Pros:

• 2 in 1, lengthening and volumising
• Solid formula, no flaking or smudging
• Naughty can clump a bit

Cons:

• Difficult to put the Haute brush back
• Haute’s brush stick seems fragile

Price: $42AU

Rating:

Where: MAC Cosmetics

I threw this into my order as I was purchasing some items from the MAC Feline collection, it looked like a neat idea, not to mention I had been testing out Almay’s One Coat Dial Up Mascara which works in a similar sort of way (review coming soon!).

You basically get two types of mascara, though the formula is the same. When you use the wand with the purple base you get a volumising thick mascara. Smooth formula, easy to work with, my only grip is that I think we get a bit too much product at once. So unless you blot the excess product, you may end up clumping up your lashes.

The second mascara is the one with the pink base. It’s basically the same brush, but it sit inside the wand of the purple wand. By pull the thinner wand through the thicker wand it removes a great deal of exceed product, and is suppose to give you a lighter “day time” look.

The idea is great, the execution is also not bad. I find the thinner wand a bit flimsy to work with, and tends to bend a little whilst applying to my upper lashes, applying to my lower lashes would be easier if the brush itself wasn’t so large. Putting the wand back into the tube takes a bit of gentle nudging as it needs to fit back into the smaller opening.

I found myself getting better results with the smaller wand, just because with less product, it gave me more room to really work on achieving the lashes I want. (you can tell in the photos my lashes are longer for the haute wand)

I find with the thicker wand I need to get it right after 2-3 strokes else it will be too clumpy. The formula is exactly the same for both, and honestly whilst that may not have been the focus for this mascara, it was actually pretty good! Not waterproof, but after a day of wear I didn’t experience any flaking or smudging.

But at $42AU, I’d be inclined to say there are cheaper alternatives that do just as well! Especially since mascara tends to go off so quickly. In fact I have one in mind already that will be coming up for review soon And it’s almost at 1/3 of the price too! So stay tuned

I –love- nail polish. I remember my first polish was a $2 bottle of black I found at the $2 shop back when I was 12-13 years old. Over the years, my collection has grown quite a bit, to the point where it is a hassle to trudge through the storage boxes to find a colour I want. As much as I would love to have all my polishes on racks in front of me to pick, I just don’t have the space for that kind of display

I’ve always loved the nail charts you see hanging off the OPI stands in David Jones, and decided that would be the perfect way to select a polish. Not to mention, I’d know exactly what it would look like on my nail =D

I ordered these from TransDesign, and basically apply 2 coats of each of my polishes to the chart and wrote down the brand and colour. This is a great way to organise your polishes and know what colour I want to use without checking each bottle in the box =D Great for polish addicts~

I store my polishes by brand then colour in their boxes, so once I’ve picked the shade I want, grabbing the polish is easy!

My only complaint is for these particular charts, the polish can chip off over time as the ‘nails’ are very smooth. I don’t put a top coat over it because I want to see the true colour and texture of each polish.

Oh well, nothing is perfect! Let me know if you have other storage techniques / methods that work for you, I love learning about how people store / organise their makeup collections And wardrobes too!

Pigtails! That’s the main theme for this look at least, not that you can see them in most of the photos I’ve never been huge at styling hair (the most I do is curl or straighten, nothing fancy), so I’m determined to throw that into my repertoire as well. I didn’t use ANY product for my hair in these photos, hence the frizz. Though I did that on purpose because I was going to bed after this shoot and didn’t want to have to wash my hair when I took a shower hehe

Check out the crystals on my lashes, got these from the many drug stores in Japan

How to reproduce:

Face
Apply one pump of MAC Prep & Prime all over the face, then with a foundation brush apply NARS’ Sheer Glow Foundation in Gobi (eep, this shade is a touch too light for me!). To give myself a flawless look, I decided instead of regular powder, I’d use NARS’ Powder Foundation in Deauville instead

Cheeks
Liberally apply NARS’ Powder Blush in Orgasm, and use Canmake’s Highlighter for my high points.

Eyes
Prime the eyes with NARS’ Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base (this stuff is amazing!). Then use my 88 Coastal Scents Ultra-Shimmer Palette, apply a light blue all over the lid and crease. Use a medium blue just on and above the crease and under your lower lash line, then a dark blue directly on your outer corner. Use MAC’s Eyeshadow in White Frost for the inner corner of your eyes and balls on your eyelids.

Line your upper lash line with MAC’s Fluidline in Blacktrack, and the waterline with MAC’s Eye Kohl in Fascinating. I didn’t bother apply mascara since I knew my false lashes would be so overwhelmingly thick. Apply false lashes!

Fill in brows with NYX’s Eye / Eyebrow Pencil in Medium Brown.

Lips
Apply Maybelline’s Color Sensational Lipstick in Pink Peony and gloss over with NYX’s Gloss in Sparkle.

Aren’t my title just the most original!? *cue innocent look*

I have an obsession for ankle boots lately, I wanted to give this otherwise soft and girly outfit a slight edge with rocker like boots. Jacket from Forever 21, Dress from Temt & Boots from Myer (maybe?). The dress is a bit big for me, so I’ll probably have to take it in a bit before I wear it again (I used safety pins this time, a cosplayer’s best friend!)

My bracelet is one of my favourites, I had it made up for me at Sanrio Land in Japan earlier this year, it spells my gamer tag: eXmotion Gamer 4 life!

Barry is so special he deserves a post all to himself! Sorry Toby, it looks like I’ve lost my heart to a Baneling

My lovely Sefie made Barry for me, if you don’t know what a Baneling is, they are the cutest unit in the Zerg race, Star Craft 2! My gaming obsession at the moment~ Even tho I mainly play toss, how could I turn down such a cute Baneling!!

Amour~ <3

If you’re as nail polish obsessed as I am, you most likely will have heard of Seche Vita Top Coat. It has to be one of the most popular top coats, and rightfully so! I can start and end my weekly manicures in under 20 mins, go straight to bed and my nails will be perfect the next day!

But after finishing my first bottle of Seche (you have no idea how accomplished I feel! I finished an actual bottle of nail polish! Ignore the fact it’s a top coat ) I was itching to try something I could actually get locally that did the same job. And I think I’ve found it in Sally Hansen’s Mega Shine.

It dries incredibly fast, and keeps my polish strong and chip free (so long as the polish I’m using isn’t completely crap!) and a beautiful shine to it too. And the fact that I can get it at Priceline? Did I ever mention how addicted I am to that store? I wonder if it’s like the Ulta of America? (Damn those lucky Americans are their abundance of products!)

There are only two things that bug me about this product tho. Non-see through bottle means I can’t tell when I’m running low. And the clear brush means I can see when my polish “rubs off” on to it. I know it happens, but I’d rather not know!

At least my manicures are set for now, top coat wise. I’m nearing the end of my OPI Nail Envy Strengthener which I use as a base coat, so I may be in the market for a new base coat soon! Can you guys recommend any?

So I have a lot of black eyeliner, more than in the above photo, more than any normal human can go through and honestly more than I’d like to ever admit! But I’m going to just talk about retractable liners in this post *shifty eyes*.

Retractable eyeliners are kinda like lipsticks, twisting the barrel produces more product and typically the liner is of a crayon like texture. They are great for smokey eye looks since you can smudge them out, but they aren’t so great for precise lines (I’d go gel or liquid liners). These eyeliners only tend to start smudging for me after 3-4 hrs, but not enough to be overly noticeable. I love them for lining my waterline though because they are so easy to use! Very beginner friendly.

In the photo above from top to bottom we have:

• MAC Technakohl Liner – Graphblack
• Australis Stayput Eyeliner – Midnight
• Revlon ColorStay Eyeliner – Black

And here are the swatches:

The products almost exactly the same, last about the same amount of time but there are a few subtle differences.

For example, Australis tends to fade a bit faster over the course of the day and MAC is just a tiny bit more pigmented. But the biggest difference is probably the price point. MAC being the most expensive at $35AU for 0.35grams to the cheapest which is Australis at $10.45AU for 0.28grams. I’m not sure on the price for Revlon (as I received this as a free gift from a David Jones promotion, which is still running atm!), but I’d guess it’s around the $20AU mark for 0.28grams.

Final thoughts~ Price doesn’t always mean the best, not that you guys didn’t already know that! I’m a makeup addict so investing (yes investing! It’s what I have to tell myself to make me feel less guilty) in MAC is fine with me, but for others, especially for people or cosplayers who only wear makeup very occasionally, I’d go Revlon.

It’s priced in the middle, and honestly I can’t really tell the difference between the Revlon and MAC swatches .