is the 'Apricot Nectar' polish that smells unbelievably delicious (plus it lasts for over a day). 'Apricot Nectar' smells quite sweet and fruity. Kind of like peach lollies? To read my full review of 'Apricot Nectar' click here.

The lipsticks from She are some of the best smelling lipsticks out there in my opinion! They have a very rich, luxurious aromatherapy oil scent that is really unique for a lipstick that only costs $14.95! If you want to read more about these lipsticks click here. 

These lip glosses get a lot of rave reviews in the blogosphere but I'm just going to mention them anyway! What am I talking about? The Nyx Butter Glosses of course. These are some of the best lip glosses ever. They smell like cupcakes or cake mixture, are super duper moisturising and give your lips a nice touch of colour. Perfect for the winter time when your lips are dry and chapped but you still want some colour on your lips!

Another lip product that smells amazing and does amazing stuff is the Lanolips Lemonaid Lip Aid with Lemon Oil. This smells like "real" lemonade, not the cheap stuff, and works fabulously to keep your lips hydrated.

I am a bit of a hand cream fiend but I think I might have found my favourite hand cream ever?! What hand cream am I talking about? The L'Occitane 20% Shea Butter Hand Cream for dry skin. I know most of the products I have talked about smell like food but I promise this one doesn't. Unless you like eating baby powder??? This is a very luxurious hand cream with a subtle scent that is hard to put your finger on but to me it smells like baby powder, but in the best way possible!

I would love to know what your favourite smelling product is...?

Lips of the week #2

I love lip products and recently have been mixing up the lip products I have been using a lot! They are easy to love too...they are usually foolproof, quick and simple to wear, can transform your look and in most cases it is hard to find a bad one.

The first lip product I have been reaching for a lot in the past couple of weeks is the lipstick in 'Hush' by omSHE. Not only does this lipstick smell divine and come in a beautiful gold tube (I'm a sucker for pretty packaging) but it is the most gorgeous natural pinky nude. Definitely more pink than nude, which is exactly what I like! If you haven't tried the omSHE brand before I highly recommend you do, they have lovely lipsticks and a good range of nail polishes that are 3-free.

Next up, an old product that I dug out from my stash - the Covergirl lip perfection jumbo gloss balm in '275'. This was my go-to lip product last year but I hadn't worn it in a while and I honestly do not know why. A MLBB shade that is perfect for this time of year. For a product that labels itself a gloss balm, this gives good pigmentation, has a nice creamy formula and decent lasting power.

Another old favourite of mine, the Nyx Butter Gloss in 'Creme Brulee', has been the lip product I reach for when I don't really know what to put on my lips. It gives my lips a milky pink tinge, moisturises them like crazy and smells like cupcakes...yummy!

It's winter so I have been stacking on the lip balms! A recent purchase of mine, the Lanolips 'Lemonaid Lip Aid with Lemon Oil', has won a place in my heart. It smells like lemonade, feels really smooth, lightweight and kind of liquid-y. When the Maybelline Baby Lips first launched I didn't get the hype but all this time later I have finally been converted. The 'Mango Pie' Maybelline Baby Lips has been kicking around my desk, handbag, pocket...pretty much everywhere all the time. It actually is a really good lip balm. Not exactly breaking news is it?! And finally, after a lot of debating I picked up the Nuxe Reve de Niel Ultra-Nourishing Lip Balm. I have read a billion amazing reviews on this lip balm and despite it coming in a pot (ew germs!) it seriously is amazing. I put this on my lips before going to sleep and it is still on my lips after eating breakfast. Impressive stuff! I'll write up a full review of this soon.

Thanks for reading and have a great day!!! :)

July Favourites

This month I have fallen back into love with some old products and have attempted to get into better make-up habits. I have also put an emphasis on trying to use some products up because I have way too many lotions and potions open...on my desk alone I have three hand creams and probably five or so lip balms floating around. Ridiculous! I finished one tube of balm up (it's currently sitting in a box marked "empties" hopefully I will eventually get enough products in there to do an empties post!!!) and have tried to stop myself from buying more :p 

Anyway, I should probably stop rambling and get onto what I have been loving. 

First up is my omSHE lipstick in Moon (which I reviewed here) which I have been reaching for quite a lot this month. It's a lovely warm brown/nude colour and smells divine. It's quite pigmented, lasts awhile and really easy to wear. OmSHE should seriously make a perfume with this scent, I would definitely buy it. 

Second is my trusty old Palmer's Cocoa Butter Formula Dark Chocolate & Peppermint Lip Butter (phew, what a mouthful!) which has been the only balm I have been using for a couple of weeks now because as I said I am trying to finish up some products. This is another product which smells absolutely amazing, it also protects your lips from drying out in the cold winter weather and also gives a nice gloss effect. I also use this over lipsticks when they have started to wear off or when they start drying out my lips out. I will definitely repurchase this once I work my through my collection of lip products. 

Third is the mascara I've been using. I'm not really a mascara lover, mostly because I find application tricky, but I really like the effect mascara gives and have started wearing it a lot lately. I feel really comfortable using this mascara since it's free from harsh chemicals, synthetic preservatives and parabens. Also, clumsy me finds the brush easy to maneuver without stabbing myself in the eye and it lasts all day. 

Fourth is a product I don't think I've featured on the blog before (probably because I rarely wear mascara and never take my make-up off *guilty face*). It is The Body Shop's Camomile waterproof eye make-up remover. I haven't used any other make-up removers so I don't have anything to compare it to but it removes my mascara easily and without rubbing excessively. It feels really gentle and works well.

Finally, number five is a product that has probably featured in every single favourites post I've done...it's my revlon Colorstay whipped creme foundation in 240 natural beige. Easy to apply, lasts nearly all day and gives a good amount of coverage. I apply with my fingertips and sometimes put some of Rimmel's stay matte powder on top. This works really well for me. My jar is nearly empty so I'm currently trying to decide between buying another one, or the beauty blogger in me is tempted to try another foundation. What do you think I should do? Any suggestions? 

So that's it for July. I hope you have had a good July and here's to hoping August is another great month :) 

Cheers  

omSHE Black Tulip Nail Polish Swatch / Review

Hi guys, today I have a lovely plum polish called ' Black Tulip" to show you from the Australian Brand omSHE. You can find them at Priceline and their polish retails for$9.95 and is free from DBP, Formaldehyde and Toluene.

This polish has a good formula,slightly on the thin side, that is easy to work with. It requires two coats as the first coat can be a bit streaky however this is fine because it dries pretty quick. The brush, whilst not being anything super-special, is good. The hand of the brush is really easy to hold though which means the nail polish ends up on your nails and not your skin...I know that this isn't important but how cool is the bottle? I love how it doesn't look like 'just another boring bottle'.

It's a deep purple colour that is stunning (if I do say so) and perfect for winter!I'm pretty hopeless at describing colours but it kind of reminds of eggplant (in some lights) and can also look a bit vampy in the shade.I am so glad that I picked this up because it is a lovely colour and a no-fuss polish, very easy to apply. It's also made in Australia which I think is fabulous. Thanks for reading and have a great weekend! :)

The winter challenge day 15

Hi guys. 

Today I want to show you a swatch of OmShe's 'Forest' polish which is free from dibutyl phthalate, toluene, and formaldehyde. Also, it is made in Australia which is always a plus and is available at Priceline stores for $9.95. I went into Priceline one day (not my local Priceline, one in the city) and asked where their OmShe stand was and they told me they hadn't  heard of the brand but nonetheless I eventually found the OmShe products tucked away in a corner. Basically, moral of the story is that you do have to look for it.... 

I was very excited to use this brand and the fact that it is 3-free and 'green' however their range of polishes is quite small so I had difficulty deciding what colour to get. I decided on Forest and whilst it's not a WOW colour it is very versatile and very pretty. I am definitely happy with the colour. Application was also pretty good, perhaps not as good as some other brands (for instance I find Revlon polishes to apply very easily) but application was still nothing to whine about. The formula is quite thin and requires 2-3 coats. The polish itself is a cross between a nude, pink shimmer and brown. My best description of the colour I guess would have to be the following: A versatile pretty beige with a pink shimmer tone throughout. Hopefully that makes sense to you :) Well anyway, as you will see in the photographs it's a beautiful pinky brown tone with a subtle shimmer to it. I picked it for today's challenge because it is definitely 9-5 friendly but not boring :) 


***currently 20% off at Priceline***

Where is Day 5 of the challenge?

Hi to all of my lovely readers. 
Just wanted to post a quick message to say that I am still doing the challenges :) Just a bit slow on the loading  of the photos onto my computer because I usually do my nails late at night and have to wait until the next day to take photos :( I am hoping to get all the posts done later this afternoon, in between work and study. 


On the weekend I managed to get quite a nice haul of new polishes. Here are some photos because I hate posts without pretty pictures :)

Have a great day! 

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!