Winter = Dry Skin = :(

I love winter for the hot baths, yummy foods, and snuggly beds! One major downside to winter is that it dries out my skin something chronic!

I have dry sensitive skin at the best of times but there is something about the air or the hot hot HOT showers that disagree with my skin and one of my pet hates is having lizard legs/face.

My friend who owns a salon recommended that i try Pelactiv nightly rejuvenator cream, it costs about $85 for 50ml. This cream claims to reduce redness and pigmentation, it contains AHA'S and is great for sensitive skin.

I have had this cream for a few weeks now and here are my thoughts on it.

• It is very thick (a little goes a long way) which i like


• It is a little greasy which i also like lol ( I dont think people with oily skin would love this cream)


• It has a strong smell not overpowering just a bit fake like a cream smell *duh, - you know!


• It does moisturise my face very well, in the morning when i have a shower and wet my face i can still feel the moisturiser on my skin


• I dont find that it has reduced my pigmentation at all (i use it every night)


• If i am having a bad skin day this irritates my face and causes it to feel tight so i dont think its great for very sensitive skin.

All in all its a good moisturising cream, i dont think i will repurchase just beacause i think for the price i could get something better.

If i have really dry skin at night time i will apply lucas paw paw ointment all over my face ( this is a thick thick like paste stuff that is great for keeping the moisture in the skin) Its like elizabeth arden 8 hour cream (Its a cult product here in Australia) i will apply that to my lips too.

What moisturisers do you guys like? I would love to know it will give me an idea for my next purchase. Have a good night! Nic :) xx

My Make-up Brushes :)

BRUSHES

I thought i would share with you my make-up brushes, what i use them for and what ones i dont use that often. If you are just starting out buying brushes this blog may help you :)

The first lot of brushes that i own are my face brushes, these ones i use for blush/ setting powder. The first one is my MAC 150 brush this brush isnt as soft as some natural bristle brushes on my skin, i mainly use this for all over setting powder rather than applying blush as it is very full and i find that i cant place the blush in the right spot with this brush, i also find this brush shreds like nothing else! Its about $80 australian dollars and its one i could live without.

The middle brush is my ecotools blush brush, i lovvvee this brush, its sooo soft on my skin,places the product really well and is tapered to a slight point at the top so its easy to use,i use this brush for blush/ bronzer. Its very full of natural hair and has not shred yet! I would rather have this brush than the mac 150. I believe these brushes are at priceline and are well worth the money (this one was about $11 i think).

The last face brush is from Macs christmas collection just gone (2009) its the mac 129se its a smaller version (travel size), i love the colour its a gun metal shiney grey. The bristles are not that soft, but i find this brush great for bronzer on the temples or blush on the apples of the cheeks.

These are my eye brushes to place product, the one i use everyday is my MAC 239, this one is the best, it has firm tapered bristles with a rounded edge and is great for applying and blending shadow. You can also use this brush to blend out products such as paint pots, shade sticks. I do believe this is a must have brush! Its about $48 but well worth it.

The middle brush is a fluffy MAC 227, also with a rounded edge. I use this to apply shadow all over the eye socket even up to the brow bown. This is the travel sized one,

The last one is also a mini MAC 275se I like this one as it is fluffy and angled so its great for accurate blending of shadows.I like to use this one on the outer corner of the eye to apply a darker shadow.

These brushes i mainly use for gel liners.

The first one is from coastal scents and its the bent liner. I love this one, it has a skinny handle which makes it easier to manouver, the brush itself is bent to an angle and has very skinny bristles this is great for accurate work on the eye. I use it on the top of my eye with a gel liner.

The middle one is my jane iredale angled liner. I love this brush too! Its angled and has a sharp point this makes it great to line the bottom of my eyes.

The last brush is a MAC 212SE also travel size ( gotta love travel size lol) this is a "flat definer" its synthetic therefore is great for powders,or liquid products, i use this to blend pencil liner on top or bottom its bristles are quite firm.

Here we have my foundation brushes, i do use all of these with different products, i find that my different foundations work better with different brushes. The first one is my Lancome 2 foundation brush, i like the long handle on this one, it is tapered at the top which makes it great to get into those hard spots such as around the nose and eye sockets.

The middle one is my fave! Its the MAC 188 duo fibre brush its the small one, there is a large one but i decided to go with the small one as it was cheaper and i hadn't used this type of brush before so i wanted to give it a go. I like to use this with liquid foundations like MAC studio fix fluid. I put the foundation on the back of my hand and dip the whites of the bristles into the foundation. I like to softly dab the brush on my face rather then use it in strokes like a normal foundation brush as i find that it pushes the product right into my skin and never leaves me streaky, i also like to use this to apply cream blush as it blends the product well. If i am applying it to arease like under the eye or around the nose i squish it a bit to shape it to fit those places.
The last one is a MAC 190se (travel) i take this one away with me, its a great synthetic brush.

I think everyone needs a blending brush, these are both from coastal scents, the first one is very thick badger hair and i find myself reaching for this one everday. It is great for blending out shadows. This works well with heavy shadow such as the smokey eye as it is so thick, it is angled which makes it great for blening out.

The last one is a rounded much fluffier blending brush, this one i use in rounded motion to blend mainly into the socket. Sometimes i use both of these i will use the last one to place a darker colour in the crease or outer eye and then i will blend up and out with the first one.

Here is my first brush i ever brought, its the "Handi" from Jane Iredale, i use this brush like a kabuki as it has a flat top. Great for setting powders i buff this into the skin in twirling circle motions, i sometimes use it for bronzers and blush, i just squeeze it together to get the right angle. If you use mineral or setting powders this is a great brush to have (or a Kabuki).

The first one here is my brow brush, it has thicker bristles than my liner brushes thats why i like it for my brows, it is by smashbox its the double ended one. It is supposed to be a liner brush but i find it much to thick.

The last one is from sigma, its the pencil brush, this is great for applying colour to the bottom lashes, or socket work, it is round tapered at the top. Great for detail work. Also used for placing colour near the tear ducts.

I keep my brushes in a pencil container with different compartments i got it from officeline. I also wash my brushes regularly with the mac brush cleaner, once that runs out i will just wash them in a mild shampoo such as baby shampoo as it does the same job and is alot cheaper!

So if you are wondering what brushes are must haves i would recommend the 239 eye shadow brush, a foundation brush, a powder brush such as a kabuki, & a liner brush. the good thing about brushes is that you can use them in lots of different ways eg the powder brush you could use a blush/bronzer brush and liner brush can be used as eyebrow brush.

What are some of your favourite brushes? xx Nicole

Sharing the love - You-tube

When i first started watching you-tube i thought it was just a place where people put up poor quality home made videos of their "totally sick burn outs" and such. One day i put in the search bar make-up, and that is when life changed ;) I was so amazed at how many you-tube make-up and beauty videos there were out their, i watched in awe for hours on end. That was when i fell in love with make-up and beauty products and from then on i could not get enough of it! I still cant, i love watching the really talented gurus apply make-up like they have been doing it forever, i also love listening to reviews, watching hauls fashion and beauty, i love products of the month, and just listening to someone ramble on. I feel like i know all of these people and they all inspire me to try new things with my make-up.

The first guru i ever subscribed to is lollipop26 (Laura) she has the coolest accent and i could just listen to her all day, she mainly does reviews and is very honest about all products in my opinion.
She is still one of my faves.

Other faves are AllThatGlitters21 (Elle), she inspires me as she is so young but so business savoy, she does nice make up tutorials and good reviews and will make you laugh she is probably one of the most popular gurus on you-tube.

dazzledust25 (Amy) she is so entertaining! She always seems so happy and bubbly and her vids are great as well as her blog.

kandeejohnson- who doesn't know of kandee, she is great and so pretty and makes make- up look a cinch she is very genuine and is soo talented.

pixiwoo - These two are sisters and are mega talented, i am so grateful when they put up new vids as they must be so busy with their work they are both talented make up artists and do magazines and tv (*dreams)

I have subscribed to many more but these are the gals i still get excited about when i see new videos, if you haven't tuned in to the you-tube world yet i suggest you have a look, you wont regret it!! :)

Long time no see..

I have been really slack with my blog of late, but while i have been busy doing other things i have been thinking of all sorts of blog posts so you may get sick of me soon lol.
The main reason i haven't been blogging is because i have been doing some renovations to my bathroom, i am now a jack of all trades specialising in painting, plumbing, and concreting. I really wanted it finished before winter comes along, main reason being so i can have a bath tub! wooo! Our bathroom now is sixties style green, has hand rails in the shower (good to hold with a hangover) and a leaky old sink, the other day i closed the toliet lid and 21 tiles off the bathroom wall fell off!! Need i say more.. So i am super excited to use our new bathroom and have a steaming hot bath with lots of lush goodies involved. I have already done some online lush shopping, the things i ordered are- Vanilla fountain bath ballistic, flosty gritter bubble bar which is covered in pink sparkles ah heaven, the comforter bubble bar i have had this one before and it smells like berries, rock star soap- a cult product, i also got another shimmy shimmy massage bar for after the bath this has really shimmery glitter particles in it and smells like a mixture of creamy vanilla, honey,and sweet herbs (maybe i should stop describing smells ;) the other products that smell like this that i have and looove is the american cream hair conditioner (although the actual product does nothing for the wellbeing of my hair) and the concentrated perfume in american cream. They are probably my fave scents ever. What are your favourite lush products? I havent tried any of their face masks but would like to,any suggestions??
I will post some piccies of my nearly finished bathroom from the humble beginning as an old laundry to what it is now, i really like it what do you think??

So today i had a hairdressers appointment, i love getting my hair done, the massage of my scalp, the smell of the products they use that seem to linger for the rest of the day, the fresh vibrant colours and most of all leaving with a freshly cut/styled coloured hair-do!

Normally i am pretty safe when it comes to colours, i am blonde (naturally) and proud! I did go brunette once and it was such a shock to my system and i just didn't feel like myself for some reason, so i went back to my roots (literally) quick smart.

As i was saying before normally i stick to what i know with colour. But today i felt like a change!! So as i sat in the chair with my hairdresser saying" just the norm today Nicole" about to go mix the colour without waiting for my reply, i said lets go for something a bit different!!

After looking through the mags for inspiration i decided to go really blonde (i am normally just a dark sandy blonde) with brown underneath and some brown through my fringe.

We decided not to go bleach blonde as my hair is very fine and thin and doesn't like really harsh chemicals, i chose a darkish brown for underneath to complement the blonde, ( next time i may go with a brown with a reddish reflex). I am really happy with how it came out, i wasn't to shocked with it, and i think i will stick with it for a while. I also got a trim ( i am trying to grow my hair) and i got a long fringe cut which i need to train to stay put as i have a cowlick right in the middle of my hairline so my fringe looks like an open curtain unless i train it lol.

I was in need of some new shampoo and conditioner, and my hairdresser recommended "pureology."(I believe they are a Loreal brand). Now this shampoo and conditioner was not cheap, $38 per bottle. I got the Antifade complex one that is supposed to not strip the colour out of your hair. It came with a money back guarantee so i thought i would give it a go. They actually smell really yummy. The shampoo is like a jojoba/violet herbal kind of smell and the conditioner is like a refreshing minty/menthol herbal smell. What differs these products from other anti fade shampoos is that these have no sulfate in them ( the stuff that makes your hair lather) which can strip the hair of colour. They also have 100% vegan ingredients in them which can't be a bad thing. I will let you guys know how they are going once i have given them a proper workout.Oh On my way home i saw this cute cardie in a shop window, its leopard and i lovvvve leopard print, isnt it just to cute!! --------------------->>>>>>>

What shampoo and conditioner are you using at the moment?? Do you think that the salon products are better then the drugstore ones?

Talk soon :)

My Ins and Outs of March :)

I thought i would post my ins and outs of the month, i find them really interesting to read on other peoples blogs so here are mine

In's =

• My new colossal volume mascara, lovn it


• The cool weather change, meaning the end of a hot summer


• Bringing out the winter pjs (even though it is not winter yet)


• Dark opi nail colours especially reds and purples


• Having nearly finished renovating the bathroom meaning i will finally have a bath! Yay


• which brings me on to shopping at Lush to buy yummy products for that bath!! (Rockstar soap and shimmy shimmy massage bar for after soaking being my faves)


• Lady gaga's Alejandro song although i cant quite do the tongue rolling technique she does when singing it.


• My birthday,- meaning presents :)


• Macs well dressed blush, this one has been hiding in the bottom of the draw and i forgot about it, i love "re-finding" products.


• And last but not least, starting this blog, i wish i started earlier! (Hopefully i will get better as time goes on lol)

Outs:

• Going to work when it is still dark outside


• opening my chanel bronzer only to find it is cracked beyond repair! Grrr


• When one nail breaks and all my others are at a perfect length (my pet hate) meaning i have to file them all down!


• Finishing the last stash of my easter eggs, noooooo!!

What are your ins and outs??