Zoya Mod Mattes: Lolly & Hautelook haul.

Morning Beauties :) I have Zoya Lolly for you today..

Gorgeous colour, love the matte finish and the quick dry application... This DOES take some work though. I got streaks and it chipped within the first day, but I will say that's application issues on my part. I have seen this applied smoothly and heard people say it lasts 3 days without chipping (as you'd expect with no top coat) so I'd say it just takes some practice to get the right application technique. I love the colour and finish, so I'm going to keep working with it.

I just ordered some products (again) on HauteLook.. this time Urban Decay! It wasn't as great as their last sale where everything was $2, but they had some eyeshadow palettes and a nail set that I couldn't pass up! They really do have some great deals on HauteLook at times, I think it's a great way to get high quality products that you don't necessarily want to spend an arm and a leg on.

The tax and shipping bump it up a bit, but it's still extremely good for Urban Decay products! $5 for the Afterglow blush?? Loving it.

Ishah xx

Disclaimer: Post contains referral link.

Zoya Kimmy, plus Stila is having a Giveaway!

I'm sorry I've been neglecting you Beauties!

I've been super busy these last few days, trying to create a business website for my brother-in-law, spending time with the kiddies, trying (and failing) to keep up with the housework and taking lots of photos :) I want you to know I have heaps of stuff lined up to post, I just have to go through and edit some photos and then I will get onto writing it all up....

Well, today I have some swatches of one of the Zoya polishes I bought when they had the BOGO free promo on the Zoya website - KIMMY!

Wet n Wild Fast Dry: The Gold and the Beautiful

Happy Saturday Beauties!

Just some swatches of the Wet n Wild Fast Dry polish I bought the other day. This is The Gold and the Beautiful and I L.O.V.E love it! It has such a glittery, gleaming, sparkly flash to it that I just couldn't fully capture on my camera. It looks like I have 24 karat gold flakes on my nails. For a $1.99 polish, this is PURE GOLD (pun intended). It has a pretty nice formula, thin but buildable and doesn't drag at the cuticles or edges. It is pretty sheer, so it would be good for layering too. With thin coats, it touch dries within 5 minutes.

Three coats, I probably should have done four as there are still a few patchy places.

This really sparkles in the light!

Quick Update: Missha No. 31 and Going on a No-Buy

No-Buy - capitalised because I must remind myself it is Very Important to stick to it! We are currently in the process of buying a house and every little bit counts. I have placed myself on a No-Buy until we have completed the loan process, put down our deposit and closing costs etc, assessed how much we need to spend on repairs and made sure our savings are enough to cover it all. So for possibly the next two or three months (oh gawd) I will be extra tight with the purse strings. I will probably cave once in a while, but the real mission is to cut down on spending! I have plenty of things to review though, so blogging will continue at the usual pace.

Speaking of which, I received my Missha Perfect Cover BB Cream in No. 31 today! If you read my post on No. 23, you will remember me saying I thought I was between shades 23 and 31. Recently Missha sent a secret link to their email subscribers (and tweeted it also) with a promo: Perfect Cover BB Cream for $9.95 + $8.99 s&h. This is a savings of $20 woo! I was pretty much ecstatic, as it gave me a chance to buy No. 31 cheaply and see if I could create my perfect shade. They send these secret links out all the time, so it pays to be a subscriber. They also sent a free product, Garden Pleasure Honey and Lilac Body Scrub which smells divine!

Sorry for the bad quality photo.. I was lazy and took it on my phone... in the dark... yeah, silly me!
Anyone else cutting down on spending lately? C'mon, I don't want to feel alone in my retail therapy drought!!

Ishah xx

Geo Olive Honey Wing Circle Lens Review

Hi Beauties :)

Here is another post in the 'Gyaru on a budget' series.

Some people think that Gyaru is just a style for young girls, and Mamas or anyone older than 20 can't pull it off. To them I say "HA!" Tsubasa-chan, one of the biggest Gyaru models, has a son and is still getting her Gyaru on! If she can do it, then certainly we can :) That's not to say you should follow the look obsessively (although you can, of course, if you want to!). I like to approach it this way.. take what you like from the look and adapt it to your personal taste. That way it looks much more natural and suitable for you (and we don't all have the time/money to maintain such an extravagant look.. as much as some of us may want to!).

Circle lenses are huge in Korea, Japan and many other Asian countries. They brighten your eyes and make them look larger; giving the 'Dolly Eye' look so prevalent in Gyaru styles. These are topics that have been covered a lot, so I'm not going to go too in depth unless someone asks me to specifically :)

I didn't want to go through a lot of hassle, time wasting and money to get some cute lenses so I researched a few different websites that sold circle lenses and shipped to the US. KawaiiLoveBeauty.com imports their circle lenses directly from South Korea and ships them from the US, so if you are stateside it will only take about 4 days for shipping, as opposed to weeks when you order from a company based in Asia.

I ordered one pair, the Honey Wing lenses @ $19.90 + $2.50 s&h (the cheapest shipping I've seen so far).  The lenses came with a free pink, blue and white lense case, very cute!

Type: Geo Olive (Honey Wing) Series

Diameter: 14mm

Base curve: 8.6mm
Water content: 38~42%
Disposable: 1 year

I am a newb at putting in contact lenses, so I managed to poke myself in the eye with my nail... #notwinning.

PROS:

• They are pretty comfortable, I wore them for about 7 hours and sometimes forgot I was wearing them
• They look very natural, giving my eyes a glistening shine and slight enlargement.
• They make my eyes stand out more
• The pattern is very pretty close up

CONS:

• They are a little TOO close to my natural eye colour. I was hoping they would lighten my eyes up a little.
• The pattern is a little subtle, so although it is pretty it doesn't stand out that much.

Overall I would recommend these if you want a really natural look for brown eyes, that gives a sparkle and slight enlargement. If you have lighter coloured eyes these will give you a really pretty natural looking change.

I think next time I'll try a grey lense.

For me, KawaiiLoveBeauty is a great choice for affordable circle lenses. They have a wide variety and really reasonable shipping. One little problem I have with the site is that sometimes it is a bit slow to load, but that may be my browser.

Have you ever tried circle lenses? What do you think of the look?

Ishah xx

NOTE: Always see a doctor to determine whether contacts are suitable for you.

DDF Skincare product info session @ Sephora

Is it Tuesday already Beauties?? Where did the weekend go?

On Saturday I had the opportunity to go to a product information session by a line called DDF (which stands for Doctor's Dermatologic Formula). I found out about it through the OCMomActivities Facebook page. She posted a status giving three people the opportunity to be a part of the session, which included a skincare analysis. After a few emails back and forth with Eve, the promoter of the event, filling out a survey and checking out the DDF website, I was all set and ready to go! At 10.20am I arrived at Sephora in South Coast Plaza, Costa Mesa, shortly followed by the two other participants, Charlene and Lisa. Eve was there to greet us and give us a cute little goodie bag filled with healthy snack products.

NOTD: Sinful Colors Social Ladder & Wet n' Wild Kaleidescope.

Just a quick post on these awesome polishes I picked up from Walgreens for $1.99 each. I got Sinful Colors Social Ladder and Nail Junkie, and Wet n' Wild The Gold and the Beautiful and Kaleidescope. Actually I think Kaleidescope was .99c! I used Social Ladder and Kaleidescope for my nail of the day.

These polishes are cheap and also great quality. I had no application issues, they both applied smoothly. Social Ladder is a more sheer white with pink tint and little flecks in it. Kaleidescope is a little thin on the holo glitter, you have to build it up a bit with a couple of coats if you want major glitter. This is two thick coats of Social Ladder on the tip and one coat of Kaleidescope, followed by one coat of Rush top coat. The dry time on Social Ladder was pretty quick, however Kaleidescope takes a bit longer.. About 20 mins to be completely touch dry I'd say.

I tried to stamp a flower design over it using Konad special polish in white and m9 plate... TRIED is the operative word here. This is the only nail that came out half decent. I definitely need more practice!!

Overall I think the mani looks cute from a distance... you can't see the mistakes as much! These polishes are  GREAT for someone on a budget, the colours are gorgeous and the quality is still good.

What are some of your favourite cheaper nail polishes?

Ishah xx

Review: Keeki Lip Balm.

Hello on this fine Sunday, Beauties! ^_^

I had an awesome morning yesterday participating in a product info event at Sephora.. Posting about that soon!

Today I have the review on the Keeki pure and simple lip balms sent to me as a prize for a trivia question on their Facebook! Go and follow them, they are good people ;) First, let me talk a little about the company.

This is from their website:

"If you're a mom, what do you do when the non-toxic, organic cosmetics you're looking to buy for your children don't seem to exist?

If you're Natalie Bauss and Katy Scheffler, two West Michigan moms, friends, and entrepreneurs, you create Keeki Pure and Simple products and start a successful business while you're at it."

I absolutely LOVE the idea of non-toxic, organic makeup. Not only to use ON your kids but also to use AROUND your kids. I have two boys and they aren't all that interested in wearing makeup. They do, however, like to be around me while I'm doing my nails and putting my makeup on and I don't want them breathing in potentially harmful chemicals. When I heard about Keeki pure and simple, I was ALL over it. The nail polishes especially appealed to me, but I also wanted to try some of their organic, gluten-free lip balms (lip balm being the only thing my boys actually request me to put on them).

Nail polish haul and Keeki lip balms!

Hey Beauties!

Just wanted to share some pics of the Zoya Intimate collection I bought during their International Women's Day promo and the Konad kit my sister sent me <3 isn't she lovely?!

The Zoya polishes came in this cute carton made from recycled paper and printed with soy ink. All Zoya polishes are Toluene, Formaldehyde, DBP and camphor free and are vegan friendly. The Konad plates are really pretty designs, they are flowers for the most part! I tried out the cherry blossom stamp and it looks so cute, but I definitely need some practice before I post any pics lol.
.

I also received two Keeki lip balms from a question I answered on their Facebook page! They are absolutely lovely for sending TWO yummy lip balms! The flavours are Orange Creamsicle and Minty Vanilla Cooler. Thanks Keeki :)

I am really excited about Keeki, they are a natural beauty company started by two beauty mamas that wanted non-toxic products to use with and around their kids. The lip balms are certified organic and cruelty free. I will be doing a review on them soon and I cannot wait to order some of their non-toxic, water based nail polish!

Happy Saturday!

Ishah xx

Maybelline Fit Me swatches.

Morning Beauties :) How was your St Patty's day? I don't really celebrate it.. it sort of just feels like another excuse for people to drink copious amounts of alcohol!

So I finally got around to swatching the samples of the Maybelline Fit Me foundation. There were a heap of shades to choose from, I picked from the 'medium' section; No 220, 230 and 235. These all had a warm tone to them, 225 was a little too cool and ashy for my skintone.

LORAC on HauteLook.com

Morning Beauties, just a quick post about the LORAC event on HauteLook at the moment.

I just ordered a LORAC makeup palette, mascara and lipgloss on HauteLook and all up with shipping it was $31.16. This is less than what the makeup palette by itself was being sold for on Ulta! HauteLook isn't always such great value, but sometimes they have an awesome makeup sale. A few months ago they had an Urban Decay sale for $2 an item!! Needless to say I was up bright and early for that one.. got about 4 items and paid around $15 total with shipping. You have to be on the lookout for these 'blowouts' as they call them, they usually start at 8am and you have to be on the ball to get something you want. The LORAC sale starts at $1.99 for their Lip Polishes, a cute little lip gloss in a nail polish like bottle.

If any of you want to check it out, my referral link is http://www.hautelook.com/invite/IClay062

You get $10 when someone you have referred makes a first time purchase but even if you don't bother with referrals, it's worth being a member just for the awesome blowouts they have from time to time. I'm not all that fanatical about promoting my referral link, but hey if any of you are going to join anyway, why not help a sister out? ;)

Have you used HauteLook before, or are you interested in checking it out? Are you a member of any other sample sale websites like this?

Review: Missha Perfect Cover BB Cream No. 23

Happy Sunday, Beauties! I'm running late with this post because I am all out of sync with the clock. Who had to turn their clocks forward an hour today? I don't know about you, but I dislike daylight savings :( It just seems unnecessary to me. Anyway, onto the BB Cream!

I didn't know anything about BB Creams until just recently, when I saw a tutorial on youtube and the girl applied Missha Perfect Cover Bb Cream. It made her skin look really smooth and flawless, so I started looking into the different types of BB creams. For those of you that don't know what BB Creams are, here is some general info.

General Product Features and Benefits
* Produces a very natural, "no makeup look"

* Provides perfect coverage like a foundation would but since it's not as thick, it doesn't clog the pores

* Works pretty much like a tinted moisturizer

* Conceals all types of pigmentation, discoloration, acne and other blemishes

* Has healing properties that soften, smoothen and refine skin

* Encourages skin regeneration to create and maintain youthful skin

* Contains UV Protection for healthy skin (SPF levels differ for each brand/product)

* Anti-wrinkle and skin-lightening benefits (available for some variants)



What I like about Missha is that they have a bigger variety of shades than the other brands. Since BB Creams were developed in Korea and used mostly in asian countries, the shades tend to be on the lighter yellow toned side. This might work on Caucasian skintones, but for us darker south east asians (Thai, Malay, Indonesian, Filipino etc) it would just look too pale and mask-like. The shade I have is No. 23, although I think I might be in between 23 and 31. I am planning to get 31 as well and see if I can mix them to my perfect shade.

You can take a look at the different shades at the Missha US website.

I apply this with my fingers and blend. It goes on looking a bit grey and chalky, but it soon oxidizes to match your skin tone. It blends really well into the skin, leaving it looking smooth and polished. It's been described as a heavyweight tinted moisturiser and it is that, and more. What I love about it is while it's more natural looking than most liquid foundations, it covers my dark undereye circles and has excellent staying power. I find that it will last all day without needing any touch ups. As this is not my perfect shade, but a little light, I usually put some bronzing powder over it in certain places just to give it a more natural look.

I LOVE that this is an all in one product. It is a moisturiser, sunscreen, primer and foundation in one. You can basically (if you have the right shade) put this on and go. It lasts, so there's no time consuming touch ups and it looks natural.

I feel that it has helped refine my skin texture and smooth it a little, but haven't really noticed any whitening or anti aging benefits as yet. I've only been using it for about a month, so maybe those come with time.

I'm wearing my Circle Lenses in this pic! The give such a shiny glisten to the eyes :)

Overall, I would recommend this if you want medium, natural looking coverage that lasts without having to use a lot of different products. The only drawback is the limited shades... Hopefully the western market will catch on to this awesome product and start creating their own versions.

Do you like the convenience of a BB Cream? Would you try them or have you tried them before?

Ishah xx

Color Club #13 (no-name polish) & Hello Kitty nail stickers

Good Evening, Beauties :)

A while ago I bought a 7 pack of Color Club polishes from Ross that had no names. They only have a number on the bottom... poor little nameless polishes. I feel like they become like faceless androids when they don't have a name. No matter how nice a colour, they lack personality. It's not a huge deal, just one of my little quirks.

Onto the polish! The formula was a little gloopy and became tacky quickly so I had to work pretty fast. I did 3 coats because the first was a little streaky (a result of not being quick enough!) so I had to cover it up. I got a couple of bubbles in my middle finger, but they are unnoticeable under a topcoat.Overall application wasn't too bad once I got the hang of it.


This is 3 coats without topcoat.

Maybelline Fit Me Foundation

Good morning Beauties! Just a quick post about some samples I received yesterday.




Target sometimes has free samples that you can sign up for on their website and about a month ago they had a new foundation by Maybelline. It's called Fit Me and is supposed to blend perfectly with your natural skintone.








This is the information from the Maybelline website:

"FLAWLESS LETS THE REAL YOU COME THROUGH  
BEYOND MATCHING: FRESH, BREATHING, NATURAL SKIN 
SPF 18 

WHY YOU'LL LOVE IT

It's makeup that fits you.

• No oils, no waxes, no nonsense
• Natural coverage that leaves skin the way it was meant to be…fresh, breathing, natural  
• Exclusive translucent base and lightweight pigments allow skin's natural highs and lows to show through
• Non-comedogenic, dermatologist-tested

FOR BEST RESULTS

Apply smoothly and evenly to your face and blend with your fingertips."

What's great about this foundation is that it's only $6! That is definitely a price I can live with. I like that they include lots of different colors and tones so you can find your perfect shade. I've found that although a foundation may have a shade that is close to my skin color, the tone won't be warm enough or is too pink for my more golden toned skin. Hopefully this one has enough of a range for me to find a perfect match!

For me it's hard to get a perfect shade, especially in drugstore brand makeup. The more expensive brands usually have a bigger range of colors, but not always. I have seen some extremely high end foundations that only come in three shades!
What about you, is it hard to find your perfect shade? Or do you feel like you have a lot of options for your skintone?

I will post a review in a couple of days :)

Ishah xx

Milani COLOR BRILLIANCE eye pencil review

Hey Beauties :)

Bought these Milani COLOR BRILLIANCE (yes, the name is in all caps) eye pencils on clearance at Target for around a dollar each, in #03 Green and #04 Purple.

Expired - Target free samples via TheFrugalGirls.com

{As of March 07 they have run out of samples!}

My lovely friend Jenn linked me to this info about a free sample bag Target is giving away. You fill out a short survey and they send you samples based on what they think your would be interested in. I love Target because they are always giving away free samples!

Image from TheFrugalGirls.com

Here is the link to TheFrugalGirls.com which gives you the info on the giveaway :)

There are limited quantities so get in quick! I hope you are able to snag one, I have signed up for one and will do a post on it when it arrives :)

Gyaru on a Budget - Candydoll Strawberry Pink dupe?

Hey, Beauties!

I adore the Gyaru style, in all its incarnations, but I have neither the time or the extra money to maintain such an intricate fashion. The cult 'gyaru' products, such as Candy Doll and Dolly Wink (both designed by top Gyaru model, Tsubasa Masuwaka), can get pretty expensive outside of Japan and when you have a family in this economy... well you get the picture. That's why I decided to do a series on cheaper and more easily accessible alternatives to these popular products. And here is the first Gyaru on a Budget post - Candy Pink blush!

China Glaze Something Sweet and mini polish haul

Hey Beauty Mamas, just a quick post about some nail polishes I bought recently, including China Glaze Something Sweet and some pics of the Rush topcoat I reviewed here.

I got China Glaze Something Sweet because I was looking for a nice springlike baby pink. This one has an almost lilac undertone to it.

Here is a swatch with Rush topcoat.

Something Sweet applies well, but is a little streaky. This is 3 coats.

As you can see, the topcoat is somewhat shiny. Not blazingly brilliant like a diamond, but not too bad. I am still unsatisfied with it's longwearing performance. It continues to chip after the second or third day. I am thinking about trying Poshe next. Also, that is Nicole by OPI - Love Your Life on my index and pinky fingers. I LOVE LOVE LOVE this polish for layering. The glitter and hearts are soooo cute! The formula is pretty thick and it's hard to get the hearts on the brush, so I followed some fellow bloggers' advice and dipped out the hearts with an orangewood stick and placed them in the wet glitter polish.

Also, I was at Ross the other day killing time and I saw a cute little set of 7 Color Club nail polishes. I have never tried Color Club before, but heard good things about it on Scrangie's blog. Not to mention it was only $7.99! Price tends to be a factor for me when buying beauty products, it's easier to justify spending money on myself (and not my kids) if it's good value.

These polishes don't have names so I'm not sure what they are! From what I can gather, they do these sets in Ross quite frequently. Maybe with overstocked polishes? Anyway, I'm far from a pro nail polish blogger so it doesn't bother me much! The colours are really nice, the pinks and red are cremes and the purple and blue colours have a pretty shimmer. I will be using these a lot! I will have to check back and see if I can find any more at Ross... For the price of one Essie polish I got 7 Color Club polishes! The quality seems about the same too. Can you say money saver?

That's all from me today, I will post some more about the Color Club polishes soon!

Ishah xx