HOTD!

Hello lovelies!

Happy Friday! What's everyone up to this weekend?

Just thought I'd share a quick post of what the back of my head looks like today. It's basically a variation on the loose French braid. All I did was put a braid on the right and left sides, and then weave them together loosely into a French braid, and voila! Takes 2 minutes so do give it a go. :)

Much love,
MM.
x

EOTD - Purple & Silver

Hi lovelies,

I was supposed to do a post on my April Bellabox, which arrived today, but it's been such a long day that I can't get my brain to cooperate. Therefore, I'm just going to upload a few photos of an EOTD I did today before I run off to take a hot shower and hit the sack!

Excuse the eyebrows, I have been a bit unwell and so haven't had time to make an appointment to get them done. It's on the agenda for this weekend though!

Much love,
MM.
x

Product Rave - Urban Decay Primer Potion

Hi lovelies!

I just wanted to share one of my Holy Grail (HG) products with you, and that is the Urban Decay Primer Potion (UDPP). For those of you who aren't familiar with the UDPP, it's an eyeshadow primer that you put underneath your eyeshadows, and what it does is it keeps your eye makeup in place for hours until you're ready to take it off. It also really makes shadows POP, so that even the cheapest shadow applies beautifully.

According to the UD website, it's supposed to keep shadows vibrant and crease proof for up to 24 hours, and while I haven't slept in it, I can attest that I've worn it for up to 16 hours and it definitely kept my shadows looking as perfect as when I first applied it.

In my opinion, there's no point in painstakingly doing your eye make up in the morning, only to have it disappear by noon. Bear in mind though, what works for me may not work as well for you if you have exceptionally oily eyelids, but there's only one way to find out for certain and that's to give it a try!

If you haven't seen this gorgeous little guy before, here's what he looks like:

Top to bottom: Original, Sin, Eden and Greed.
(Taken from the Urban Decay website)

The UDPP comes in four types; Original (nude, dries invisible - purple tube), Sin (champagne shimmer - bronze tube), Eden (nude matte - beige tube) and Greed (gold shimmer - gold tube). I own all four of these and it's just so hard to pick a favourite as they're all equally gorgeous! Eden, Greed and Sin are also designed to work as eyeshadows or highlights, so you can actually just wear these on their own and skip wearing an eyeshadow altogether.

I actually bought mine in a set, it came in the older-style packaging of the 'genie bottle' which I actually prefer because it's just so cute! The bottle comes with a slanted doe foot applicator for easy application, unlike the newer squeeze tube packaging. I just swipe the applicator once over each eyelid and blend it in with a fingertip before applying my shadows. Yes, the tube packaging is probably more efficient as you get every last bit of product out, but what can I say, I'm a sucker for pretty packaging!

The limited edition UDPP set I bought with all four bottles.

As you can see from the photo below, Sin is quite a pretty, champagne shimmer when worn on its own (left). I also added a swatch of a blue shadow worn on its own (middle) and the same blue shadow when swatched over the primer potion (right). I used Sin again but all the UDPPs have the same effect when worn underneath shadows. As you can see, the colour looks a lot more pigmented and smooth when worn over the primer.

Pros:
Keeps shadows and eyeliner in place for hours without creasing or smudging.
Even the cheapest eyeshadows look vibrant and apply beautifully on top of this primer.
A little bit goes a long way; you only use a dab with application so a bottle/tube will last you ages.
It dries very quickly, so you don't have to wait long to apply your eyeshadow.
Depending on your skintone, the coloured UDPPs (Sin, Greed and Envy) are a fantastic and quick alternative to eyeshadows if you just want a dab of colour.

Cons:
Not easily available in Australia, but there's always good old ebay!


An alternative to the UDPP is Too Faced Shadow Insurance, which is available here in Australia. I plan on doing a comparison post between the two in a little while so do stay tuned!

Much love,
MM.
x

Product Rave - Poshe topcoat and basecoat

Hi lovelies!

In case you may not have noticed...I am mad for nail polish and I really love doing my nails. I own way too many bottles of polish (I will do a post with my polish stash someday) and nothing relaxes me quite as much as the simple, repetitious task of painting your nails does. There's something quite therapeutic about choosing a colour to reflect your mood (or in some instances, influence your mood), and then spending a few minutes painting your nails...as it's quite a mindless task, it's an opportunity to let your brain rest, or it's also something you can do while watching television or talking on the phone (what can I say, I love multitasking)!

Now, I always, always stress to use a good quality basecoat and topcoat. Basecoat is important as it prevents your chosen nail colour from leaching into your nails and staining them, while topcoat adds shine and prevents undue wear on the polish, helping add longevity to your manicure. Here's a quick tip from me, if you want to keep your manicure looking as fresh as the day you applied it, I suggest adding topcoat every 2 days or so, as it adds shine and prevents the tips from wearing or chipping!

I used to use OPI basecoat and topcoat, but my topcoat was starting to get a bit gluggy, so I took the opportunity to order the Poshe topcoat from Crush Cosmetics not too long ago, during one of their regular sales. I love Crush as they have great sales from time to time (add them on Facebook so you'll never be left out) and they have great customer service. They occasionally throw in a great freebie too, which is always a win (check out a previous haul from them here)! Truthfully, I was having trouble deciding between Poshe and Seche Vite, but after some research online I decided on Poshe as SV has a reputation for causing shrinkage at the tips.

I put in an order for the Poshe topcoat and also a bottle of the Seche Vite Restore (to restore polishes which become a bit gluggy with time) and imagine my surprise when a bottle of the Poshe basecoat showed up instead! I gave Crush a quick call to explain the situation and they were fantastic, and fixed the problem immediately. They'd accidentally received a shipment of basecoat instead, and hadn't actually realised it until I emailed to tell them of the problem, so they kindly allowed me to keep the basecoat while they waited for a new shipment of topcoat to come in. They did offer a replacement from another brand but I was happy to wait for the Poshe topcoat, which they sent me within a couple of weeks.

I'm completely in love with both the base and topcoats (but more the topcoat, and more on that in a minute)! What's more, both the basecoat and topcoat are big 3 free, which means free of formaldehyde, toluene and DBP. The base coat comes with a white lid while the top coat comes with a black lid, as shown from the photos below (taken from the Poshe website). The darkest colours don't get through the basecoat and my polishes apply oh-so-smoothly on top! The basecoat dries within seconds and really helps create an even base for the polish.

The topcoat gives polishes a fantastic shine and prevents chipping and wearing for absolutely ages! I only applied a single layer of topcoat once, and it left my polish looking intact, without wearing or chipping at the tips, for about six days with an OPI polish. And what's even more amazing, is that applying the Poshe topcoat to wet OPI polish left me with dry nails almost immediately! That's almost unheard of with OPI polish! Any nail polish addict knows the pain of painstakingly applying each layer of polish, waiting for it to dry (and then doing pretty much everything to make sure it's bone dry), before going to bed only to wake up with pillow print on the aforementioned nails! Well, ladies, I guarantee that you will NOT have a problem with this if you use the Poshe topcoat!

I only have one wee complaint about these products, and that is the writing on the basecoat bottle is actually quite hard to make out (white on transparent, never a good idea), but the colour of the cap does mean that you won't run the risk of mixing the bottles up (I did mention it was a wee complaint, but it has to mentioned for the sake of an honest review).

I have long been a fan of OPI Drip Dry Drops (review to follow shortly, and which I tend to never let myself run out of), but dare I say it, they might actually be redundant now that I have this absolutely fantastic topcoat in my polish wardrobe! Out with the old, in with the new?

Trust me, you have to try it to believe it. It's also the only topcoat that would actually work with the Milani polish I posted about here. The Milani polish, while stunning, is pretty gritty and has a matte texture, and it practically swallowed any topcoat I put on top, with the exception of the Poshe topcoat which added a whole other dimension to the Milani manicure!

That's all from me, folks, I hope I've convinced you to at least think about the Poshe topcoat the next time you're in the market for one, as it's truly a one-of-a-kind product! Look out for more NOTD posts coming from me, now that I have this in my arsenal!


Much love,
MM.
x

Salon Melbourne - Fashion Show

Hi lovelies,

I do apologise for the long delay in between posts. I have been a bit unwell and in a lot of pain, so I haven't been able to get on my laptop. I didn't even manage to get to work this week, so you can imagine how unwell I was! It seems to have improved a bit today, although my doctor did frighten me a bit when she told me to go to the Emergency Room over the weekend if things got bad again, but I'm going to try and think positive and hope it won't come to that, since I'm actually feeling a bit better now.

Anyway, enough about that. Here's my last post regarding the Salon Melbourne event. I have previously blogged about the Salon Melbourne overall experience here, and updated about my Salon Melbourne haul here, if you missed it. We had the opportunity to see a fashion show whilst we were at the expo, so I thought I'd share some photos of the clothes, make up and hairdos the stylists used on the runway. I do apologise for the quality of the images, I had to downsize them for uploading purposes and didn't realise that they turned out a bit blurry.

I call this the 'lingerie-with-cape' look.

The male model (yes, you heard read me right, THE, as in single male model in the entire show) was kind of boring as he only changed his top, he mainly wore the same shoes/pants for the whole show!

It makes me think of Mad Men for some reason...

I thought this outfit was quite cute and something I might have worn, had it been just a teensy bit longer.

This would make a nice autumn/winter outfit,
paired with stockings and a nice pea coat IMHO.

I'd have to say this outfit would take mega cohones to wear in public. The model actually wasn't wearing anything underneath, but I actually think this outfit could be worn in public with a tank top or black bra underneath. Love the shoes!

This is my favourite of all the outfits and something I'd love to wear. I love the hair, the make up, the veil and the shoes, as well! I couldn't resist taking a photo of this pose though, it's very reminiscent of a certain Jolie meme making the rounds of the internet! :P

Final curtain call!

See, single male model!

I hope you enjoyed that post, lovelies! I must say I'm doing very well in the fashion show stakes this year, that makes two so far and it's only April! :D

Do you enjoy fashion shows as much as I do?

Much love,
MM.
x

Salon Melbourne - Event Review.

Hi lovelies,

As promised, here is my Salon Melbourne review. It's going to be quite picture heavy!

There were some really fabulous things to see, try and buy. I actually wasn't expecting so many brands/exhibitors, because some of the exhibitors weren't listed on the website! It was a really pleasant surprise, though, and I did feel a bit like a kid in a candy shop, unsure of where to begin because everything looked so fantastic!

One of the first things Ms V and I saw was a stand operated by Crown Brushes, selling a whole array of palettes, including the 88 shimmer palette that I ended up buying. They had so many different palettes, it was pretty hard trying to decide on just one! Prices varied a bit but it was about $30 for one, or two for $50.

We also saw a display from Gorgeous Cosmetics. They had such great prices, I remember seeing brushes on sale for $10 each! I have always loved the make up by Gorgeous but had to restrain myself to only buying stuff that I actually needed/wanted very badly.

I was also very keen on trying on Minx nails, commonly worn by celebrities like Beyonce and Rihanna, but they are usually salon exclusive and oh-so-expensive! They were being sold for $15 per set at the Minx display stand. The salesperson placed the Minx foil under a heat lamp until it 'wilted', indicating it was ready for application. You then apply the applique to the nail, smooth it down and then file off the ends. If you make a mistake, pop it back under the heat lamp and smooth it out again. If you're purchasing for home use, like I was, then you could use your hair dryer instead of a heat lamp.

Miss V getting her Minx trial done.

We stopped at the Zoya stand next. They had a lovely, well stocked display which was being continually restocked. I think we spent almost 30 minutes there. I'd always wanted to try Zoya polishes as they are 'the big three free' which means free of toluene, formaldehyde and dibuthyl phthalate (DBP), but unfortunately they are just so hard to find in Melbourne!

We also passed a Nyx stall, which I found quite intriguing. Nyx is brand from the US which is extremely affordable. Think lipsticks and eyeshadows that are like $3 each. I actually already have quite a few of things from the Nyx brand but I didn't purchase any from SM as they were far more affordable online.

There was actually a media lounge/bloggers lounge where you could update your blog live! What a lovely idea! It was also really nice having a wall against which you could take your photo, and having some comfy couches to rest your feet after walking around the huge exhibition hall!

Posing in front of the 'wall'. 

We also came across some lovely body painting. I always love body painting because it always looks like a costume until you get really close and realise it's all just paint, not fabric! The model was gorgeous and kindly let us photograph her.

She looks like a dryad from a fairytale!

We also spotted this lovely make up stand at Vani-T, and this is what made me decide I had to buy a lipstick because the packaging was so pretty! They even had these little brushes with diamanté collars, it was very pretty but I forgot to take a photo of it.

Cupcake lipstick stand at Vani-T.

There was also lots of lash exhibits, selling false lashes, offering lash extensions and products to condition or increase lash growth. Amongst them was Lash Republic, Minx lashes, and many, many more.

They also had some models walking around in rather fantastical outfits and shoes. I'm not really sure where they'd come from, but the hair and make up was amazing! Look at the model in white with her hair made into a dome, and the red skeins hanging from her hair do.

Well, there you go, lovelies! A brief snapshot of what walking around Salon Melbourne was like. I will be posting another post soon on a fashion show we saw at Salon Melbourne, which will be the last of my three Salon Melbourne related posts. For a peek at the items I picked up at Salon Melbourne, have a look here.

Much love,
MM.
x