Thursday, May 31, 2012

Nyx Green Concealer In A Jar Review


 
Ello lovelies!
Another naughty eBay purchase review for you today. I'd seen a few rave reviews on the original, skin toned Nyx Concealer In A Jar and as i was in the market for a green concealer / primer and am sadly on quite a tight budget i thought I'd give this one a bash. I've mentioned before i do get my Nyx on eBay even though there is a UK online store. Because the price difference is quite steep if you only want one item once you've paid postage its normally about double what you pay to get the product and have it shipped from the USA, madness!
 I have quite a lot of pink in my skin which as I've been using less coverage foundations lately has been really ticking me off, so i went on the hunt for a solution. Weirdly, there aren't as many green concealers / primers on the high street as you'd think. I only spotted one or two in Boots and then spent about half an hour lusting after the Smashbox one as i love the original, i just don't love the price! So eBay it was!

Sadly, i don't think this does an awful lot. Heavily swatched it looks like it'd be perfect, but it literally blends out to nothing. Even out of frustration i scooped out rather a large lump and it just blended away never to be seen again... Well thats a bit dramatic but i just don't think this works for me. I've tried it both under and over a few foundations but I've just had no luck what so ever.
Overall, yes it was a bargain at just over £4, but its not really a bargain if it doesn't work. I really wanted to love this, but i just couldn't make it work however i applied it. So if you have any tips or suggestions on application, or even any other affordable products, let me know! On the plus side the seller i purchased it from has a lot of affordable Nyx products and my package arrived in just a week, which from the USA is bloody brilliant!

You can check it out here or on the Nyx UK website.

xox

~ Quick Update on LLP and a Teaser ~

Thanks to each and everyone who participated in LLP and who commented so religiously, always encouraging me and others equally. 
Coming to the LLP details ~
  1. Thanks for following me on GFC, Networked Blogs. Please follow via Bloglovin too. The button is on the left hand side bar. Its *must*
  2. I see amazing links this time, great, its gonna be super thrilling to see who would ultimately win the hamper.
  3. Voting is going to start next month, anyone can vote except the one participating in the LLP. Yes, you can't even vote for the fellow participant (so trading doesn't start for the votes - you vote me, i vote you types?? *.*) So let your friends, relatives anyone you know vote for you. More on that soon
  4. Featured Bloggers please send me your personal email ids to lipglossaffairs@gmail.com
  5. Featured Bloggers ~ Do a blogpost announcing you being featured!
  6. I haven't figured out yet for the International Friends, its so painful to send anything from here. I am still working on it, will update you on this shortly. Apologies for same!!

~ Featured Bloggers ~

P.s ~ Girls, the featured button code is getting me crazy, just give me sometime, am working on it. You will have Featured button soon to post on your blog.

Teaser ~
Expect some polishes ofcourse little glitter, some jewelry i made hope you are a big fan of oversized earrings!! and some nail art stuff to get you going in the future parties and some tidbits.

P.s ~ One new winner every 45 days means min 6 entries, 1 entry every week. The more entries you have, more chances of you being featured. Am definitely being partial just looking at the work and not the blogger. Doesn't mean i don't love you all, you know i do *.*
Gifts are from me alone and no other party is involved in same at the moment.

Thanks for stopping by, don't forget to link your posts at my party *.*


XoXo
Sangy

~ Celebration time ~

I won these two amazing polishes from Danielle of Polish, Glitter, Rock n Roll. Check out her blog, i absolutely love her manis, what else do you expect from me?? *.*



Now aren't they gorgeous???
Yay!! Am feeling so much more happier and nice now after a long boring and moody day......


XoXo
Sangy

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

From Rags to Riches

As many of you know I am fairly new to the whole swatching thing.  By no means do I consider myself capable of "professionally analyzing" nail polish brands.  However, I have developed a new-found passion in seeking out polish shades that I find particularly attractive.  Some are very current, while others may be from last year's collection.  Through all my "investigation" I am discovering amazing attributes in some polishes/brands.  I feel that I am truly broadening my horizon when it comes to lacquers, and (I hope you will agree with me on this) my nail polish application skills as well as photography skills are improving bit by bit.

Today I would like to share one of my absolute favourites thusfar. 
Introducing - Rimmel London Lasting Finish Pro "Rags to Riches" #286
In my humble opinion it applies like a dream, has a wider-than-usual brush and this formulation is one of the best I have ever worked with.  I was so pleased that I went out and bought two more, different shades, of course, that I will show at a later date.
It certainly looked darker in the bottle, but once applied (2 coats here) it was a fresh green with a hint of shimmer to it. 
It claims to last up to 10 days, but I never have a shade on for that amount of time.  It was definitely fast-drying, which is always a nice feature.
Almost the same shot as above.  So, what do you think of the Rimmel London shades?  If you own any of them, which ones?

Special note to all of you who love Pinterest - There is a huge contest going on right now sponsored by ASK Cosmetics Inc.  Pin Me to Win Me is the title and you can have up to 40 + entries.  Complete details of how and what you can win (BTW - your choice of a prize package!) can also be found right here.

Good luck to all participants!  Thanks for stopping by.  Til next time, Lisa M.







Saran Wrap Nails ~ Technique, Swatches and LLP ~ Pink Wednesdays # 2

I found a tutorial for this amazing technique and i had to try before i shared with you all my lovelies...
So before i begin to talk non-stop again, here's the pics ~





 Products used ~
Base Coat ~ L.A.Colors and Konad
Pink Polish ~ NYX Maui Sunrise
Purple Polish ~ L'Oreal Illuminiscence
Top coat ~ L.A.Colors and Avon







Products Used ~
Base Coat ~ L.A.Colors and Konad
Glitters ~ Camieo
Pink Polish ~ Color Essence Teen Vogue

Saran Wrap = cling film
Check out video

And coming to the LLP (Lipgloss Linkup Party), thanks to all the girls who participated, a small surprise coming up so keep watching this space...
And yes there's a separate post coming up shortly, showing who were standing out in the party!!!
And coming to today's linkup party ~
Please read the guidelines carefully and thanks for joining me again *.*
~ Welcome aboard ~

Rules/Guidelines ~
  1. Link up as many posts as you would like as long as it is ~ Makeup, Beauty, Fashion, Shopping, DIY or one of your Manis, NOTD, Swatches,Tutorials or even reviews, you can link it! Anything and everything, and if it is Pink be sure to check back if you are selected for the coming week's feature :) Featured ones would be voted, and the one who gets most votes would be getting a Gift Hamper which would include mostly beauty related stuff and occasionally some hand-made jewelry. More on that soon...
  2. Please mention the linkup in your blog post with the link back to this post.                              Ex ~ Linked@Lipgloss Linkup Party  (make sure the link is active). This is a must, else you won't be eligible for being in the Featured List. Soon would come up with button so its easy for you.
  3. Take a quick moment to comment on at least two other entry. Even this is a must!
  4. Follow me via GFC, Bloglovin and Networked Blogs. All the three is a must!
Any queries pls feel free to email me at lipglossaffairs@gmail.com

So lets begin the Link up Party *.*

DIY: Fringe top

Pfft, for a moment I thought I couldn't post this DIY blogpost up already.
I accidentally took all these photos without my SD card in my camera and I have no idea how to transfer photos from my camera's build-in memory to my laptop without a USB cable.

But tralala I found my cable so hooray!

I know you all have unwanted t-shirts that you will never wear out because of the ugly design but don't want to throw away...or those that you wore way too many times and you're already bored of it!!

So in this post, I will be showing you a quick and super easy way to revamp your old top...into a trendy fringe top!

I really like fringe tops!
As much as I know, there are very limited fringe tops selling out there!
Furthermore, some of them are selling at about $20-$30. -_-
Bah, so we'll make our own! Save up those $$.

I have this T-shirt that I never wore because of the horrible pattern lol.
I'll show you how I do it!

 
All you need is an unwanted top and a pair of scissors!


Wear your top!
Mark down where you want your fringes to end. (In case you cut way too high!)


For the fringe to look 'flowy', you will have to cut the altered section of your tee as shown!
You'll end up with something like the photo below!



Now start cutting out your fringe!
Estimate the width of each fringe :D
Mine is around 1 cm.
The more fringe you have, the more 'flowy' it will turn out!


You don't have to be too neat since they are fringes anyway!


JIANG JIANG JIANG! You'll end up having this!
Now you can trim them if you don't want your fringe to be so long, or maybe cut the fringe even higher. Do whatever you think you need to!
At this point, if you want those beaded fringe style, you can put some beads into each fringe and tie a knot!
OR you can just leave it like this! :D



Try your new top on!


Taadaa!
New style to your old tee!!

Hope you like this!
.....Go try it out now! :D

Remember to show me how your new fringe top looks like after you tried it~

Mango ~ Bracelet Loops Dupe

I am kinda stalker when it comes to brands like Mango. I love their clothes and jewelry and esp the styling done on the mannequins put up in the display. So like always i kept a track of what kinda jewelry i wanna buy(some day) and this particular piece of jewelry impressed me. Well i remember wearing something similar as a teen, so saved it to my favs thinking someday i will definitely own. Just few months when i totally forgot about it, i saw this bracelet in a local beauty shop. 
I was like give me that first before anyone sees it...ssshhhhhh!!!! My friend didn't find it much lovely but she didn't knew then that its exactly a dupe of the 'Bracelet Loops' one can find in Mango online store.

Bracelet Loops @ Mango
Priced @ 1490 INR
Available Colors ~ Silver , Gold
Link here

Bracelet Loops @ Local Beauty Shop


Priced @ 60 INR
Available colors ~ Silver, Gold, Gunmetal
I picked gunmetal as i am a big fan of black metal jewelry since teens. 
Overall am pretty happy with my purchase and i didn't burn a hole in my pocket for this. 
Money saved ~ Money Earned

Anyways ~
Join the Bloghop Event here and still 8hrs left to leave your link @ Lipgloss Linkup Party 
So hurry up and don't miss the fun ....
Watch out for the Featured Bloggers and their posts who submitted their links @ LLP (Lipgloss Linkup Party)

Thanks for stopping by, till next time ......



 

XoXo
Sangy

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

~ Black Butterfly ~

I somehow liked 'Black Swan' movie alot, and when i saw this ring it just reminded me of that... only wished it to be a swan instead of butterfly but nevertheless even this is so lovely...
So to begin the story, I have been to a local beauty shop and to my surprise they had some good collection of rings. Apart from nailpolishes, rings are next fav of mine...
So going through them, i made myself a bit choosy for few mins and picked only what i thought 'i just have to have them'. So out of two, the following pic shows one, the Black Butterfly ~



Priced @ 90 INR, this was a steal for me.

Bloghop # 14 is on, have you joined??? Click here
And only 1 day left for the submissions to the linkup party, so do it now .........

P.s ~ Starting this wednesday, some rules to the linkup party will change...

Thanks for stopping by, till next time.......


XoXo
Sangy

Monday, May 28, 2012

My Top 5 Face Brushes

Heya lovelies!

I thought I'd start a little series today, "My Top Five...", starting with my favourite face brushes!

Thinking back to a few years ago i actually only owned one brush, an Avon Kabuki that i used for powder and blush and was a bit lapse on cleaning (ewww). But now I've got quite a small collection of different brushes so i thought I'd share some of my favourites. Most of these are relatively budget friendly, i don't own Mac brushes because i am just too stingy to part with that much money. But the ones i have, i love, and they do the job!

Real Techniques Contour Brush
I've got into highlighter in a big way recently, and this little beauty has probably been half the reason so. I personally find it too small for its suggested purpose but i adore it for highlighting. If I'd of done this post a month or so ago it'd be 60% different. Real Techniques brushes are my new love. Okay, so some of the sets have a few less great brushes but the couple of gems in the face set more than make up for it! This brush is a tapered, gorgeously soft beauty that just works perfectly for powder highlighters!

Real Techniques Buffing Brush
There's a good reason why this brush is so hyped about! Works perfectly for most of my liquid foundations and tinted moisturisers and leaves a beautifully blended, airbrushed finish. Again, a month or so ago i would of sworn by my Sigma F80, as i guess a lot of people would of been before discovering this brush. Like all the others its wonderfully soft, and just applies liquid foundation like a dream. Its not overly dense which i think is actually a good thing, since this drys a hell of a lot faster than other brushes. I'm SO glad i purchased this!

Real Techniques Powder Brush
So now I'm starting to sound repetitive, right? This is probably my favourite brush right now. I'd been trying so hard to keep loving my Sigma F20, but the dye had started to run whilst it was washed and it shed so much it looked like i had facial hair! Seriously, it was that bad! So this brush was a welcome addition to my collection. I've been wearing less powder recently but I've been loving this for a quick, less precise application of bronzer.
Crown C141 Small Chisel Blush
I picked this beauty up at IMATS earlier in the year and has been a staple in my makeup bag ever since. Its great for contouring and precise application of blush. I've had this almost constantly in my handbag for blush touch ups while I'm out as its small enough to shove in a small makeup bag. I think i only payed around £5 for it too, bargain!
Sigma F40 Large Angled Contour
Whilst having a love / hate relationship with a lot of my other Sigma brushes this one has remained a firm favourite. My only slight niggle is that it does slightly splay at the edges and stains particularly easy. Other than that its one of my most reached for brushes, perfect for contour and blush.

So i didn't want this post to be essay long but i thought I'd add a few honourable mentions:

Bdellium Tools - 953 Small Duo Fibre
Sigma F05 - Small Contour
Elf- Complexion Brush
Elf - Powder Brush
Sigma F80 - Flat Top Synthetic Kabuki

I'm really looking forward to writing this series, as I'd never really wanted to do a collection post but this gives me the opportunity to share more of my favourite products in different categories. Up next, eye brushes and lipsticks!

What are your favourite face brushes?


xox

Myth-Busting Monday - Facial Cleansing

Myth:  If you clean your face better, you can clear up acne.

Fact is:  Over-cleaning your face can actually make matters worse.  You see acne is caused primarily by hormonal fluctuations that affect the oil gland, creating an environment where acne-causing bacteria can flourish.  Don't confuse scrubbing or "deep cleaning" with helping acne, beacause it absolutely doesn't.  Over-cleansing your face triggers inflammation that can actually make acne worse.  What really helps breakouts is using a gentle cleanser so you don't damage your skin's outer barrier or create inflammation, both of which hinder your skin's ability to heal and fight bacteria, along with using gentle exfoliation.  An effective exfoliating product that contains salicylic acid or glycolic acid can make all the difference in reducing acne when used with a topical disinfectant containing benzoyl peroxide.  None of these products should contain any irritating ingredients whatsoever, and particularly not alcohol, menthol, peppermint, or eucalyptus.



Over the years I have tried countless products, some expensive, others less expensive, but nothing has helped my skin more than these two products: 
  • Revival Hand & Nail Cleanser - an extremely mild cleanser without harsh surfactants yet strong enough to remove all make-up in one swipe.  Recently I came home from a triathlon with black marker on my arms and legs.  This product amazed me again by removing these markings so quickly and efficiently - I can't rave enough about this cleanser.  It has also helped people with bad cases of acne.  So it can be labelled a multi-tasker - good for the entire body and very little is needed to do the job.  It is important to note that most conventional hand soaps have aqua/water listed as the first or second ingredient, whereas the Revival Hand & Nail Cleanser contains no water, but rather some of the most expensive ingredients on the market.
  • Revival Skin Conditioning Milk - a luxiurious feeling skin milk containing hylauronic acid that penetrates quickly leaving your skin with a hydrated sensation rather than a waxy film.  It is wonderful for the whole body, but I also use it on my face and it doesn't clog up my pores such as many others facial creams/lotions have done.  Recently I had one Beach-Ready Toe Nail Challenger send in her update and this is what she wrote: 

"Lastly, I simply LOVE the moisturizing milk and use it on my feet, arms, face, and everywhere.  It is silky and smooth and since I'm training for a full marathon walking, and I'll be walking in hot, hot temperatures and scorching sunshine, I do NOT want to plug my pores and skin and feel that the moisturizing milk provides me with moisture, without clogging waxes and silicones, while allowing my skin to do it's job."
Susan

Thanks for stopping by and reading.  Enjoy your day, Lisa M.

Source:  "The Original Beauty Bible" by Paula Begoun




~ Participating in Summer Challenge ~

Its been quite boring literally since the end of the recent nail art challenge. Life seems suddenly mundane... well, is it just me or is it with all of you nail art lovers out there??
So when i came across this amazing nail art challenge by Kaki and Theodara i couldn't resist *.*
If you wanna join, headover to one or both of the blogs and let them know your interest so they can include you in their list of participants. Incase you are interested, let me know too *.*
Would love to stalk you for few days.... am sure its gonna be exciting and super fun!!!

Here's the Summer challenge ~

Now is the challenge super good???

And have you submitted your post @ Lipgloss Linkup Party ???
Its a good way to get bloggers visit you...... submissions close in 2 days....


XoXo
Sangy

Hakuna Matata.

It means no worries, for the rest of your days...

"HAKUNA MATATA!!!!"
It's a problem-free philosophy! 

Recently I look so horrible, I didn't dare to take photos or film a video for you guys.
I had been postponing for quite some time, so I decided to do it today.

BUT!

I look as horrible.
I don't know what exactly happened to my face, so I'll blame the monthly thing we girls have. :(
In case you thought I didn't put in the effort, I DID!
I made THREE videos, but I look so bad in all of the videos so I deleted them.
Which means I flushed my effort down the toilet bowl.

I took some photos to make a post though! At least photos can be edited!
Somehow I want to thank my camera for being so awesome and make my skin look flawless so I don't have extra work to do....wth. 

By the way,  my eyes are so tiny that I can be blindfolded by a shoelace so I opened my eyes freaking big O_O. Then I turned out looking like ...

THIS.



Omg. -_-







Some turned out blurry :(


Top from Taobao.
I saw this on VIVI magazine and I went crazy.

That's all for now!
Let's all pray for my normal face to come back soon so I don't have to spend my time deleting videos and Photoshopping my face.

HUGS AND KISSES.