Trashed! Mascara Empties

1. Rimmel Scandaleyes Volume Flash (black)
When I first started using this I really enjoyed it. I didn't really notice a whole lot of volume however. I would not repurchase this; the barrel on the wand is far too large for me to use comfortably. I didn't find the consistency too wet or too dry, it was fairly nondescript actually.

2. Starlet Lash Extend
This is an el cheapo from Coles that was an emergency-buy and I wasn't expecting a whole lot for less than five dollars. In short, it wasn't spectacular but it wasn't the absolute worst mascara I've ever used. The biggest downside for me was the consistency, it's far too wet for me. I would literally need to wait between 3 and 5 minutes for it to dry before I could do anything else, and forget about adding another coat! What I did like about this mascara though, was how beautifully it separated my lashes and gave them a good amount of length. If it was a much drier mascara, I would gladly repurchase it.

3. Essence Multi Action (non waterproof)
I love this mascara; it's in my Top Five. I love everything about it - it lengthens, it volumizes, it separates my lashes. During the last few months of its life I used it solely for my bottom lashes because it was drying out and wasn't doing such amazing things for my top lashes. I will definitely repurchase this one.

4. Maybelline XXL Pro Extensions
This is my most favourite mascara ever, so it only stands to reason it would get discontinued. Sigh. At this point, I don't really know what drugstore mascara I will replace it with. I have a few more in my stash to go through, perhaps I will get lucky and find one in there. Meantime, if you have any suggestions, I would love to hear them!

Wednesday Wishlist | Sephora Edition

Now if I could only find the total amount + shipping just laying around somewhere. Of course, I don't need any of it... but what's the fun in a wishlist if it's all stuff I need?

Happy Wednesday!

Copycat Look: Inspired by WheatenBeauty

This look was completely inspired by a friend of mine on YouTube, and by a look she wore in this video. It reminded me so much of her beautiful bird Belmont that I had to see what I could come up with myself.

Step 1: I swept dark orange into the crease and blended upward.

Step 2: Liberally applied NYX Milk pencil along the lower lid and blended in with my finger.

Step 3: Gently patted yellow all over the lid, building the colour until I was happy with it.

Step 4: Swept green on the outer quarter of the lid and blended inward.

Step 5: Lined the top of my lid with brown felt tip liner.

Step 6: Curled lashes, applied mascara.

I'm so pleased with how it came out. It's definitely a very wearable look (for me, anyway) but since we're into Autumn moving into Winter, I will have to see if I can come up with something using more season appropriate colours. I may end up doing a video on this look just because I like it so much.

Products used: BH Cosmetics "Party Girl" palette, Jordana Fabuliner in Brown, Jordana Best Lash Extreme Mascara

#NOTD featuring Australis

Australis Milky Way

First let me say I love Australis polish, so much so that I have bought and shipped various colours to my friends worldwide. And it just so happened I was in Priceline today, looking for some polish for a friend when I saw this particular bottle.

Since it reminded me so much of the speckled polishes that are all the rage right now, I had to grab the last bottle on the shelf. I could hardly wait to get it home and on my nails!

Application is streaky but it dries to a flawless finish. The polish is quite transparent though thick and if you're not careful, the glitter pieces slide right off your nail and back onto the brush. You almost have to "lay" the colour on your nail (placing the brush against your nail and pressing lightly, rather than a typical brush motion) to get the glitter pieces to stay on.

This is two coats on the nail, and it dried relatively quickly. For only having applied it a few hours ago, it's held up well under dish washing and shampooing/conditioning; so far no signs of wear and no chipping. But, that's completely typical of Australis nail polish - it's just that good.

What I don't particularly like is the consistency of it. It's too gluggy/globby for my personal taste however that would not deter me from buying anymore should they release any new colours. I also do not like the milky white base the glitter is suspended in but again, that is just my personal taste. I would prefer a stark base - in this case, flat white - that would allow the glitter to stand out against it. But then, I really am an in-your-face-glitter girl.

I think if you prefer the subtle glitters with not much sparkle or pizazz then you would really enjoy this one. For me (by itself) it's a miss unfortunately, though I will try layering it over some other pastel colours (or black) to see what can be done with it. If that fails, I'll just add more glitter. You can't go wrong with more glitter.

Base: Natural nail
Top: Australis "Milky Way"

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* edit: Wearing for 2 days and it's starting to show some wear along the tips and sides. May have better longevity with a top coat. *

#NOTD featuring Flower Beauty

Today's beautiful polish comes direct from the USA (as with all my polish so far...hmmm) from my fabulous friend Heather (she hooked me up I tell you!) and I present to you probably the most amazing pink nail polish I've ever seen. This is "Cosmos-politan" from Drew Barrymore's range of cosmetics called, Flower. I love this nail polish so much!

It applies beautifully - two coats for perfect opacity. It's ridiculously bright and cheerful and is the most outrageous Summer colour. In fact, it's rivalling my previous all-time favourite pink which was "Beach Cruiser" by Orly. This is just... more vibrant, more lush, more... pink. And I love that.

I wish, wish, WISH Flower was available in Australia. I would buy every single colour available... which, you know, is probably just as well it's not available here. Sigh.

But really, isn't it just beautiful? Get your hands on it if you can, girls. It's Summer in a bottle.

Base: Sally Hansen Double Duty
Top: Flower "Cosmos-Politan"

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#NOTD featuring Butter London & Revlon

I was inspired to do this combination because of the amount of drool I've lost since finding out about Femme Fatale Cosmetics which is an Aussie indie cosmetics & nail polish company... and good LORD will you go and take a look at those nail polishes?

Heavens to Betsy.

Yes you can believe I'll have some of those soon. But today is not about Femme Fatale. Today is about Butter London & Revlon.

I'm not normally a fan of Butter London - in fact, I don't care for the brand at all - but this is one colour that I actually do like. And I like it even more because it stays on my nails for longer than 24 hours without showing signs of wear.

Chimney Sweep is a beautiful gun metal grey and is probably my all-time favourite grey. It (unfortunately) has a narrow brush so if I'm not careful, it swerves all over my nail and sometimes ends up looking wonky and imperfect. (see picture above, first two fingers) I dislike that. But that's my own doing, not the polish, so no points deducted for user error.

This is one of four Butter London polishes I own, and is the only one that does not chip or wear within 24 hours regardless of base or top coat used. Since I've been spending obscene amounts of time at a certain indie cosmetic website, I decided to grab one of my glitters to use as a top coat. And I didn't want to just have an accent nail.

Enter, Revlon "Slipper". It's a Christmas polish, clear with red and silver glitter. It's the closest thing I have to a chunky glitter (I know how sad and depressing that is) but I was really pleased with the outcome. And I've gotten quite a few compliments on it! Evidently it's not a colour combination most people use.

Now I think I might do some online shopping. At a certain indie cosmetics company. Excuse me.

Base: Sally Hansen Double Duty
Top: Butter London "Chimney Sweep"
Glitter: Revlon "Slipper"

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