Nailed!

Batu Pahat, Johor: My first nail spa treatment in Malaysia, and it was so good I dozed off in relaxation!

So this is what those mini fans are meant for..!

The owner operator nail technician who painted this is only about 20 years old; steady hands and fantastic service.

I LOVE this glittery sparkly varnish on my toes!

All for RM65.00 *wink*

Homade Chococase - New Taste for iPhone!

How cool is THIS~!

Nom nom nom....mint filling??

yes, yes...25 new mail...I'll check them at some point!

Item purchased from eBay.
Arrived in my letterbox exactly after 15 days as promised.

I just can't stop beading you!

I knew there was a greater reason for me abandoning all those un-opened bead pouches when I first purchased them a few years ago...now that I've opened Pandora's bead box I am engrossed; The dishes are STILL in the sink, the vacuuming is neglected, I eat only once a day, I am sleep deprived and the goldfish can barely see my dark eye circles through the murky waters.....

First things first though. The bead box had some serious cross contamination from all those years of moving house and I had to get it sorted (for I love compartmentalization - is that even a word?)

But once the clasp is secured with a crimp bead on the Tigertail there are no boundaries and the expanse of your imagination is the only limit!

I am obsessed with using gemstones, seashells, freshwater pearls (my favourite themes in jewellery) and sparkly crystals for texture at the moment and I feel that these will always be a feature in my creations. All these can be purchased at a very economical cost; old pre-loved jewellery can be taken apart and featured in my work and can later on be updated by dismantling and reassembling!

Right now I'm trying to finish up these 1m long necklaces as Christmas gifts; they can be be used as braceletes or chokers too. I've made two for myself as a trial, one with smoky quartz and the other with baby Periwinkle shells and coral pieces from a old favourite bracelet that was falling apart and freshwater pearls from a necklace my aunt gave me when I was a little girl!



Pics -
 

Mysterious and modern Smoky quartz...

...Sexy Turquoise and Peacock hues...

...Elegant pearl, seashell and Turquoise...

 

...Carribean Cocktail...

 

...Romantic raw Amethyst, pearl and seashell.



...as a bracelet...these pics don't do it justice as this baby is so sparkly I had to squint!...



...as a choker...

 

Now we view the backstage situation...



...cross contamination...

  

...best tool for sorting...



...order at last...



...$10.00 from Browse in and Save on the Parade, Norwood.

 

...Everybody smiles!


Hmmm, maybe earrings next...

Bonnie Wigs at Adelaide Arcade

This is a first time for me, trying out wigs is a guaranteed good time no matter how bad your mood is!

And a full 5 stars to Deborah at Bonnie Wigs for her fantastic customer service, beautiful smile and great suggestions!

Here are some pics taken of three different styles:

My favourite wig pic...



We all loved the short one.....!



TriNatural 100% pure Jojoba Oil

Jojoba Oil (Ho-Ho-Baa)

Havent we all heard about the wonders of this ancient beauty product and bought many a cream 'containing jojoba oil' but not noted any difference in results?

There is an organic general store just around the corner from my unit in Norwood and it has a whole isle dedicated to personal care and beauty products. I found a little bottle of 100% jojoba oil and read that it penetrates the skin surface to improve skin suppleness and fight wrinkles for $10.95 a pop....really? Well lets find out shall we?

After cleansing my face that evening I followed in Cleopatra's footsteps and applied a small amount of the oil to my face, as per using BioOil my skin's all oily looking but my gosh only for 2 seconds! it disappears straight into my skin and for the first time in my life I learn what suppleness looks like on me (it plumps up a bit and has a soft sheen)! So I proceed to use it on my decolletage, shoulders, hands before making a mental note that a whole bottle will be gone in 2 days if I continue like this ^___^

Follow up with your regular night moisturiser.

2 weeks later and I Love it, my skin is still soft eventhough I'm undergoing Chemotherapy treatment for breast cancer!

Loreal Mattifying Minerals & Natio Mineral Loose foundation

I am an enormous fan of mineral makeup. Why not? Its clean, it has a bit of UV protection, it calms the skin, it reduces imperfections after regular use, it doesnt clog pores, it looks natural if the right shade is found and so on.

I thought I'd try out a more economic brand that I know is environmentally friendlier than most bigger brands and chose Natio in Sunset. You dont need much, the key is to gently blend blend blend until your pores diminish from their regular size. Then the translucent mattifying effect and further poer reduction (my pores are like the moon's) is achieved using the Loreal product.

Comparing the two I might actually try out the Loreal mineral foundation loose powder next, as the loreal mattifying powder was alot finer than the Natio one, which means it gave a softer coverage. The Natio product gave a very natural and light coverage, which could be built up to quite heavy if I applied another layer.

One big hint when studying the ingredient list, avoid products containing Talc.

Skin prepped with Nivea Moisturising Sunscreen SPF30+...and a burn mark from my iron curlers  :"(

Mineral makeup and mattifiant applied.

 

I'm happy with the result. A few more layers concentrated on my burn mark covers it more but I could try out the Loreal mineral concealer soon. My skin feels comfortable all day and the doesnt smudge off.

I spy...

Just a cute pic of my MAC sharpener and trimmings of Dollywink Eyeliner in black...

Un petite rose...!!!

Confession of a very fussy bargain hunter

I visit Kmart once every two or so months to see whats happening in the world of mass consumers (who is marketed to more than the high end consumers as we all in the world of commerce know). Here you will see what's new in the drugstore makeup lines before they hit the drugstores; you also get some trendy accessory bargains (shoes and t shirts and some really cute work shirts) for less than a quarter of the price with rather good quality.

I came past these adorable pink sneakers 70s style for $8.00! They are great for walking down to the cafe for an afternoon Cafe Latte and a read of the day's paper!

Product review - Olay Total Effects with a Touch of foundation

Wow is all i can say about this product.

I've been using the normal Olay Total Effects for a month or two and have been quite happy with the results. Its not too oily and I dont need a drawer full of eyecreams night creams day creams etc. So, when they recently came out with a touch of foundation, I was only too keen to update!

The basics of the product remains the same, good quality moisturiser and treatment in one with SPF 15 for sun damage protection. I was only worried that the foundation would look weird with my Asian skin tone. To my suprise, the foundation tone blended with my natural tone just as it said is would (products that keep their promises are SO romantic!!) and wemt on only a smige heavier than a tinted moisturiser and the result was almost flawless for average skin without any major blemishes or scars.

Please refer to the pictures in my last couple of posts for the results.

Product Review - Dolly Wink eyeliner in Black & maxi BONBON Lip Concealer in nude pink

Now, all of you who know of Tsubasa Masuwaka whose famous for her Popteen modelling days and also being the most famous Hime Gyaru would also know that she launched her makeup line under the wing of Koji cosmetics. Being a sucker for cute packaging and also trusting the Japanese to come up with makeup that works I could not resist grabbing her DollyWink black eyeliner to try out. Not only was the price reasonable (AUD$22.00) but the result was amazing compared to other similarly priced drugstore brands and even bigger brands that cost $30+ a pop!

The packaging is sublime. The liner goes on BLACK as charcoal, thick in pigment and precise. The pencil is ALWAYS soft despite it being freezing cold here. The product does NOT smudge all over my lids and the best bit - it comes off with a single swipe of a cotton pad with eyemakeup remover.

What else would you want from a eyeliner, I ask of you???

Apparently lip liner is not heard of in Japan; rather, they use lip concealers to really REALLY get the nude lip look.

Curious as ever, I got myself the maxi BONBON lip concealer from Kawaii on Gouger St. to see what this lip concealer thing is all about.

Here are some pics on both products:

Love the little pout on the cover. Nail lacquer from Sportsgirl $7.95...

...nude azz...

...great packaging for a greater product...

...single line (bottom) and layered line...

...eyeliner only and clean lips before maxi BONBON...

...complete with maxi BONBON and a touch of ModelCo semi clear gloss to finish!

(All pics taken in natural lighting)

Ok,the lips look great, but after a Cibocino it yells out to be reapplied. The only other option I've got so far is to go back to using the Bodyshop lipliner in Salmon and ModelCo semi clear gloss on top, whereby only the gloss needs to be reapplied. I dont want to resort to stay-on lippie as yet but am definitely scouting for alternatives once these items have been used up!