Challenge: 52 weeks of untrieds

Let's face it: I have quite a collection of nail polishes.

Something I'm not particularly good at is wearing all of different colours I own. I have a bad habit of sticking to many of my tried and tested favourites, even though I go positively nuts over the sheer prettiness of some of the untouched polishes in my collection.

So my challenge for the next year is this: I will be working my way through my collection, and each week I need to use one polish I haven't worn before. I think it's a pretty hefty challenge!

For week one, I tried not only a polish, but a brand I haven't used before...

Models Prefer - Meltdown

Meltdown is a gorgeous milk chocolate creme. Application was pretty smooth, with only two coats needed for a nice coverage. The brush is extremely wide and has a curved tip - most of my nails were able to be coated in a single stroke! Unfortunately the tip of the brush is a little unevenly cut, which meant that some cleanup effort was needed. Given my usual (no)skill in applying polish, I need to cleanup anyway, so no biggie.

Models Prefer is available through Priceline, and the polishes are usually $5.99, but can often be found on sale.

I give this one a thumbs up - not only did I enjoy wearing it, but it also scored quite a few compliments. Great for around the office!

Fight for a Fair Beauty Price

Illamasqua - Test 

Today Illamasqua announced that they were cutting their Australian prices by up to 42% on Saturday 1st September. From their Facebook page:

ATTENTION, ATTENTION… ILLAMASQUA AUSTRALIA HAS WON THE FIGHT! Illamasqua are very proud to announce that after almost a month of rallying together with their customers and fans to make a stand against the unfair cosmetic pricing in Australia, they have won the ‘Fight for a Fair Beauty Price’.Illamasqua are pleased to confirm that Illamasqua Australia prices will be reduced across the range, 

with the support of their exclusive retail partner MYER from Saturday 1st September 2012.

The Illamasqua ‘Fight for a Fair Beauty Price’ has sparked conversation with customers, bloggers, media and industry insiders globally, and it is with thanks to the encouragement and persistence of everyone who signed the petition that this is now possible.

Illamasqua Australia will be dropping prices to be more in line with those in their home country of the UK - up to 35% reduction, but on some lines as much as 42%.

To say I am delighted would be an understatement - I am VERY VERY EXCITED THANK YOU VERY MUCH!

The price drop is as a result of their Fight for a Fair Beauty Price campaign, and I see it as a first step to pointing out to cosmetics houses that the Australian market is acutely aware of the fact that we pay far more for cosmetics than the USA, Europe and Asia.

Have we won the fight? I don't think it's over yet - not until we see some more results by the way of other global brands reign in their prices.

Will the Australian Illamasqua counters be doing a roaring trade this weekend? I fairly confidently say yes.

Thanks Illamasqua - I am looking forward to being able to get more bang for my buck and you can bet your eyeliner brush that there will be more Illamasqua product in my makeup arsenal as a result of this!

Shoesday: Canary Yellow

It's Captain Punishment's* favourite colour, and I can't blame him. I'm pretty partial to a bit of bright canary yellow myself.



Please excuse the industrial chic carpet. I also promise that my ankles are actually quite dainty and not at all like the tree trunks they are choosing to resemble in this picture.

Canary yellow patents from Corelli. Purchased somewhere on sale a couple of years ago, they never fail to put a smile on my face when I wear them - and they always get compliments!

Statement shoes are a great way to lift a really basic outfit from the usual every day to just out of the fashion mag glamarama. Owning a few shoes in really bright or striking colours can help rework a wardrobe without breaking the bank, and is something I do often to get away with recycling some of my fancy dresses, or to hide the fact that I'm really in nothing more complex than jeans and a t-shirt.

Do you have statement shoes in your wardrobe? I'd love to hear about your favourite pair!

*Captain Punishment, as he is known, is my friend and my personal trainer. He's extremely strict during classes (talking back, making too much noise or grumbling gets the whole group extra work) and also on nutrition (ask me one day about the crash tackle with bonus crushing of Cheezels. I'm still too scared to touch them EVER), but he is extremely supportive and a wonderful friend as well as a trainer.

Haul: Nail Mail

Sometimes there's nothing better than receiving a bunch of nail polishes in the post. When I break a shopping ban, I do it pretty well.

First up, a spot of shopping from Darling

Left to Right:
Likeomg, Strawberry Fields Forever, Just a Little Frosting, Millions & Billions Rock Candy, Wednesday, Mermaid Brunch Rock Candy, Siren

I can't wait to wear a few of these... I've been staring at Just a Little Frosting, Likeomg and Strawberry Fields Forever for quite some time, and the Rock Candies were calling my name too loudly for me to resist.

Next up, I also went a little mad on piCture pOlish.

Left to Right:

Orbit, Amethyst, Mirage, Kryptonite, Mint, Tiffany, Peaches n'Cream

I happened to be looking at Twitter and Facebook when piCture pOlish started uploading their blogger series of polishes, and Amethyst, Kryptonite and Mirage caught my eye. I think I have a problem when it comes to purple and forest green!

The rest? Um, yeah, I had an excuse for that purchase somewhere...

Shoesday: New Heights

I love a pair of heels... but I think this pair have taken things just that leetle bit too far...

These darlings are by Wittner and are the beautiful Suffix in black glitter and giraffe print. They're currently still on sale on the Wittner website - as are the leopard print variation. When I was looking at these, I read the words "3.5cm platform" and "12cm heel", but clearly I didn't process this properly. The real heel height is 15cm - the 3.5cm is pretty much added height, which made for a surprise when I received them, as I ordered them online.

I haven't been brave enough to wear these (or their leopard print cousins) yet. I get comments whenever I wear heels thanks to my height anyway, and these just take the biscuit. They're a good 3.5 cm taller than any heels I've worn.

Would you wear these darling shoes? What's the highest heel you have or would wear?

FOTD: Wedding bells

Not mine... tee hee hee!

Recently I headed up the coast to attend a friend's afternoon wedding. I wasn't sure how much time I'd have to get ready after the trip (traffic can be so unpredictable), so I did my hair and makeup before leaving - perfect for some car posing!

Face:
NP Set Pre-Foundation Primer
MAC Studio Sculpt foundation NC15
MAC Studio Sculpt concealer NC15 & NW15
Face of Australia Loose Powder in translucent

Cheeks:
Too Faced Pink Leopard bronzer
MAC Peachykeen powder blush

Eyes:
Inglot 603 (lid)
MAC Amber Lights eyeshadow (crease)
MAC Antiqued eyeshadow (outer corner, lower lashline)
MAC Vanilla eyeshadow (highlight)
MAC Engraved Powerpoint
Australis eye pencil Star Bright
Maybelline Great Lash Big mascara Blackest Black

Lips:
Chanel Rouge Coco lipstick Mademoiselle

Some recent manicures

Despite the tremendous effort in upkeep (seriously, am I the only one who manages to chip nail polish pretty much the day I apply it?), I love making sure my nails are done. Here are some of my recent efforts, as captured on my delightful iPhone camera in the morning sunshine that reaches my desk, or by the light of my house in the evenings.

From L-R:
Row one: Darling Millions of Peaches tipped with China Glaze Icicle, butter LONDON The Full Monty, piCture pOlish Beige dotted with OPI Alpine Snow, Scandal Modern Black and BYS Shadow Puppets.
Row two: b collection by Bloom St Tropez with OPI Who the Shrek are you? feature nail, Australis Bombshell.
Row three: Ulta3 Honululu over OPI Alpine Snow, Miss Shop Edward Dare and Liam Love (feature nail), Inglot 992.