Revlon ColorStay Look Book Eyeshadows

I've got a fun set of eye shadows to share with you today - these are 3 of the ColorStay Look Book palettes from Revlon. I've been eyeing these off for ages, as someone who is not an expert in makeup (although I love it and learning as much as I can!!), I'm not great with choosing which colours to wear together. So having little palettes where the colour story all matches up so perfectly makes my life really easy! 
I started by swatching each of these dry over a primer on my arm - you can see below how they all turned out. Although I discovered after wearing them that if you apply the metallic shades with a wet brush, they look very foily and pretty on the eye. I had no problems blending any of them (and goodness knows I have some palettes in the same price range that are impossible to blend!) so that was a nice surprise. Pigmentation is ok, sure it's not as good as my Stila or Too Faced palettes, but it's also a quarter of the price, and still much better than some other more affordable ones out there. For each of my looks, I applied over a very small amount of the ColorStay Eye Shadow Primer (something I have been using daily for months now!) and everything stayed in place for the day. There was a small amount of fallout from the shimmery shades, but I really did slather them on and I don't think there are many shadows this metallic out there that don't have a small amount of fall out. It wasn't enough to be a problem anyway. 
When you put them all side-by-side, I think the gold shade may be a double up, but the rest of the colours are all very individual. I also appreciate that in each palette there is a good mix of lights, darks, and metallics for us novices, which makes choosing what to put on the lids/crease easier, and there are enough options that I can get a few quite different looks from each palette. The only downside I can find is that it is quite a small palette, and the pans are quite small so you have to be very careful with your brushes to make sure you don't pick up any colours on the side. 
Ok so let's jumt into the palettes:
Enigma (920) is matte and shimmer purples and nudes. This is my personal favourite of the 3 just because even though I am pasty white, my skin is warmed toned and I feel pinks and purples always look really nice on me. I found the purples lent a bit more pink when I applied them (as you can see in the swatches) but I still really like the colours they are.

Player (910) - a mix of matte and shimmery nudes, blues and greens. I'm not normally huge on the blue look on my complexion, but holy moly I have fallen in love with the metallic (second from the top) blue. You can't really tell in my selfie, but it is BLING! I also love that it has the browns in the mix so I can tone down all the bolder colours for a day look.

Maverick (930) is a combination of matte and shimmery browns. It's very versatile for those who like a neutral look - definitely pick this up if you're a nude kinda gal! Extra points for the rose gold shade!

These palettes all have an RRP of $19.95 (although if you hunt, they do on sale regularly), and for a palette where every shade is wearable, it's worth it!


Another Born Pretty roundup.... and drama?!

So before I launch into this months' Born Pretty store, I think it would be amiss of me not to address
the drama that has been going around. If you have missed it, go check out this thread on reddit:
There have been numerous people having the same issue - I have pictures and receipts, but as they are taken from private FB groups I won't share. Just trust me this isn't a one-off occurence. So I know this is a person's reaction to someting in a product, and does sometimes happen. What concerns me is their customer service lack of care and refusal to give an MSDS. Will this impact me using their products? Heck no, I love my BP nail products! But I personally don't feel comfotable using something on a clients nails that I can't obtain an MSDS to. Happy to do it to my own nails, but to someone paying for a service - not so much. So I will personally keep using everything on my own nails, but will restrict what I use on others to products that I know will be safe, like stamping plates and foils. 

Ok, rant aside, let's launch into my latest round of pretties!
All these are available on their site www.bornprettystore.com, but they have requested that I also give out alternative links, so that's why the details look a little different to usual. 


First up is a glittery poly extension gel. I'm beginning to get the hang of working with this stuff. I just used one of my gel brushes and alchohol as the slip to work it. They have a whole bunch of elegant neautral colours and glitters, and I love that this one is a subtle gold that is almost a rose gold. It's super pretty! And of course I had to top it off with some flame stickers (from my store) because I can't leave anything plain!
http://bit.ly/2Mvgpxa          
ID=AXP46671

I grabbed a few plates this time - along with a whole bunch of extra ones that I bought from Aliexpress, because a girl can never have to many stamping plates! This one is a mandala plate that has a whole bunch of patterns to layer together. I used a Born Pretty grey gel polish, stamped in white and black, topped with matte top coat and a black gem. Like all their plates, great quality and really easy to stamp.
http://bit.ly/2ZkWZge         
ID=AXP46961

This stamping plate I chose because I liked all the long patterns that I could do right across my nails (as you can see!). That and it had a few snowflakes and stars that will look great on some Christmas nails, but it has enough designs to use year-round. Like the other plate, it was really easy to stamp with - no problems to report!
http://bit.ly/2ZkWZge         
ID=AXP46961

Lastly is a glittery shimmery dipping powder. Forgive that these nails aren't as smooth and perfect as they should be, but lately I've taken to using dipping powders on my right hand as they are so easy to apply, but I did do these over tips - so future note blend your tips properly! Anyway this powder was sooooooo pretty. It has so much depth to the colour that I couldn't stop looking at. Definitely want more from this series (and might have to turn into a traditional acrylic). 

And as always, if you do decide to order from the Born Pretty website, use my code VHW10 to get 10% off full priced items. 

Curly Girl Method

Earlier this year I tried out the Curly Girl Method on my hair to see what happened. If you're not familiar with this routine, it basically comes down to getting as much moisture as possible into your hair and styling it to enhance your natural curl as much as possible.  Almost everyone in my family has some intense curls, but mine is this weird mix of straight with some high intensity frizz. I have spent most of my adult life just straightening the heck out or it, or putting it into a pony and having a halo of frizz, so I was curious to see how my hair turned out.
So let's jump into what the routine entails!
Here is a great image I stole from Pinterest (if anyone knows the original creator let me know so I can credit). I think according to this I'm either a 2a or 2b (but my mum is about a 4a! Weird genetics).  Basically the different curl types can react differently to different products, so that along with how thick your hair strands are (fine to course) can help you work out the best routine for you.
For products you have to choose products that have NO sulfates, silicones or alcohols. Surprisingly hard to do. There are some great Facebook groups dedicated to this method that have some good guides, but otherwise you can use https://www.curlsbot.com/ to copy and paste your ingredients list and it will tell you if it's safe to use or not.

Here are the products I started with (I did acquire a LOT more, but I can since destashed and didn't tale photos...)

For a basic run down of what I did, although there are variants on this (if you want to try I suggest looking these all up on YouTube and look at https://www.naturallycurly.com/curlreading/no-poo/the-curly-girl-method-for-coily-hair):
1. To start you use a safe shampoo to do one final wash, and then from then on you only co-wash (ie scrubbing and washing your scalp only using conditioner).
2. Squish-to-condish (squishing in the conditioner to your hair and adding a little water at a time) and leave a little bit of conditioner in the hair.
3. While the hair is soaking wet, I used 'praying hands' (put your hands together lathered up with product and gently run them down the hair without pulling on it).
4. I then used a large amount of gel and with my hair upside-down, scrunched it in.
5. I then plopped it in a tshirt (lowering my head down onto the shirt so the curls naturally curled up together) and tied in onto my head to drain some of the moisture.
6. Diffuse with a hair dryer on low heat.
7. Once a week I did a deep condition, and left leave-in in my hair for 30min.

THIS is what it comes out looking like:
Pretty epic right? Yeah I love the look, and I kept to this for a few months but have now had to stop.
So what happened?
As you do this method your curls are meant to improve and your hair is meant to feel really healthy and soft. But this just didn't happen for me. I kept conditioning like crazy, even bought some rather exxy products in case it was the products I was using, but my hair just kept feeling dryer and dryer. All those beautiful curls started to turn into the worst dried out frizz ball imaginable. All I can think is either a)My hair type just doesn't mix with these products or b)we have a LOT of rust in our hot water, so my water may be too hard.
So since then I have gone back to my usual silicone-laden conditioners, and my hair is a bit better, but ever since I still struggle to get my hair back to it's normal full and soft self.
That said, if you have curly hair I TOTALLY recommend trying this out for yourself. I have seen so many amazing transformations, just sadly I wasn't one of them.
If this is something you want to try, I highly recommend joining this FB group, as they have loads of documents on products available in Aus and information on the routine, and of course support for anyone trying it out.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/curlygirlsaustralia/


Just for comparison here is my hair if I don't do anything at all:

And how I normally wear my hair (aka straightened with a bit of hair oil to weigh it down):




SpaScriptions


A few week ago I went to the launch of a new-to-Aus skincare brand called SpaScriptions. Skincare is one of those things that throughout my teens and twenties I couldn't have cared less about, but now I'm hitting mid 30's I'm really taking the time to take care of my skin and do the research as to what does and doesn't work for me. So of course I was happy to get my hands on some of their products to have a play with. They have launched with a tonne of different masks (22 of them!), 2 cleansing strips, 4 cleansing wipes and 2 accessories. You can tell just from looking at my pictures that they are quite fun and colourful without being tacky. They're all quite affordable and decent quality, and not tested on animals which is always a plus! 
So let's run through what I've gotten to play with....
Hydrogel Under-Eye Masks - RRP $11.99. You get 4 pairs of these pink under-eye pads in a box. They are filled with collagen proteins and fatty acids to help with elasticity and minimise fine lines. I've really enjoyed using these as they had a cooling effect and were very soothing on. As someone with chronic fatigue I think I have the worst possible under-eye bags in the world, and these did ease their appearance a bit and make the whole area feel really nice to touch (because everyone pokes their bags right?).
Product link here..
Hydrogel Anti-Ageing Mask - RRP $17.99, 3 treatments per pack. These also have collagen proteins and fatty acids. They felt a lot like the under-eye pads, but full face. I don't think it's possible for facemasks to ever be flattering, but I am partial to the squidgy pink look. Once again it left everything feeling smooth and soft. Very pleasant!
Facial Cleansing Power Brush - RRP $19.99. Oh boy I've been wanting something like this for ages, so I'm very excited about it! It's nice to see a cheaper version on the market - I think the savings come from it using 2 AA batteries instead of being rechargeable, but it still works a treat. My skin is super duper sensitive so I've been very cautious around the sensitive parts and going to town on the rest of my face. It makes cleaning your face the laziest task ever, and I'm living for it! Pop some cleanser and water on it, turn it on and it just takes everything off.
Product link here..
Gel Face Mask Pack - RRP $19.99. 3 pots of different masks and silicone applicator. Anti-ageing is collagen again; moisturizing is coconut oil, shea butter, vit a and e; pore refining is aloe, collagen and tea tree leaves. This pack is a good way to try different things for your skin, but I also think this would make a great gift pack - instant pamper in a box! I haven't tried them all yet, but the moisturising I can attest to being incredibly moisturising... just what my crinkly dry winter face needs!
Metallic Wash-Off Mask in Glowing - RRP $14.99. This is a luxe treatment with gold, manuka honey, and royal jelly. These come in a whole bunch of different treatments and colours, but this one is so bling of course I love it. Just look at my tragic selfie - LOOK AT THE BLING! Does't everyone love rolling their face in gold? And yes make my skin feel all nice and moisturised afterwards. The only downside is that because it is a wash off mask, expect to be finding tiny particles of gold everywhere for a few hours after it comes off! But hey, I like looking like I just walked out of a Twilight set!
Product link here..

SpaScriptions is available through their website, and you can use my code onemorecoat to receive 25% off any Spascriptions order (nope not affiliate, just a good discount).
And they will also be available at Big W.