NOTD - China Glaze 'Seduce Me'

I LOVE this colour.  This will be on my toenails ALL WINTER.  Divine.

When I saw this bottle I thought it was a purple-red colour, but when I photographed it the purple disappeared! It's much darker in daylight, but I can't get a good photo because of (yet another) overcast day.  I need some sunlight!!

NOTD - China Glaze 'Black Diamond'

As soon as the weather cools more than 4 degrees I bring out my dark polishes. This was a new addition that caught my eye.

Grey is apparently the 'It' colour for winter, and I love this gun-metal grey version. The shimmer keeps the colour from falling too flat, and I think it's also really versatile to complement winter wardrobes. I was surprised with the watery consistency of the polish though, and you need a good three coats for an opaque look.

Excuse the dodgy paint job! I usually keep dark polish to the toes because of my dodgy skills, but I'm trying to get better!

What's your verdict on grey nails?

MAC 'Naked Liner' lipliner, 'Myself' lipstick and a Lip Tar experiment

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As soon as I saw the Too Fabulous collection from MAC I knew this was a collection calling my name. Gorgeous creamy textures, soft colours and a very girly feel. That being said, I'm trying to behave myself and not spend so much on makeup, so I limited myself to the one product that immediately drew me in.

'Naked Liner' seemed to be the nude I have been looking for - so often a 'nude' lipliner is too dark, especially for people who have naturally lighter lips. This looked perfect!

This is my natural lip, then with Naked Liner applied:

  

Yeah - it's REALLY nude.  As in skin-colour nude, not lip-colour nude.  This freaked me out at the counter, but now I see so many uses for this.  Not only is it great for cancelling out your lip colour altogether, but it's great to totally block out your natural lip shape so you can then redraw it!  The touch of pink works really well to avoid looking deathly.

To prove this I did a little experiment.  I lined half my lips with Naked Liner:

Then I added RX Lip Tar:

Can you see how much smoother the texture is?  The colour more vibrant?  And it was so easy to get the intensity with the liner, in comparison to the non-lined side which took a lot more blending and layering.  And added bonus is that the liner gets rid of any redness or discolouration around the lip, so your lipstick line looks really crisp.

And just for fun, I added Anime Lip Tar to the bottom lip:

It constantly amazes me how versatile Lip Tars are.  The colours blend well whether you're mixing them first or just applying straight on the lip (like I did here).  I've got ten colours, but there are new ones coming out - I'll see if I can swatch them for you!

Anyway, back to MAC...

While I was at the counter I looked for a nude lipstick (I don't own one - what's with that??) and I picked up 'Myself' lustre lipstick from the All Ages, All Races, All Sexes collection.

  

I really like this colour!  It's nude, but it's more on the mauve-side so it's still interesting to wear.  The tiniest amount of shimmer keeps it from looking too flat.  Really like!

Here is Naked Liner with Myself lipstick:

I'm really glad I got these two colours.  Naked Liner is probably a little too 'nude' on it's own for me, but it makes other colours so vibrant and your lip line so clear.  Myself will now live in my handbag as my go-to lipstick, as it's so versatile.

MAC can be purchased all over the place, and the Lip Tars were from the lovely Rachael at Makeup and Glow - www.makeupandglow.com.au.

It's almost my favourite day of the year!!

It's not my birthday... it's not Christmas...

It's OSCARS DAY!!  *happy dance*
Monday is the day, Australia!!  The 82nd Annual Academy Awards are on!!

I love the awards season with an unhealthy passion.  Everything about them intrigues me - the fashion, the trends, the politics between winners and losers (Hurt Locker vs Avatar anyone?), the crocodile tears during speeches - I love it all.  I love it so much that I take the day off work to watch the live red carpet and awards ceremony on Foxtel. I sit in my living room, live blogs on the laptop, E! red carpet coverage and a brand new pedicure in progress.  And this year, like I did with the Golden Globes, I'll be tweeting up a storm!

If you want to be kept up to date with everything that is happening, add me on Twitter!  @counterobsess
If you have a proper grown up job that you can't watch all the action or follow the feeds, then I'll post a wrap up of all the fashion and beauty looks from the stars.

You can always count on certain celebrities to turn on the glamour and look amazing, while others can be a bit hit-and-miss.  Kate Winslet is yet to let me down this season, sticking to the failsafe old-school Hollywood glamour and polished perfection.  I'll be keen to see what she wears, along with Drew Barrymore - who is a bit more unpredictable, but I love the risks that she takes.  Carey Mulligan is part of the young, up-and-coming starlets who continually looks fresh and amazing - I wonder if her new boyf Shia LaBeouf will be her arm candy?

Who are you looking forward to seeing on Monday??

Makeup For Ever Aqua Eyes

I bought these pencils last year at IMATS, and just fell in love.  Beautiful colour, smooth as silk to apply, and great longevity (they're waterproof!).  They are pricey ($32 each from http://www.mediamakeup.com.au/) and the application needs to be smooth to get a long-lasting result, but the payoff is worth it.

Since I already had black and brown pencil liners (and they look so dull compared to this range) I went for some colour -

From top to bottom - 10L (Copper), 11L (Purple), 22L (Silver) and 12L (Blue with Green Highlights)

Here are the swatches.  You can see that the Copper is a little chunky, which can happen.  The pencils are so soft, but if you sharpen them and wipe them clean any clumps should be taken care of.

Then to test the 'waterproofness' (I like to make up words!) I washed my arm with soap five times, and patted it dry in between each wash.  The results are below:

The clumps that were in the original swatch are the first to go, which is another great reason to ensure no chunky bits.  The others have faded slightly, but otherwise the colour is still strong.  I love this since the humidity in Brisbane gives me panda eyes, or I'm having a teary moment watching The Notebook I can recover with no telltale signs.

These liners are some of my favourites in my kit, because the vibrancy always shows up well in photos and the models love it!  I often use the Copper colour on a model's waterline to give some dimension to her eyes, and the result is amazing.

If you want a pop of colour that's going to last and you're prepared to pay for it, then I highly recommend these liners.  But I won't be spending the money on the standard black/brown tones - I think there are other brands that are easier to get hold of and a better price.

Do you wear coloured liner?  What's your preferred brand?

P.S.  Don't forget to subscribe and vote in my poll!!  xx

EOTD - Neutral Work Look

My first Eye of the Day post!  This was a super neutral look, brought to you by the Yaby Neutrals palette.  This is the first palette I break out on ANY job, and it always serves me well.  It's much more than neutrals - the blues are amazing as well.  My only complaint is the small number of truly matte shades, which I need to use a lot for mature clients and bridal.

So this is how I looked today!

 

Now I count rows (R) top to bottom, and columns (C) left to right.  Try to keep up!
Base: didn't use one.  I usually don't if it's a pretty natural look.
Colour wash:  R2C5 to just above crease
Brow highlight:  R1C5
Crease contour:  R4C7
Top Liner:  R5C1
Bottom Liner:  R4C7
Mascara:  Gorgeous Cosmetics Formula Five in Onyx Black

This is my 'fallback' look when I don't have time to experiment and need to look polished in a hurry.  I'm usually running late so I like something that is quick and pretty foolproof.  Since I've already got my base on I just add blush and lip balm and I'm out the door.  Complicated looks are for weekends when I have more time!

I'll try to be more adventurous next time  :)

What's your 'fallback' look?

Graftobian High Definition Foundation and Beauty Blender

First blog for my March blogging bonanza! A blog every day - that's 31 posts of goodness!

I thought I would start by showing you my everyday foundation - Graftobian High Definition Foundation. I actually bought a palette for my makeup kit, and liked it so much I bought a full-size tub in my colour. And at $20, it was cheaper than a lot of 'drugstore' foundations, so there was nothing to lose!

 

Let's get something out of the way early - it's an oil based foundation. Now before you run to the hills, let me explain that it is GOOD oil. Yes, there is such a thing. They use lanolin oil in this foundation, which actually is very moisturising and has a lot of healing properties. I have oily skin, and my skin ADORES this foundation. I no longer have issues with the air con at work drying out my skin, and it's only the second time that I still have found foundation on my entire face at the end of the day (first time was Colourstay).

An important thing to remember is that a little goes a long, long, LONG way. Seriously. If you use a brush, barely touch your brush to the pan and then buff like you've never buffed before. But you can also use it as your foundation AND concealer, by just using your fingers for a heavier coverage. Just pressing my ring finger gives me enough to conceal under eyes, chin, nose and eyelids. Crazy. This also means that this 14g pot will last you a LONG TIME. I'm at least three months in and I haven't even finished half. Amazing.

I used to try to blend with a foundation brush, but since my discovery of the Beauty Blender it's cut my application time in half. Instantly blended, easy to build up coverage and a gorgeous finish. There are heaps of reviews out there, and it's as good as everyone says. Pricey ($49.95 for 1 sponge + cleanser - and you NEED to use the special cleanser, as others start to break the sponge down) but well worth it. A makeup artist I know said her longest sponge lasted 18 months, and only got rid of it because it 'looked' worn. It's genius lies in the rounded end which is great for large areas and doesn't leave any hard edges, then the pointed end gets into small nooks and crannies for flawless application in seconds.

  

This foundation definitely needs to be set with a powder, as the oils mean it's prone to sliding around your face. I used the Ben Nye Neutral Set here, and although I use a brush I give it a decent powder. A puff wouldn't hurt. Set that puppy well and you'll be a happy camper all day.

Both of these products can be purchased from my favourite online store Makeup and Glow - www.makeupandglow.com.au.

What's your favourite foundation?