#NOTD featuring Femme Fatale {Gilded Rose}

Gilded Rose (right)

The Company: Femme Fatale Cosmetics
The Nail Polish: Gilded Rose [Discontinued]

Actual product description: Gilded Rose is a clear base glitter topper absolutely jam packed full of gold holo, rose and garnet in various shapes/sizes.

This polish was included as a complimentary sample, and at first I wasn't sure I'd ever wear it. It seemed too froofie for me somehow; too much pink and gold for my taste. Originally I had planned on giving it away, however as I was sitting having coffee one afternoon with a friend of mine, we started going through my stash and it dawned on me that I could use it over gold and it might look quite nice. I would not use it over black; that would be too much of a contrast for me, and definitely not my style.

I grabbed my Face of Australia nail polish in Calypso Gold which is an absolutely beautiful pale champagne colour. This was the result:

Over Face of Australia Calypso Gold (indoor lighting)

Not bad, but definitely not my style. I'd tried layering it over lavender as well as a hot pink and neither of those looked particularly good in my opinion. The gold had the most promise, but even still - far too sweet looking; too feminine for my taste.

It applied well, and I didn't find the consistency hard to work with. The glitter did not disperse evenly, so some finagling was required but it's nothing I would consider a deterrent. I also did not find it particularly globby.

On my ring finger you can see where the glitter star has lifted, despite using two coats of Sally Hansen Double Duty. Of course it irritated me as the day wore on, and I was forever playing with it, flicking my fingers across it, until I had driven myself crazy enough to just pull it off altogether. It did not even last a full day.

Unfortunately this polish is a complete miss for me. While it is a lovely blend of pink and gold glitters, it's just not for me. Luckily, I do have a friend who is absolutely in love with it, and who will give it a very well loved home.

Base: Face of Australia "Calypso Gold"
Top: Sally Hansen Double Duty
Glitter: Femme Fatale "Gilded Rose"

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#NOTD featuring Femme Fatale {Displaced Dreams}

The Company: Femme Fatale Cosmetics
The Nail Polish: Displaced Dreams

Actual product description: A sheer pink base filled with squares in various sizes/colours, highlighted by a scattering of iridescence. This polish is suited for layering, wearing alone may require extra coats.

I don't remember how I heard about Femme Fatale, but after having a few friends on YouTube who buy a lot of indie makeup, my transition to the world of indie polish just seemed natural. I found and followed them on Facebook and Instagram, and spent a while on the website drooling over the polish choices and never quite knowing which to choose first.

A few weeks later, I saw a post on their facebook page announcing a new upcoming collection, and my eyes widened! They would be releasing a collection of polish based on a MMORPG that I had been playing since beta: World of Warcraft. I immediately told my husband I would be buying some (if not all) of the collection and he readily agreed. (As an aside, he's still waiting for me to buy the indie made Optimus Primer eyeshadow base)

This was my first foray into the world of indie nail polish, and I have not been disappointed. I made a large purchase - eleven polishes total - and received two mini samples which are just adorable.

Femme Fatale is an Aussie based indie company and I am all for supporting my Aussie sisters. The fact they sent me two free samples really hit a good spot with me - it's all but unheard of in this country. Big label web stores don't generally include free samples, so to get two from an indie company was a big deal for me.

When I finally narrowed down which of the eleven to put on first, I selected a base and got to work. 

Over Revlon "Candy"

Like the bottle shows, the base of Displaced Dreams is a very sheer lavender-pink colour, however it's not terribly noticeable over Revlon's "Candy" pink and dries almost completely transparent. This is only one coat of both polish on the nails, and no top coat.

Displaced Dreams is not as thick as I originally thought it would be. It's not a thin polish by any means, and does require some glitter adjustment when brushing it onto the nails but it's nothing that requires effort and is definitely not a deterrent.

The index finger received the most glitter (my own fault for randomly globbing it on) and in the left picture you can see the sheer lavender-pink base has pooled almost at the end of the nail. I would not be so careless in future applications. ;) Live and learn.

I didn't pay much attention to drying time since I was busy playing World of Warcraft anyway (damn Nat Pagle quest fish) but I did wait an easy five to seven minutes between hands and they were quite dry by then.

I've had this on my nails now for two days and there are no signs of wear. Some of the larger glitter squares curled upward and out of irritation I removed them, but adding a top coat may prevent that; something to remember for future applications.

I am not 'easy' on my nails at all and the polish has held up well under hair washing, dish washing, clothes washing, counter scrubbing, sink cleaning - you get the idea: general household duties. Considering there are certain Big Name polishes *cough*ButterLondon*cough* that fail under much less pressure, Displaced Dreams has earned a spot in my polish rack.

Base line: I love this polish. And I'm pretty certain I'm going to love the entire line!

Base: Revlon "Candy"
Top: Femme Fatale "Displaced Dreams"

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Mothers Day

Excitement this year was only just barely contained.

A more perfect day does not exist. My people rule.

☼ theLook: Taupe and Grey ☼

Happy Friday!! Today's look features beautiful shimmery taupes and matte grey shadows followed by gorgeous purple liner to create a very wearable look. If I did it over again, I would switch the purple eye liner for black, and keep the purple to the lower lash line. Let me know your thoughts! x 

PRODUCTS USED
=====================
Maybelline Colour Tattoo - Barely Beige
Catrice - Starlight Expresso
L'Oreal Infallible - Tender Caramel
Flower Beauty - Orchid-ing Around
NYX Eyeliner - Pretty Violet
Max Factor 24hr Falsies Mascara
Tarte Eyes Camera Lashes Mascara


FACE & LIPS
=====================
Bourjois 123 Perfect Foundation - #53 Light Beige
Australis Pressed Powder - Natural
Bourjois Delice de Soleil Bronzer - #12 Fair/Medium
Kiko Blush - #102
P2 Lipstick - Via Medici
Beauty Flower Lipgloss - Baby's Breath

The Best of Intentions

I had the best intentions yesterday.

I recently received my purchases from Aromaleigh and I had planned to do all my swatch pictures. It started out so well, the sun was high and bright in the sky, and then all of a sudden...

Seriously? Seriously? Why?

Since it didn't clear enough for me to continue with my swatch pictures, I resorted to taking pictures of other things.

As I looked through the swatch photos I did manage to take, I realised they were not even halfway decent to blog anyway. I think I'm going to have to suck it up finally make a light box.

With the exception of the lavender in the top right picture, all of these shadows have amazingly brilliant sparkle. Can you see it?

Me neither.

In the words of my seven year old's favourite game: You failed.