New Ishah x Beauty Business Cards from BuildASign.com!

Hey guys, just wanted to share with you the business cards I recently got done from a website called BuildASign.com. They specialise in banners and yard signs, but also do bumper stickers, business cards and a lot of other things. I played with the business card designing software for a while and it's not bad, but I wanted a specific design so I uploaded an image I created in photoshop.

The quality of the card is quite good, the printing is clean and crisp and the colours are perfect. I do wish they had more options, like 2 sided printing and a wider variety of cardstock, but I like the card quality. I also made a bumper sticker for my husband's martial arts business, and it turned out great. Very clean, good quality printing.

I really like having my own business cards, it makes it easier when I meet people at events to give them my blog and social media information. What do you think? I like the fact that it looks like my blog design! Also, headshot on a business card, yes or no? I find that it helps someone remember who you are, especially when they've been meeting a lot of different people.

BuildASign.com also has a partner site Printcopia.com, which specialises in canvas prints. Check them out!

Disclosure: Product provided for honest review.

Angel's Boutique Decoden Hello Kitty iPhone Case Giveaway!

If you know me, you know I LOVE Decoden (decorated 'denwa' - phone). I have been following Amber from Angel's Boutique on instagram and twitter for a while now, and the photos of her Deco stuff that she posts are absolutely gorgeous! I was lucky enough to receive this case and a couple of other pieces for review and I just had to share with you all!

The case is absolutely beautiful and feels quite sturdy. There are a few visible strands of glue, but it doesn't detract from the overall look of the case. She uses a lot of different, high quality pieces, including Swarovski crystals.

To see this baby sparkle, check out my video!

Amber makes a variety of different products that range between $4 and $68.50 and includes everything from dust plugs, phone cases and jewelery! Like this edgy Red Lips ring:

I love it, it's so freakin cool! Go check out Angel's Boutique on etsy to see all her current products on offer. She does take custom orders, so if you don't see exactly what you want, you can get it made :)

I'm giving this iPhone 4/4s case away! The giveaway is open internationally, enter using the Rafflecopter widget below :)


a Rafflecopter giveaway

L'Oreal Magic BB Cream - review, swatches and pics of my skin with & without

So as you know, I'm a huge fan of Missha BB Cream, a real Korean brand BB Cream. I've mentioned before that I think Western companies seem to be putting out super sheer tinted moisturisers and calling them BB Creams, but I'm always open to being proven wrong. I got the chance to try the L'Oreal Magic Skin Beautifier BB Cream through SheSpeaks.com and was excited to see if it lived up to the name BB Cream.

From the L'Oreal Paris website:

Magic Skin Beautifier BB Cream 

4 Beautifying Actions in 1.
Hydrates, Primes, Perfects, Corrects.
Flawless bare skin finish.

Meet the Magic all-in-one skin BB cream, with Beautifying Beads; encapsulated pigments infused in an ultra-light lotion with antioxidants Vitamins C&E. This mullti-tasking skin beautifier delivers 4 beautifying actions in 1: hydrates, corrects, evens and perfects. Instantly transforms to your perfect shade for a flawless, bare skin finish. Over time, more beautiful skin. 

 This BB Cream comes in 4 shades, Fair, Light, Medium and Deep. I assume they are designed to magically adjust and match your skintone, which is why there are only 4 shades. The one I received is Medium.

L'Oreal Magic BB Cream

L'Oreal Magic BB Cream unblended

L'Oreal Magic BB Cream partially blended

L'Oreal Magic BB Cream blended

As you can see, L'Oreal Magic BB Cream starts out white and has tiny microbeads that react with your skin (idk, I'm not going to get all technical) and match your skintone, while diffusing light, smoothing skin and covering imperfections. It glides on beautifully, but because it's so light and smooth, it can be a bit hard to know if you've got enough on.

For the picture below, I applied L'Oreal Magic BB Cream only on the left (your left) side of my face. Here you can see the subtle, but beautiful effect the Cream has:

L: With BB Cream  R: Bare skin

L'Oreal Magic BB Cream

Sorry for hugeass pic of my mostly makeup-less face.

The coverage is quite light, but it gave my skin a natural, glowing, almost airbrushed look and managed to even out texture and tone, cover my pores and redness and lessen my dark circles. The Medium shade matches my skintone perfectly, I am guessing this is the pigmented microbeads doing. The finish is slightly dewy, but seems to eliminate excess shine. I am absolutely in love with how this looks and feels and even if you're after more coverage, this product would make an EXCELLENT primer. My skin felt so smooth and like I had nothing on.

Now, is this a real BB Cream? Well, the first thing I noticed is that it doesn't have SPF. This is one of the main features of an Asian BB Cream, a high level of SPF. Secondly, it's not as full coverage as most Asian BB Creams, it gives more of a nice, even, natural look. Thirdly, it's not really a Blemish Balm. Pretty much every Asian BB Cream has some kind of skin regenerating, brightening and anti-aging properties. The L'Oreal BB Cream does have Vitamin E though. Overall, while this is not a TRUE BB Cream in the sense of Asian BBs, it is an amazing product and definitely NOT just a sheer tinted moisturiser. I usually only use my Missha BB Cream, but I will definitely be reaching for this product again when I want a lightweight, natural look.

Although the RRP on the L'Oreal site is $10.95, I have seen the Magic Skin Beautifier BB Cream at Walmart and Target for around $8.

Disclosure: Product sent for honest review. For more information, see my Disclosure Policy.

Photo Diary: Beauty For the Beasts Event in Beverly Hills hosted by @weheartthis

So I had been meaning to post this before now, but a nasty cold got me! The weekend before last, I went down to Cristophe Salon in Beverly Hills for the Beauty For the Beasts event! This was a charity event hosted by the ladies at weheartthis to benefit The Rescue Train, an animal rescue organisation.

My BFF Mai and I headed down from the OC to Beverly Hills. We decided to make a girls day out of it :)

Mai decided that a ridiculously unflattering up angle shot was in order...... Thanks Mai =_=;;

**Pic Heavy!!** See more pics after the jump :)

Blogazons Roundup 2/16

The China Glaze Avant Garden collection, makeup brush cleaning 101, Illamasqua Caress, Must Have Winter Beauty products and more!

• Beyond Beauty Lounge: How to clean & dry your makeup brushes .
• Confessions of a Sarcastic Mom: Check out an orange gloss and a lip pencil Destany got from Sephora!
• Lola's Secret Beauty Blog: If you are looking to add retinol into your skincare routine, then Lola's Secret Beauty Blog enthusiastically recommends FutureDerm Time Release Retinol 0.50!
• Adore A Polish: Check out Kristina's updated daily makeup essentials.
• Emily Hudspeth, hair design and makeup artist: Must Have Products for Winter Beauty.
• Ishah x Beauty: Think nail art is too hard? Anyone can do it with this easy tutorial using metallic markers!
• TheFabZilla: Do you wear glasses? TheFabZilla got some tips for ya!
• Lacquer Buzz: A dreamy pastel baby blue. Illamasqua Caress is perfection!
• Cosmetics Aficionado: MAC Ronnie Red lipstick is a hot seller, enter to win this sold out lipstick!
• Très Beau Glamour: Looking for a nice makeup look for Valentine's Day that utilizes purples and pinks? Check out Nay's "Spontaneous Love" makeup tutorial; a beautiful night time look for that special day.
• Pinked Polish: Six Swatches from the New China Glaze Avant Garden Collection!!!! In LOVE!!!!
• Liesl Loves Pretty Things: LIesl loves OPI Euro Centrale! Check out one of her favorite shades and why you need that wierd gold one.
• Makeup Demon: Photoshoot and makeup idea for Valentine's day.
• My Newest Addiction Beauty Blog: Laura from My Newest Addiction Beauty Blog reviews Anastasia Beverly Hills Bold and Beautiful Kit!
• The Glossy Pages by gloss48: Share your favorite, hard-to-find/indie products with gloss48!
• Rachel's Makeup and Skincare: Rachel tries out La Licious Bath and Body Collection in their new Valentine's Day Scent and finds she is in love!
• Mama Fashionista: Jump Start your Spring Routine with L'Occitane!
• Love At First Site!: J.Lo.'s look at the Golden Globes. Do it yourself!
• SoFlaJo: Happy Valentine's Day Loves!
• Beauty Professor: Forever a nude lipstick lover, The Beauty Professor tries Dolce and Gabbana's Mandorla, the perfect blend of beige and pink!
• Cult of Taupe: Can Hard Candy Fox in a Box Blushes hold a candle to Benefit Boxed Powders?

Pretty and Practical: A Wearable Date Look

As much as I love seeing all the beautiful, creative and unique Valentine's looks that get posted around this time, the best kind of date makeup (IMO) is classic, simple and wearable.

I did this look on my friend Desiree, soft shades of gold, brown and nudes, with a subtle pop of pinky peach on the cheeks. I wanted the look to be pretty and classic, while not clashing with her bright red dress. Nude, glossy lipstick is also great for a date, as a red lip is nice but not so practical for kissing ;)

GET THE LOOK:

Eyes:

• ALWAYS DO THE EYES FIRST! Then you can get rid of any eyeshadow fallout with concealer/foundation.
• First I applied Urban Decay Primer Potion all over the lid and undereye area.
• Then I applied the light beige shade of the Stila eyeshadow palette from the Blushing Beauty(warm) set, Karat, all over the lid.
• I took the Urban Decay shadow, Baked, which is a shimmery gold and applied it in the center of the lid
• Then I used the dark brown shade from the Stila palette, Bronze, and applied it in a v shape on the outer corner and crease.
• I used a fluffy blending brush and Karat to blend out any harsh lines and into the browbone.
• I lined the lower lashline with NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in French Fries and put a dab of Urban Decay loose pigment in Yeyo in the inner corners.
• Then I lined the upper lashline and the waterline with a black kohl liner (forgot which brand!) and did 2 coats of Maybelline The Falsies mascara on the upper and lower lashes.
• I filled out her eyebrows with the e.l.f Studio Brow Kit in medium and used an eyebrow brush to soften it up and make it look more natural.

Face:

• First I applied Benefit The POREfessional primer all over
• Then I used a sponge to apply Benefit Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow! foundation in Petal
• I used NYX Concealer Jar in Orange for her undereye area and e.l.f Studio Concealer Pencil & Brush in Light for redness and blemishes.
• I contoured under her cheeks and jawline with the bronzer from the e.l.f Studio Contouring Blush and Bronzer Powder in St Lucia.
• For blush, I layered Too Faced Full Bloom Lip & Cheek Creme Color in Prim & Poppy under Benefit Hervana Blush on the apples of her cheeks
• To set her makeup and give an airbrushed, flawless look, I dusted e.l.f Studio Translucent Matifying Powder all over with a big fluffy brush.

Lips:

• I wanted a nice, nude glossy colour, so I lined her lips with e.l.f Studio Lip Liner & Blending Brush in Nude Pink.
• Then I put Revlon Lip Butter in Creme Brulee and a clear gloss on top.

Layering the blush and the lip products ensures that they'll last longer!
 

I curled Desiree's hair with my curling iron and combed it out so it sat in soft waves around her face. I think it was the perfect look to offset the bright, lacy red dress :)

What do you prefer for a Date? Soft and pretty, or bold and striking? If you're single, you should still pamper the ones you love, your family, your girlfriends, yourself! Go on a spa date or get a mani/pedi and eat LOTS of chocolate.

Pigmented lips are in for Spring: Milani Color Statement lipstick in Flamingo Pose

The trend with lips for Spring is either soft, sheer balm-like shades, or bright, vivid punchy shades. Somewhat like the Maybelline Vivids, Milani has released a super pigmented, bright type of lipstick of their own, the Color Statement lipsticks. Milani has been having a '30 shades in 30 days' giveaway on their Facebook page every day for their Color Statement lipsticks and I was lucky enough to win this one, Flamingo Pose!

Milani Flamingo Pose

The packaging is very pretty, it looks and feels nicer than most drugstore lipsticks, and doesn't attract fingerprints as much as the L'Oreal Shine Stains. The lipstick does retract fully into the tube, to reduce bumps and breakage. I did somehow manage to get a little bit of the lipstick on the rim... It's only a tiny bit though and didn't affect the lipstick in any way. The scent is divine, it smells like sweet watermelon! It's a nice light scent that doesn't linger after application.

Milani Flamingo Pose swatch

Milani Flamingo Pose

Milani Flamingo Pose

The lipstick is very pigmented and quite smooth going on. It's not quite as creamy as the Maybelline Vivids, but doesn't feel drying at all. If you have super dry lips, you should always use lip balm under your lipstick. Wear time was pretty good, it lasted a good 4/5 hours through drinking, however I didn't eat during that time. It removes easily with a makeup remover wipe and doesn't leave a stain.

The Color Statement lipsticks come in 30 different shades and are available at drugstores. RRP is $5.49, but prices may vary. I am planning to pick up a few more shades, like Sweet Nectar and Sangria!

Blogazons Roundup 2/9

The Milani Color Statement Lipsticks, The Wet n Wild Fergie lipsticks, DIY nail polish desk & storage, Valentine's Day look and lots more! Read some great posts in this week's Blogazons Roundup.

• Confessions of a Sarcastic Mom: Check out the new Milani COLORStatement Lipsticks orange and reds... and find out which are Destany's favorites!
• Makeup Demon: Foods & drinks for glowing skin.
• Midnight Manicures: Spring is in the air with Jessica's Custom Nail Colours It's A Girl Thing Collection.
• Ishah x Beauty: You change up your makeup, your hair colour, why not your eye colour too? Check out one of the newest trends from Korea with the beautiful, natural looking Royal Vision Macaron Brown Circle Lens.
• Très Beau Glamour: With only a few days left, Valentine's Day is slowly approaching. If you're in need of a nice, simple look that has a pop of color and still looks neutral check out Nay Denise's tutorial for her second Valentine's Day look! You won't regret it.
• Lola's Secret Beauty Blog: With a mad love of quality skincare products, and ever on the lookout for new treats, Helen from Lola's Secret Beauty Blog has compiled a list of products that she currently craves!
• Beauty Fiends: Julia at Beauty Fiends has been testing out Mario Badescu's Drying Lotion. Find out if it works!
• TheFabZilla: See what TheFabZilla says about Wet n Wild Fergie Lipsticks!
• Love At First Site!: A few words for the wonders of Caudalie's Divine Oil.
• Beyond Beauty Lounge: Inexpensive DIY nail polish desk and storage.
• Never Gonna Give You Up: Kara does a Half Moon mani for a Nail Art Challenge.
• Polishy of Truth: Tara at Polishy of Truth premieres a brand new Elevation Polish (to be released February 7th) in addition to the current top-selling Elevation Polish!
• Cult of Taupe: Is Tarte's Clean Slate 360º Creaseless eye primer the answer to Crystal's prayers?
• Mama Fashionista: Attention all Curly Girls and members of Team Natural! Quinn shows you what Oyin Handmade's Hair Dew can do for you!
• Lisa's Nail Obsession: What color of polish are you seen in most?
• The Passenger Element: WetnWild's Mega Last lipstick swatches.
• My Newest Addiction Beauty Blog: Laura from My Newest Addiction Beauty Blog incorporates blue into her everyday makeup routine!
• Lipgloss Break: Lipgloss Break picks out her favorite Valentine's Day beauty gift sets.
• Rachel's Makeup and Skincare: Rachel shares her thoughts on Le Metier de Beaute's Peau Vierge Tinted Luminizer.

Easy Nail Art Using Metallic Markers

Who loves easy nail art??

Me, that's who. And there is pretty much nothing easier than this! If you can hold a pen, then you can do this. I saw a tutorial on Pinterest that used Sharpie metallic markers to draw on little hearts and patterns onto nails, but the problem was that everyone in the comments of the post said that it smudged when they applied top coat. I decided to try it for myself anyway but couldn't find Sharpies at my local Walmart, so I picked up these Max Pen Ultramark Metallic Markers instead.

What I discovered was that the Ultramark marker will actually rub off with a finger or with water, but weirdly enough won't smudge with top coat the way the Sharpie metallic markers do. The Sharpie markers only rub off with rubbing alcohol but then smudge with topcoat... makes no sense to me.

All you do is:

1. Paint a base colour and let it dry completely
2. Draw the design you want with the metallic marker
3. Give the marker about 30 sec/a minute to dry
4. Do a thick layer of top coat with a light hand, try not to press or drag on the nail
5. Done!

Yesterday I did a quick post on my Cherry Blossom nail art and I used the metallic markers for the design. It was so quick and easy and looks beautiful.

Please forgive my dry hands, it's Winter y'know. To see how I used the metallic markers to achieve this design, check out the video below!

I'm still working on the quality of my videos, please bear with me! I'll be posting a lot more videos, so don't forget to subscribe ;)

What I love about using the Ultramark metallic markers for nail art is that they're non-toxic, they rub off easily if you make a mistake without ruining your base polish and they make it so easy to do more intricate designs. Best of all they were only around $4 for a pack of 6 markers! I will definitely be getting value for money out of these things. Who says we need to be a slave to brand names.. I actually bought the darn Sharpies afterwards.. and they smudged.

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and let me know if you try it out. I know I'll be incorporating the metallic markers into my nail art from now on :) It just makes getting a clean line so much easier!

Polish Days: Get Back to Nature

 February  Polish Days is inspired by nature! This is a quickie post from my phone, I missed out last month's Polish Days so I wanted to participate this month no matter what! Spring means flowers to me, my favorite being the cherry blossom! I still have my gel nail polish on, so I just did a quick cherry blossom design on top using a method I will be posting about in more detail tomorrow (check out my post here!). very very easy DIY nail art! Check out the other lovelies in the Polish Days for this month.

Valentine's Themed Nail Art: Lips & Love

As I'm in the Valentine's spirit this month, I joined a nail art challenge! The Manicure Hut is a nail art blog that I stumbled across and absolutely love her designs. She's doing the Love-ly Nail Art Challenge for the month of February and I thought I'd jump on board since I am all Valentine's Day obsessed.

 My post for Day 1, Hearts, can be found here. This is Day 2, Lips.

I started by doing a big ol' juicy set of lips and just winged it from there. I have a nude gel polish as my base colour and just freehanded the designs with Kiss Nail Art polishes. I thought it was a pretty fun design overall and something different! I love doing love themes, lots of red, pink and hearts! Everything was super easy to do with the Kiss Nail Art polishes too, I recommend them if you're just starting out with nail art and aren't comfortable using a striping brush yet. I'll be doing all the other challenge days too, so keep an eye out for lots of lovely love nail art posts!

Check out some other Lips themed nail art here!

Royal Vision Macaron Brown (Puffy 3 Tone) Circle Lens

It's been a while since I've done a lens review!

The Royal Vision Macaron Brown lens is one I received from my sponsor EyeCandy's (formerly Eyecandy Lens). I had planned to review it a while ago, but one of the lenses was defective and was uncomfortable in my eye, so the lovely rep from EyeCandy's sent me a replacement. This time it was perfect! You should NEVER wear a lens if it feels uncomfortable, circle lenses should feel almost like nothing is in your eyes, they may be slightly drying but nothing eyedrops wouldn't fix.

From EyeCandy's website:

Royal Vision Macaron (Puffy 3 Tones) Brown

Price: $29.60

SKU: MCRN-BR 

Power: 0.00 Plano 

Product Description

Brand: Royal Vision
Origin: South Korea
Water content: 38%
Diameter: 14.5mm
Base Curve: 8.6
Duration: 1 year disposable

Girls who've fallen in love with the sweet, adorable Parisian macaron will undoubtedly be enamoured by our Royal Vision Macaron series.  With rich and vibrant blend of 3 tones, these lenses will give your eyes look that is both sophisticated and mesmerising.  Indulge your eyes in the epitome of elegance!

Also known as Puffy 3 Tones and Shinny series.

This item is manufactured by Dueba under our OEM label Royal Vision.

How cute is the box that it comes in?? I love it so much, I don't want to throw it away! I'll have to re-purpose it and keep it on my dresser :) The Macaron lenses are also called the Puffy 3 Tone/Shinny lens, which I have in Violet and Grey. This is my favourite design and looks so pretty and fresh! It's also very comfortable and not too drying. I wore them for 12 hours and only needed to put eyedrops in at around 7/ 8 hours.

L: Macaron Brown lens R: No lens.

Macaron Brown Lenses

Artificial light

Natural daylight

The pattern is subtle but still very pretty. It gives me a slight colour pop and blends seamlessly with my naturally dark brown eyes. Nobody noticed I was wearing lenses (not even my husband!), but I got a lot of "Wow, you look great today.. something's different but I can't tell what" lolol. It's my natural effervescence.

I think these would be a great everyday lens if you want something really pretty, but still natural looking. It would also look great on lighter coloured eyes, like blue or green. The gradiation of the pattern would look amazing against a lighter colour. I really want all the different shades in the Macaron lens!

Use my discount code "ISHAHXBEAUTY" to get a free gift with purchase :) I don't get any commission from what you buy, it's just a nice little extra for you!

Blogazons Roundup 2/2

It's another roundup, with great posts about nail art, Asian skincare products, beautiful eyeshadows and more...

• Ishah x Beauty: Ishah tests out the new Flower Cosmetics Kiss Stick High Shine Lip Color in Nude Narcissus. Is it the beautiful creamy nude she hoped for?
• datyorkLOVES: HTF Max MakeUp Cherimoya Devil's Kiss NVC001 Nail Polish Swatch and Review!
• TheFabZilla: Are these Wet n Wild Fergie eyeshadows worth all the hype? TheFabZilla spills the deets!
• Polarbelle: Does the idea of washing your beaded nail art down the sink make you sad? Polarbelle shows you how to make a resuable beaded nail sticker!
• Lacquer Buzz: Mihaela tries nail studs for the first time and loves them!
• Lola's Secret Beauty Blog: If you are hopelessly tempted by taupe eyeshadows- then check out these Taupelicious Treats!
• Mama Fashionista: See how Julep is helping Quinn achieve one of her beauty resolutions!
• Pinked Polish: Tiger Stripes featuring an AWESOME polish, ORANGE you glad you aren’t a TIGER!!!!
• Never Gonna Give You Up: Kara hosts a nail polish Giveaway. 10 prizes up for grabs!
• Harajuku Girl FL Beauty: Curious about high end Asian Skincare products? A new site, Peach and Lily will help you sort it out.
• Emily Hudspeth, hair design and makeup artist: Get out the door fast with this 1 minute makeup look!
• Rachel’s Makeup and Skincare: Rachel shares her top five favorite lipsticks of the moment!
• The Convenient Beauty: Starter kit ideas for makeup beginner.
• Skin, Bones, and Nails: Awesome spring colored skittle nails with freehand art.
• Cult of Taupe: Get ready to dazzle with four gorgeous gold shadows from BFTE.
• Love At First Site!: Best 12 of 2012… No1. Clarisonic Mia. A review.
• Beauty by Miss L: This week Miss L did another sweet & cute manicure.
• Midnight Manicures: GlossyBox made a touchdown this month with “The Man Repeller” box. See the products that Jeanie is cheering about!
• Très Beau Glamour: Looking for a bold and highly pigmented blush palette? Coastal Scents has come out with a NEW blush palette that is perfect for Valentine’s Day and much more!
• Lisa’s Nail Obsession: What is a girls’ best friend? In this case bling!