NOTD: Pink & Blue Nails for Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month - Wave of Polish.

Hello lovelies,

Did you know that October is International Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month? I didn't, until it was brought to my attention on a Beautyheaven forum a couple of weeks ago! While I haven't gone through this myself, I do know several wonderful ladies who have, and I can only imagine how heartbreaking the whole experience would be.

October 15th is the official Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Day, with people around the world asked to light a candle at 7 pm in memory of the precious lives taken too early from this world. A group of wonderful Australian ladies decided to create a Facebook page called Wave of Polish to show support to this cause by committing to paint their nails blue and pink to raise awareness for Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month, with special emphasis placed on October 15th. In addition, an auction of one-off polishes made by Australian indie brands will be held, beginning at 9 am on the 8th of October and finishing on the 15th of October, with all proceeds raised going to Sands Australia. Click here for details on the auction.

Here's the blue and pink mani I came up with for International Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month. I used piCture pOlish Whimsy and Essie Cascade Cool for my base colours, Maybelline New York Color Show Sequins in Rose Bling on my ring finger, and Revlon Lunar and Sally Hansen White On for the dotticures.

Read more after the jump!

NOTD - Essie Fiesta and a touch of something extra

Hello lovelies,

Oh my, I have been a very bad beauty blogger, haven't I? It's been a whole week since my last post! I do apologise, things just haven't been as they should and as such, there never seems enough time to do everything I want to do! I think I've been battling a cold as I keep sneezing, the onset of winter is never a good time for me!

Anyways, I decided to cheer myself up with a pop of colour on my nails! I used Essie Fiesta, which is one of the shades I picked up on sale not too long ago for a bargain $5 each! What a score! I classify Fiesta as a creme polish, and it applies just as beautifully as all the other Essie polishes do!

This is with two coats of Fiesta applied over Poshe basecoat, but with no topcoat (and you'll know why in just a minute). Without further ado, here is what Essie Fiesta looks like on it's own:

Essie Fiesta in daylight.

It comes across looking bright pink or even coral, depending on the light. It really is a very pretty pop of colour and I decided to jazz it up a bit with some demure nail art. I was really tempted to try for a lady bug look but thought I might get some strange looks from my manager, so I ended up just drawing on some black dots for a bit of contrast. I used my dotting tools and Revlon Lunar to achieve this look, finished with Poshe topcoat to seal it all in.

In sunlight.

 

Under fluorescent lighting.

I hope you enjoyed my simple NOTD. :)
I'm so glad Monday is over, I'm off to take a hot shower and hit the sack (so I can hopefully stave off this cold I feel is doing its best to settle in).

Much love,
MM.
x

NOTD - Essie Flawless

Hi lovelies!

I know I promised a review of my Bellabox today but I'm really beat and trying to get to bed at a decent hour, so I'm just going to do a NOTD post and then try to get some beauty sleep.

Here are some photos of one of the new Essie polishes I got, it's called Flawless. It's a really great formula and it's such a pretty candy pink. It makes me feel so girly looking down at it, which was quite a feat indeed as I spent several hours today working in the mud and rain. My manicure actually survived the experience, which is proof positive that Essie has great quality polishes!

In natural daylight

In sunlight

In sunlight

In daylight

In sunlight

Under artificial light

What do you think? Are you a fan of Essie polishes?

Much love,

MM.

x

March I Love This Box Review!

Hello lovelies!

It was truly a case of deliveries overload this morning when I received my March Bellabox, March ILTB, and my Essie polish shipment from OzSales (which I had purchased about a month ago, but with free shipping I'm not at all bothered about the delay)! Very exciting indeed, what is that they say...when it rains, it pours?

Anyhow, I was quite excited to dig into each of my little shipments, but then I had to chuck it all aside and dash out of the office for a site inspection. So I only actually got the chance to sit down and digest what was inside each box just a couple of minutes ago. As it's been a terribly long day and tomorrow will also be a long day, I'm only going to be able to do one review today, so I've chosen the ILTB as I'm far more excited about its contents. :)

So here's what I received in my gorgeous, autumn themed ILTB:

Essie nail polish mini in 'Ladylike' (this is a gorgeous beige/taupe polish that I'm totally loving, from their autumn collection)

Maybelline XXL ProCurl (full sized)

Sunsilk Co-creations straight, detangling mist (full-sized, you might have received the weather protection and shine serum instead of this)

Thalgo soft hydrating emulsion sample

Glitter puff wand

Here are some photos: 

LOVE the purple theme! :)

(Click to see pricing)

March ILTB goodies.

L-R: Glitter puff, Thalgo moisturiser, Maybelline XXL ProCurl mascara,
Sunsilk detangling mist, and Essie 'Ladylike' nail polish.

With three of the samples being full sized, I think ILTB has spoilt us terribly yet again!

When I first read the card, my first thought was, 'I hope I get the detangling spray', and sure enough, that's what I got! I'm really excited to try it. At the moment, I'm using the detangling spray I got in my February Lust Have It box, so I'd really like to have something to compare it to. I'm also really keen to try the mascara as I'm currently having a love-hate relationship with my extremely stiff lashes, and curling is JUST the thing I am looking for! Love Maybelline mascaras and I was just wishing I had a 'cheap' primer for every day use just the other day (instead of using my Lancome oscillation booster all the time).

Being the polish addict that I am, I was thrilled to see another Essie polish in the box (we've also received one previously) but this one is really apt as it's from the autumn collection, and I LOVE it! It's a pretty, pale taupe/beige colour and I've already swatched it on my hand..it's love at first sight. Look out for a NOTD coming soon!

Last but not least, I will be quite happy to use the glitter wand the next time I go out somewhere nice, it looks so cute and dainty. The product I'm probably least excited about is the Thalgo moisturiser, but that's because my skin can be quite sensitive, particularly to moisturiser, and I don't want to break out. But I think I might actually give this a go on my decolletage or something as it looks pretty good!

VERDICT? Another box that I absolutely adored, and I think this one is fabulous as I really liked four of the five products in it! Cannot stress how lovely it is to have a box that consistently delivers lovely new goodies to tuck into, unlike some competitor boxes which have fluctuated from month to month. They have also launched their online store now, which means it will be even easier to get the goodies they bring to us (particularly the imported ones which are only available overseas, like the Rimmel gloss duo from the February box). I have been asked many times which box I recommend, and ILTB is definitely one of my top recommendations, as they are reliable, trustworthy, pleasant (every time I've emailed with a customer service inquiry) and they deliver top notch goodies every month without issues. I also love that every subscriber receives the same goodies for the most part, so no one ever has to suffer box envy unduly.

Did you get this box? If so, what colour and which Sunsilk item did you receive?

I leave you with a quick photo of the Essie polishes I ordered. They were on sale for $5 each, with free shipping, so I couldn't resist! Clearly I was in a pink mood that day? I've already put 'Flawless' (the one on the left) on, and I'll be posting some EOTD photos tomorrow. It's so pretty!

L-R: Flawless, Fiesta and Luscious Lips.

Much love,

MM.

x

Glossybox November Review (Part 2)

Hello lovelies,

Just a quick little post since I finally got my hands on my November Glossybox last week. I was a bit annoyed as they had promised it would arrive before the 4th of December, which it failed to do. But I guess better late than never, right?

So here we go, let's look at what arrived this time. The items that were the same as in the previous box were:

Pink jelly beans 

Deluxe sample of Jurlique Purely Age-Defying Ultra Firm and Lift Cream

Full sized Bio Oil

Full sized Mirenesse 3D Lip gloss (I got shade #8, Hello Kitten, this time. It looks like a colour I would definitely get more wear out of, can't wait to try it out properly!)

Mini Essie polish in Super Bossa Nova (thankfully intact this time, yay!)

And the item that was different from the previous box: I got a full sized Lily Loves Pearl facial exfoliant. Quite excited to try this, I wonder how it will compare to my Dermalogica Microfoliant? 

It states on the box: A gentle, daily facial exfoliant with antioxidants and a blend of Grapefruit, Jojoba and Lime combined to hydrate and deep cleanse skin. The gentle polishing beads leave skin fresh, smooth and radiant. Helps fight the visual signs of ageing.

Well, doesn't that sound amazing? I'm sold! I'm going to have to try it and let you all know what I think shortly. Stay tuned for an upcoming post. ;)

From L - R: Mirenesse 3D lipgloss, pink jellybeans,
Lilly loves pearl facial exfoliant, Essie polish
 in Super Bossa Nova, Jurlique cream and BioOil.

 

So there you have it, folks...I was much happier with this box compared to the last one...especially as I was quite happy to receive a full-sized exfoliant instead of the Bobbi Brown cleansing oil sample.


Verdict: Much happier...BUT still not 100% satisfied. If only I hadn't had to go through the trauma of posting multiple messages on their wall and sending their customer service multiple emails. All of which was for naught as the replacement box failed to arrive before the promised date. 


Much love,
MM.
x

Glossybox November Review (Part 1)

Hello lovelies,

If you've noticed the post title, and are wondering why it says 'part 1', allow me to explain.

The first ever Glossybox in Australia arrived at my doorstep today. In case you didn't know, Glossybox is pretty popular, particularly in the United Kingdom, and they joined forces/took over BeautyBox (a company offering a similar product) in October 2011. As a result, there was a wee bit of a mess with subscribers to BB being forced to resubscribe to Glossybox. Those of us who had been with BB previously were awarded 1000 glossydots (the subscription equivalent of a free box) to make up for having been charged twice.

Truthfully, we beauty addicts afficianados were all in dithers waiting for the first box to be shipped out. But owing to the fact that the items were shipped from overseas and then packed in Australia, the boxes only shipped out at the end of November, i.e. the 25th of November.

That would still have been fine and I would have been happy waiting, but more issues popped up. We got sent a tracking number, but it didn't include a link by which we could track the parcels. I sent them an email which was ignored, but similar posts on their website were answered, with Glossybox telling subscribers that events would only show up when the box was actually close by and in the courier van ready to be delivered. Pardon my ignorance, but isn't the purpose of tracking being able to actually see where your box is at ALL times? Not just when it's about to land on your doorstep anyway?

Anyhow, my box popped up today, and I was so disappointed when it arrived. First of all, the box arrived encased in a larger cardboard box for protection. Unfortunately, when I opened the outer box, I found black/grey dust all over everything, including my hands and desk. By the time I managed to open the parcel, dust was everywhere, which was really off putting. I couldn't make out if it was from the packing inside the Glossybox or if it was a result of the transport.

And here is where I confess to a major blogger mistake...by the time I got to the actual contents, I was so put off by the dust coating everything, that I barely paid much attention to the contents. I did notice that I received the following items in my box:

Pink jelly beans (look gorgeous but I'm afraid to eat them thanks to the dust coating everything)

Deluxe sample of Bobbi Brown cleansing oil (I'm really not a fan of this, I much prefer the Shu Uemura ones).

Deluxe sample of Jurlique Purely Age-Defying Ultra Firm and Lift Cream

Full sized Bio Oil

Full sized Mirenesse 3D Lip gloss (Not very excited by this colour, it's a deep red, why-oh-why can't I receive a nude gloss?!)

and...

Mini Essie polish in Super Bossa Nova...which was completely dried up and tacky when I opened it. Either I got given a used sample or it hadn't been closed properly because it was completely ruined. It had dried up so much, you could actually see through parts of the bottle, which was a fairly incredibly feat given the hot pink colour of the polish.

So you can probably understand why I lost interest in the box after that. :(
Well, that, and having to mop my desk with dampened tissues to clean up the mess that had been left behind from the dust from the box.

All the same, I'm not 'quite' giving up on them yet...I sent their customer service an email to complain, and included photos of the box. I got a reply within an hour apologising, stating that they weren't responsible for the handling the boxes received during transit, and a promise that a replacement Glossybox would be sent out to me as soon as possible! While encouraging, it's still a bit of a disappointment as I was hoping to receive and review it before I left the country for a month-long trip abroad.

Anyway, do have a look at the photos and stay tuned while I wait for part 2 of the November Glossybox to arrive.

Outer covering

Inner covering

Description of contents...covered in dust.

A view of the contents. Sorry, should have taken more photos
 but lost interest thanks to the dust covering everything,

Look at the dust!

My ruined Essie polish. :(

Look, you can actually see through the bottle,
that's how dried up it was!

My verdict? Disappointed. I haven't quite given up on them yet but I have to say their customer service hasn't been as excellent as, say, I Love This Box, who go above and beyond in the name of customer service, namely answering to emails in a speedy manner, even past midnight!

I have to say, though, that some of my favourite fellow bloggers, Glossybeauty and Beauty in a bottle, have received much better Glossyboxes, and they've written some great reviews which you can read, here and here, respectively. Do check them out. And you can have a look at the different colour options people received in their November Glossybox here.

I'm still holding out that Glossybox might redeem themselves yet...I'll keep you posted.

Much love,
MM.
x

P.S. - I forgot to add that the box came with a voucher for 15% off store-wide (applicable only in stores), which expires/d on 30 November 2011, which disappointed some subscribers as we didn't receive the box in time to actually use the voucher!