Nail Polish Love

Aloha! I picked up a new nail polish the other day! That's saying quite a lot for me. Although I love wearing nail polish, I don't tend to wear it very often as I'm usually busy freaking out about something or other. Anyway, so when I do wear nail polish, I usually just choose a colour from my little stash at home. We know I'm a sucker for pretty much anything from Catrice, and I'd been spying the Ultimate Nail Lacquer in the colour 46 Berry Potter and Plumbledore (chuckles! Catrice products always have such cute names!).

Isn't it just the prettiest colour?! I'd describe it as a purply-berry with a duochrome blue shimmer (although the blue doesn't pick up so well on camera). The brush is quite thick, which makes it really easy to get an even layer all over the nail. I applied one coat on my nails and I'm happy with the opacity of the shade. If you want to give this one a go, I got mine for R44.95 at Dischem.

Unitil next time xx

Catrice Lashes to Kill Volume Mascara Review

Hello loves!

After purchasing Catrice's Lashes to Kill False Lashes Volume Mascara, I just had to review it (yep, it's that good!).

I find the formula is neither wet nor dry, but somewhere in between. This mascara has little fibres that help to thicken and lengthen the lashes. I've applied one coat to my top lashes, wiggling the brush at the roots and then pulling through to the tips of the lashes. 

I think this mascara is freakin' fantastic! It not only lengthens the lashes and adds a tonne of volume, but it separates beautifully. It's also quite versatile, as you could do a really thin little layer for a sweet, natural look, or really pump it up for a false lash effect. I find that it's not difficult to remove at all. The only downside I've found is that when applied to the bottom lashes, it tends to do a bit of a panda-eye as the day wears on.

So be sure to try this one out, it's a winner!!!! I got mine at Dischem for R67.95.

Until next time!

Budget Friendly Beauty Haul!

Let's get real: there are tonnes and tonnes of beauty products that I'm just itching to try, but I'm on a student budget. I recently picked up a few things that are totally inexpensive.

From Ralo, I got the BB Cream Professional in the colour Light (which is surprisingly dark for the lightest shade of the bunch!) and one of the Trio Eyeshadow Shimmers in number 36. This trio has two really pretty browny-taupe shades and a dark grey. I've used the BB Cream a couple times and I think I like it! I love the how the finish is super velvety and non-oily.

The Maybelline Baby Lips line recently launched in South Africa (can I get a "whoop whoop"?). I've heard so many good things about these lip balms on YouTube and other blogs, and they are soooo inexpensive that it totally couldn't hurt to try one! Unsurprisingly, I got the red one, which is the colour Cherry Me. Can we just appreciate how amazing this thing smells?!?! Ooohhh my gosh! It reminds me of cherry-flavoured Fizz Pops! Who wouldn't want their lips to smell like that all day?!

Lastly, I went a bit Catrice crazy (oops). For my horribly oily skin, I decided to try the Prime and Fine Pore Refining Anti-shine Base which boasts that it is "mattifying, longlasting and oil-free". I'll have to give it a go the next time I wear foundation. Once again, for the oilyness I have to put up with, I picked up the Prime and Fine Eyeshadow Base. I'm super excited to try this out and see how it lives up to claims of fixing eyeshadow and making it waterproof. I also thought to try the Gel Eye Liner Brush. The bristles feel really soft and look like they will create super fine lines. You know me, what's a beauty haul without some mascara, right? Of all the mascaras I've tried, the Catrice ones have been my favourites! I thought I'd try the Lashes to Kill False Lashes Volume Mascara with Lash Extension Fibres (what a mouthful!). Mascara is my favourite thing ever and I've never tried a fibre one before, so I'm one very very excited girl. Finally, I've joined the lip balm crayon crew with the Pure Shine Colour Lip Balm in 050 Cherry-ty. This balm legit smells like vanilla, which is my favourite scent.

After that huge ramble, I now have some products to test and I'll probably return with some reviews.

Until next time xx

Favourite Hair Product

To all the curly and frizzy haired gals out there (yep, that's me), I have a product discovery that is literally incredible. I'm talking about the Lee Stafford Here Come the Curls Creme Lite. The tube says, "For limp 'n' frizzy fine to medium curls. Gives soft to touch, natural, bouncy curls with definition".

When my hair is wet, I section it in half and gather each section over a shoulder. I take a pea-sized amount of product, rub it in my hands a bit, and apply it to one half of my hair, concentrating on the ends and taking little bits higher up the shaft, then do the same with the other half. I like to take each section and curl it around my finger a little. Then I just leave the hair and don't really touch it too much until it's dry.

I think this product totally lives up to it's claims! Once my hair is dry, it has these super soft, bouncy, light-weight curls and absolutely zero frizz. Without using this creme, my hair is pretty frizzy with drier ends and less defined curls. I just absolutely love the result that this product gives! Highly recomended! I got mine at Clicks.

Until next time xx

Easter Weekend Makeup

I had some fun creating simple looks over the Easter weekend. I really like how they turned out, so I thought I'd share them with you.

 

Good Friday also happened to be my mom's birthday, so we ended up going out for lunch. I was having a pretty good skin day, so I skipped the foundation, put on some of Ralo's Brilliant Lash Mascara, and swiped a bit of the purply-berry Jay Jay's POUTMECRAZY lipgloss onto my lips (the colours of these glosses don't have names! Grr. See the image on the left for this look).

 

Saturday was a chilled day at home (I did lots of applied maths assigments), so I thought to try the red POUTMECRAZY gloss to see how it lasted over a whole day. Once again, no foundation and a bit of mascara (the Wet n Wild Megaimpact this time); this look is pictured on the top right.

We had some guests over on Easter Sunday, so my look was slightly more complicated: I wore a thin layer of Ralo's Long Lasting Liquid Foundation, some of the Bourjois Healthy Balance Powder, the purply-berry POUTMECRAZY, two coats of the Brilliant Lash Mascara, and then I layered some eyeshadows from Wet n Wild's Comfort Zone Palette. I started with the bronze crease shade on the lid and a little under the eye, then added the blue-brown definer shade on top of the bronze on the lid (this look is on the bottom right).

Until next time xx

Jay Jays Haul

 

I saw on Facebook that Jay Jays had launched a very reasonably priced cosmetics line, so I simply had to check it out (typical me!). The range includes glosses, what looks like liquid lipsticks, thin and chubby eye pencils, mascaras of varying colours (even a glittery purple one!), little eye shadow duos and a vast range of nail polishes.

From the cosmetics line, I picked up three of the POUTMECRAZY Intense Colour Lipglosses (they look super pigmented, so I think they are lipstick/gloss combination) for R25 each. The classic red and dark pink ones say "matt finish" and look totally opaque, while the purple one looks slightly more sheer and has a little bit of sparkle. I'm really excited to try these out, especially the pruple one, since winter is coming (insert cheeky Game of Thrones reference).

While checking out the Jay Jays Facebook page, I also happened to notice a really cute winter sweat shirt. I'm quite obsessed with anything French, and this shirt is so so soft and comfortable. It's loose and baggy, so I can't wait to wear it with a pair of jeans and some boots for a casual, chic look.

I might do a little review on the lipglosses sometime soon.

Until next time xx

Mini Ralo Haul and Review

 

 Can you guess what's on my face? I went to Ralo a little while ago and picked up some stuff, so I though I'd do a little haul/review. Above, I'm wearing all three products that I purchased.

Fistly is this pretty pink lippie, the Ultra Thin Lipstick in number 5 Ballet Pink (the name was on the till slip, but the actual product just has a number). The thin tube makes this lipstick very easy to apply, and the colour pay-off is great! The formula is smooth and creamy, which kind of reminds me of the Ralo Colour Blast lipsticks. Retailing at just under R40, I think this product is great value for money. Am I the only girl who has trouble finding pink lip colour to suit my complexion?

 

I could not wait to try this new Professional Eyeliner Pen! So obviously I had to buy it *guilty*. While the super fine nib makes the liner really user-friendly, I am disappointed with the colour. I was hoping for an intense black, but this liner is quite muted. However, if you're a fan of subtle liner, or just a little definition, then this is what you're looking for. I like to wear this if I'm in a rush (which is pretty much always) and just want quick, easy definition at the lashes. This product retails for R60, which is very reasonable for an eyeliner pen.

Lastly, I picked up the Brilliant Lash Mascara (of course I did, mascara addict that I am), for R60. How gorgeous is the packaging?! You get a whopping 10ml of product here, which I think is a total bargain. At first, I didn't like this mascara at all. I thought it was way too wet and difficult to apply. Now that I've fiddled with it a bit, I've learnt the best way to use it, and I must say I'm really enjoying it! As you can see in the first image, my lashes look full and long (and that's only with one coat!). I think this mascara works best when applied carefully, with a very light hand. The formula is really wet, so it can create a mess when applying if you're not careful. Volume is easily buildable, and the small brush really coats every lash well. On a weird note, this mascara also smells really good! Lol.

I'd love to hear if anyone else has tried these products, or found any other gems at good ol' Ralo.

Until next time xx