An Easy Festive Forest Green Manicure

Around this time of year, one of my favourite things to see is a cheerful festive manicure! Even my sister-in-law is rocking this amazing red glittery snowflake adorned polish that is making me smile every time I see her! When I went to get my nails done after we returned from overseas I spotted the most beautiful green on my manicurist and that is how I ended up with my first festive mani for the season. Green polishes are most certainly my kryptonite at the moment with more than a few coming home with me from the US, and so this seemed a natural choice for a Christmas green!

 

The polish was a brand called Morgan Taylor which I’d not heard of before, but when we went to paint my acrylics we realised another lady in the salon was getting her nails done with the very same shade! I love knowing that 3 women in the one room had the same beautifully festive nails so I was happy to wait to use the shade, which is adorably named Later Alligator…as if I didn’t already love it enough! I topped my ring fingers with two light coats of Sinful Colours Call You Later which I had just purchased on clearance from Target and I like the way the names fit well together and that the gold and green shimmers bring a bit of pizazz to the forest green crème shade.

I’m currently considering my next festive manicure to take me through Christmas day and I’m not sure if I want to go down the red route or not…would another green mani be crazy?! How much glitter is too much?!

-Emma

Roller Coaster

My lemming for Essie's Mojito Madness is still going strong, but I've bought myself a wee cheap green polish to tide me over until I hit the US and get to run into Sephora for the first time ever. I mentioned it briefly in this haul post and am pretty happy with the quality and opaque nature of essence Roller Coaster!

Roller Coaster is a mid-toned green that has the most subtle green sparkles, and though I could've done with another coat in these shots it applies with ease (I am a fan of fat wide brushes like the essence ones!) It's not the perfect Kelly Green/Starbucks shade that I can't get out of my head (seriously, look at the Essie swatched...) but it will do for now.

I like my nail polishes to generally have a bit of kick to them, and this definitely fits the bill in that regard! For a mere $2.75 I don't think you can go wrong with these essence polishes, they are always great value and an easy way to satisfy a strong lemming for a specific shade. 

Emma x

NEON + neutral Makeup Look with Australis

note to self: hair oil exists for a reason, Ms Frizz!

 

Cheeks: Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Exposed
Lips: Clinique Chubby Stick in Whole Lotta Honey + Barry M Toffee gloss

As promised, I put the Australis Neutrals & Neons palette to the test and created a wearable look to show you! The colours didn’t blend away (as some affordable brands tend to do!) and I found the shadows soft and easy to blend together for this look. I popped a bit of the acid green on the inner corners and used the first 3 neutral shadows to create an easy natural look with a twist. I used the Australis Curve Ink liner* to ground the look down (a great tip for those who are frightened of wearing brights!) and used lots of mascara as well, as I always do.

 

What shades from this palette would you like me to create a look with next?

Are you excited about affordable brands bringing out amazing palettes like this?

Which of the NEON shades are you most afraid of?

*Marked items were provided for consideration. The Clinique item was won on a social media competition. Honesty, always.

A Bitter Pop

My obsession with all things lemon and lime continues with this green eye look! I wanted something bright but after pairing MAC's Bitter with another bright here, I thought I would try it out with something a little bit different.

I concentrated Bitter on the innermost part of my eye, and took MAC's khaki shade called Mink & Sable to the outer V and blended them together. I really liked the pop of colour, and it wasn't as in your face as some of my other bright looks.

When I next attempt this look I am going to try to break up the two colours with a third in the center and taken higher above the lid, to stop it from being such a stark transition from bright to the khaki green shade. To see more of Mink & Sable, see my MAC shadow collection post here.

What do you think of this look?

What colour would you use between these two to break up the look?

A Bright, Nicki Minaj inspired look

Chris was sweet and bought us tickets to the recent Nicki Minaj Melbourne tour, and I decided to brighten it up for the night! I went for a bright lemon and lime inspired look with a dramatic winged liner, with MAC''s Viva Glam Nicki to really contrast with it.

I love the way the eyes are really bright, and though this photo isn't the most flattering (thanks iPhone!) I think it shows how much the colours really popped against my pale skin.

A shot of me sitting in Hisense Arena waiting for Nicki to show her pretty face!

Nails of the night, alternating with OPI Did It On 'Em from the Nicki Minaj collection and essence Viva La Green.

Products Used:

Bourjois Healthymix Serum Foundation in #52

Maybelline Dream Matte Powder

Benefit Dallas Blush

BYS Brow & Eye Pencil in Brown*

Ardell Clear Brow Gel

Femme Fatale Cosmetics pigment in Poison*

MAC eyeshadow in Bitter

essence gel liner in Midnight in Paris

MAC Viva Glam Nicki lipstick

Do you like these sorts of bright looks?

Who is your favourite band or artist?

*These products were provided for consideration which in no way affects my opinion of them. Honesty,always.

Love Talk

I've been wearing green eyeshadows quite a bit lately, and Essence's Love Talk is one of my more recent aquisitions. I love the ultra metallic muted green shade, and think it would look wonderful smoked up. It reminds me of the Chanel Illusion D'Ombre in Epatant, but when I place them beside one another they are quite different.

I adore the designs of Essence products, as I've stated in many of my other brand raves I can't believe the little touches they include despite being at a low price point. This shadow is silky to the touch and quite easily blendable.

It comes in a clear plastic domed contained which doesn't sit too high (so will still fit in thin bags without taking up too much room) and has a sturdy and secure closure. I've thrown this about a ton and it's in great condition still, which is a testament to Essence's packaging as well as their product.

Metallic goodness in a single swatch.

Dopey half eye really shows off the colour, ha

Next time I wouldn't use this mascara, would have tamed my brows, and would choose a lighter colour to blend out Love Talk. But seriously, how pretty is it! This is just over MAC's Painterly paint pot and blended out with another colour- primarily it's just a sweep of Love Talk, though.

I've included a picture of Love Talk next to NYX Algae and MAC Mink&Sable to give a little bit of context.

Essence Mono Eyeshadows retails for a tiny $3.25AUD and are available Australia wide at Target stores. For more information, click here

What green shadow should I add to my collection next?
And what should I pair Love Talk with next time I wear it?

A Green Look for Depression Awareness

As many of you might know, October has been flooded with pink looks and products to support Breast Cancer Research (My pink post is on the way!) Some may not know that October also is also Depression Awareness Month! An amazing group of bloggers have created green themed looks to tie in with the green ribbon, and I decided to show my support and hop on board. My talents are nothing compared to theirs but I'm happy with how my eye makeup turned out.

The weather in Melbourne is ridiculous, yesterday I was in a summer dress and today I am layered up with a scarf on! So please excuse the low lighting, I took the best pictures I could while in the car on the way to uni (was a passenger, don't worry!) The eyes took about 5 minutes and the rest of my 'getting ready' (clothes,face and didn't do my hair) took about 2 flat. Which, I suppose, is why after my coffee at uni I realised my singlet under my cardi was on back to front! Here is a closer look of the eyes:

PRODUCTS!

*Bourjois HealthyMix Foundation in #52

which I applied with my Rae Morris Radiance brush^

*NYX Peach blush

*Models Prefer Glitz & Glamour Highlighter (review here)

*Nothing on the lips but I later put on Smashbox Overexposed gloss^ (review soon)

EYES!

*MAC Painterly paint pot

*Face of Australia Mini Mousse in Magic Mist (swatched here)

*NYX Algae applied all over the lid

*Shiro Farore's Wind over the top of the whole lid, on top of Algae

*MAC Mink & Sable in crease and blended right into other shades

*Urban Decay Virgin as highlight, from Naked Palette

*B by Bloom collection mascara^ (new, review soon)

*

I love the contrast between the grass green of the other shades and the khaki of Mink & Sable- it's fast becoming my all-time favourite shade and I've worn it almost every day this month. I like NYX Algae a lot more once I put the Shiro pigment on top, it's a little too stark by itself on my pale face. I have been using NYX Peach a heap lately, pretty much this whole year it's been my go to and I love the way it goes with green eyes looks perfectly. I'm not sure if it's the amount of steps my eye look contained which made this look crease a little during the day, I have a feeling it's the Shiro pigments but aren't certain just yet. Will let you know if this is the case!

Here are the links to the looks which inspired my look, please refrain from comparing their made skillz to my lack of!

My favourite lady Jerry Dazzlepants!

Wendy!
Kathy!
Helen!
Priscilla!
Robyn!

If you are feeling down and need some help, or know someone who you think may be struggling with life at the moment, let them know you care and direct them to beyond blue, an amazing Australian organisation that supports depression, anxiety and related issues. No-one has to suffer alone, and the more we talk about these issues the less stigma there will be in the world.

All items followed by a '^' were provided for consideration for review, which does not affect my opinion of the product.