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nails

NOTD - Sally Hansen Salon Effects in Girl Power

Pfffft I say to Christmas themed nails. They are all cool whites and reds and kitschy green. It's summer, dangnabbit, and even though Sydney's forecast of rain and clouds don't agree, I at least want to pretend it's fresh and sunny out. Voila my cure That's why I've popped on Sally Hansen Salon Effects Real Nail Polish Strips in their gorgeous Girl Flower print....

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hair

Redken Nature Rescue Refining Sea Polish review

Sometimes I feel like there's nothing better than a good, grainy exfoliation. To slough off those rough elbow and knees, to prepare your skin for a super even and smooth tan, and to make my face glow. I especially love full body scrubs being massaged in by Ryan Gosling and Jason Segal. Well, I'm sure I'll love it when my boyfriend gets this...

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body

Smith Street Market Body Lotions & Body Wash Review

So does this packaging look familiar to you? Black lowercase text, cute story, bright content and sweet scents? I'm always a little resentful of copycat shenanigans trying to Jedi mind-trick me into buying the wrong brand, but in this case it worked. I nabbed three of these Smith Street Market body products at Coles while buying yogurt on my lunch-break, no doubt attracted...

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face

Biotherm Biosource Self-Foaming Cleansing Water - review

Confession time! I haven't used a pump 'n' foam style cleanser since my mother, the Nutrimetics obsessive gifted me six of theirs, all in tween friendly flavours like melon/cucumber, papaya, green tea and my favourite, fruity fig. I enjoyed them (mostly for the sugar-pumped scents), but after two years getting through them, I moved on to creamier pastures and left foaming fields behind....

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face

Biotherm BB Cream White D-Tox review

HELLO LADY!!! It has been SOOOO long! I lurve what you've done with your hair/lips/lashes/nose/nails/Medusa-like nest of snakes. I know I promised to talk sooner, but I was like moving house, well teeny studio apartment really, and I technically have no internet outside of work because phones lines and blaaaah, so I'm now being all crafty-like at Starbucks and nursing an Americano for...

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hair

My Pink Balayage Hair - An At-Home Experiment!

Ok, so I've dyed my hair just once before, and it was pretty much a disaster. So when I woke up last week and thought "Oh my God. I'm 24 and boring and not very crazy or wild or doing anything extreme RIGHT NOW! I NEED TO DO SOMETHING EXCITING!!", it took me quite by surprise. Figuring it was a quarter-life crisis, and...

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fragrance

Costume National Pop Collection - perfume review

One day I'll woman up, and admit this is actually a perfume blog, with a weenie amount of other products chucked in. Until then I guess I'll soldier on with my normal stuff. Oh hey look, another perfume review! SURPRISE! “The inspiration for this collection comes from the work I did a few months ago for the band OK GO!. Four sartorial outfits, each...

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face

Carmex Moisture Plus Ultra Hydrating Lip Balm review

So, who here still uses Carmex? I remember the little yellow tubs being a staple at high school among my friends, but the tingly feeling upon application was all a bit too much for my sensitive lips (yes, I'm a bit of a delicate petal). Fast forward to 2011, and we have a new, sexy Carmex, one that comes in a sleek little...

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fragrance

Violet Blonde. A review haiku.

Keep saying 'violent' Candied violets, iris, snore Christmas best seller Honestly, there's not much more to say. It's safe and sure to be a mainstream favourite. It's like a slightly sexier version of YSL's Parisian, with the powder of Balenciaga's Paris (what is with Paris and violet based scents?), and minus the rose from both. It's a pretty floral, but didn't wow me....

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hair

Redken Extreme CAT Protein Reconstructing Treatment review

I have fluffy, dry, fly-away fatty boombah hair. It needs serums, constant conditioning, masque-ing and little murmurs of what a clever and pretty head of hair it is to stop it chucking tantys and frizzing all over the place just when I'm having that one Facebook group photo taken that everyone decided to use as a profile pic. Oh the sticky shame. So...

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MAKE-UP

Happy Halloween!

Just had to share a pic of the crazy feather lashes I wore with my Halloween costume on Saturday. They were $4 (yeah I know) from the Japanese beauty shop around the corner from work and I attached them with MAC Duo adhesive.  I ended up chopping them in half because they were so full on and just used them on the upper...

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fragrance

Gorilla Perfume's Dirty is surprisingly clean-smelling

I showed my boyfriend my blog this morning (which may have been a mistake HI BABE!) and he wanted to know why I haven't written more about the products that I force onto him weekly. So here's the now not so new range of Dirty products from Gorilla Perfume at Lush that Boyfriend has been using for a month or so now. All products...

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fragrance

America's Next Top Model announces fragrance, sadly doesn't name it 'Smize', 'Patently Gauche' or 'Noted Fashion Perfume, Nigel Barker'

In the interest of full disclosure, I have to say that I love love LOVE America's Next Top Model. I love how it went from a half-way focused model search, to baiting clashing personalities against each other while covering them in bees, to where it is today as a glorious search for Tyra's Next Top Tyra in Cycle 17's All-Stars. TYRA!!!!! It is...

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MAKE-UP

shu uemura rouge unlimited lipstick in 'glitter fuse'

This rouge unlimited lipstick is so meta. It comes from shu uemura's limited edition make-up range, 'rouge et bleu', which was inspired by director Wong Kar Wai, who was inspired by his short film, 'Mask', which in turn was inspired by a poem by Charles Bukowski, from his collection 'Burning in Water, Drowning in Flame'. So what kind of lipstick does positively a...

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face

Le Tan Daily Face Sheer Tint

Hey, you guys! It was WARM this weekend. I saw the sun! It was shiny and yellow and ever so welcome. Now that I've had this teeny glimpse of all the sunshine and happiness and lollipops that summer brings, there's no way I'm going back to anything dreary and cold and wintery. I've space-bagged my coats (7 to one bag, new record!) and...

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fragrance

New Nine West perfume has appropriate bottle

How fun is this bottle? I love the heel accent and how they didn't go too kitschy, with a shoe shaped bottle like Anna Dello Russo's namesake. It's subtle, just like her The name, Love Fury, is a little random though. What a wasted opportunity for a pun involving soles or heels (HeelScent!) Shame. ...

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MAKE-UP

Zombie Boy Rick Genest in a hypnotising ad for concealer

'Zombie Boy' Rick Genest has based a career on his eerie appearance, with his full body skeleton tattoos appearing in Nicola Formichetti's Mugler shows, Lady Gaga videos and young children's night terrors.  And maybe my more sexy dreams too. That suit, mmmhmm. ...

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fragrance

Madly Kenzo - fragrance review

I'm a Kenzo fan girl. Kenzo Flower is the white button-up shirt of my perfume wardrobe, Jungle L'Elephant is on my to-buy list, his Yuzu and Plum Blossum soliflores are fixtures and UFO (Unidentified Fragrance Object) is as gorgeous as it was rare (marble accord! Only 1000 bottles made!) So when I saw the new Madly Kenzo's pretty, bright and butterfly-y box, I was...

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fragrance

RIP Santal Blush

I've been called overly dramatic before, mostly by my parents. And boyfriends. And teachers. But I don't think they really know what they are talking about, as some circumstances practically demand drama and maybe a teeny bit of veering-on-hysterical sobbing.  Yep, something like this Say, if I happened to be cleaning (not by choice) and say I happened to knock ever so gently with...

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body

Derma Intensive+ Q10 Firming Body Lotion

Coles supermarkets have nicked the popular UK line Derma Intensive+ from Tesco's for their own shelves, along with the very attractive price range, starting from $4.99. The Q10 firming body lotion is now being stocked at Coles, in 250ml and 500ml. I'm not too sold on the packaging (too much small text, too many fonts, blah colour scheme, extra apostrophe), but it would be...

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fragrance

Gardenia goodies - my favourite gardenia fragrances

Gardenia is one of my favourite scents, in both bloom on the bush form and as a perfume note. If a new fragrance even has gardenia listed, I'll order a tester so I don't miss out discovering The One, that gardenia containing frag that I'll never tire of, that will never change with my body chemistry, and most importantly won't go all old...

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fragrance

Douglas Hannant de Robert Piguet - perfume review

Robert Piguet hasn't produced a new fragrance in forever, so I was stoked to see a bottle of Douglas Hannant de Robert Piguet materialise on my coworker's desk. As it's produced with Douglas Hannant, go to designer for classic gowns and debutante wear for trust fund babies, and a brand that just barely registers with me, I was predicting something safe and likable, but...

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face

Best Boy-Skin Bumps Fixer-Upper - Kerstin Florian At-Home Professional Peel

Last week, I was lucky enough to be treated to a facial at the Hilton Sydney, using Kerstin Florian products. Part of the process included a mini peel, which I was a little cautious about trying, as my skin is quite dry and smooth (and young!) already. The next day I woke up to honestly the bestest skin ever. Mine is normally quite...

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fragrance

My new favourite candle- Gascoigne & King in Aria

I've been burning this candle by Gascoigne & King all long weekend, which I spent huddled up in the Hunter Valley, with my oldest and dearest friends,wine and sleep. This is the first product I've tried from them, and it is really divine and a little different from your regular single note candles.  ...

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face

A'kin Pure Alchemy Cellular Radiance Serum

I've been loving rosehip oil as a ultra rich face serum as a fix for my dry, tight skin for a few years now. I've made my way through a few different brands from Trilogy to the generic one for a local health store. So far my favourite has been REN's Rose O12 Moisture Defence serum, despite its exxy price tag, it's consistently...

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nails

Sally Hansen Salon Effects

Sally Hansen Salon Effects Real Nail Polish Strips in Collide-O-Scope. They were super easy to apply, even for a fumble fingers like me and lasted for about 10 days. The 80's kinda design isn't my favourite from the range, but drew so many comments from people noticing and loving them!   ...

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hair

My first time dying my hair aka that day my hair turned yellow

My poor, unsuspecting hair, pre-dye Last weekend I was kept inside by the yucky Sydney weather. With the boyf busy doing up his resume, I very quickly got bored off my tits and decided to dye my super blonde virgin hair in order to bring out some highlights. Obviously I had no idea what the shit I was thinking, as after a half...

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fragrance

Bottega Veneta - fragrance review

That's not Natalie Portman, but Nine d'Urso, daughter of Inès de la Fressange When I first heard that Italian brand Bottega Veneta, known for their crazy-soft leather products (there are some bad, unprintable lest the feds show up at my door bad things I would do to get my grubby hands on one of their classic purses) was side-stepping into perfume production, I...

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fragrance

Tom Ford Private Blend Santal Blush - fragrance review

I snagged a sample vial of Santal Blush online, and was so excited to sniff it that I spritzed some on the bus, No complaints from the other riders, Santal Blush is approachable and cuddly,with a hint of something a little more exotic.  As with all Tom Ford scents, the bottle is classically gorgeous, crafted from a clear glass with a warm gold coloured name...

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FOOD

High Tea at The Intercontinental's Café Opera.

Top: Scones! Bottom, L to R: Yogurt Creme Brulee, Opera Cake, Flourless Carrot Cake, Chocolate Caramel Slice and Raspberry Macarons It’s not even slightly beauty related, but I just had to share this. Sydney’s Intercontinental Hotel was lovely enough to invite me and a few other ladies to high tea at the rejuvenated Café Opera. I was seated next to Lee Tulloch, who is as...

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nails

Animal print nails

A v messy leopard print, done during an episode of Nip/Tuck (Matt the mime gets shot/is a jerk/is arrested, I rejoice). Grrrrr! I followed Jenna's instruction on Jezebel (jezebel.com/5825805/how-to-paint-your-nails-with-a-charming-leopard-print) and seeing I actually had similar colours to what she used, borrowed the colour scheme too. I used two OPI colours, Lincoln Park After Dark and the light blue from their Shrek Minis collection....

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MAKE-UP

Australis Show Stopper Gloss Stick & Mint Condition Lip Gloss review and swatches

When I was a single gal, glossy red lips were my works-every-time secret weapon. Guys would swarm adoringly, the ladies would unabashedly ask what colour I was wearing in line for the loos. Nothing boosts confidence more than a pair of rouged up, sex-pot lips and the promise their kiss mark leaves on a glass, napkin or cheek. Now I’m all (v happily)...

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face

Estee Lauder Idealist Even Skintone Illuminator - product review

Shiny, pretty shiny-ness. They say: This intensive, yet gentle oil-free serum features powerful technologies to address the look of every key sign of uneven skintone: Triple-Optic Technology provides skin with a brighter, more luminous look from the very first application. CorrectTone Technology visibly reduces uneven skintone in 2 weeks, while anti-oxidants help prevent its re-appearance.  One of my favourite things about beauty products is the pretty,...

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