Celina, based in Melbourne Australia is an aspiring artist. With a passion for expressing herself through makeup, beauty, fashion, cosplay & photography, she believes in living life as creatively as possible.
Check out of my gaming blog called SuzakuNU, outside of beauty and cosplay, I live and breathe IT and gaming :)
Spring is coming for the northern hemisphere, and with it, the season for weddings. At least that tends to be the most popular season! Essie’s Wedding collection for 2012 contains all soft tones, pinks, purples and a mystery green / blue shade. It’s a lovely collection, but not one I feel is overly unique (and hence easily dupable). Personally I think I still preferred last year’s collection.
Like always, two coats with no top coat.
Instant Hot
A light pink/ nude crème polish with iridescent medium sized shimmers, they aren’t really visible on the nail in the photos (though in person they are if you stare hard), but they appear to be far more obvious in the bottle. Unfortunately the shimmers can make the polish appear a bit gritty on the nail as the polish tends to coat the shimmers. OPI’s Step Right Up! is a sheerer version and Essie’s Vanity Fairest is an ultra sheer version with micro shimmers.
Like to be Bad
A fairy floss pink crème polish perfect for everyday wear. Essie’s Vandigo has more pink tones.
Love & Acceptance
A soft lilac crème shade, I found Essie’s Lilacism to be a very similar dupe with more pink tones.
Who is the Boss
This was a hard colour to label, was it a blue or a green? In some lights it appears to be a dark grayish green, then others a lighter blue. Anyways you can clearly see the swatch here and draw your own conclusion (I’m leaning blue).
April has been quite a month, it’s been four weeks now that I’ve been doing the “travel dance” for work. Fly up on Mondays, fly home on Fridays. The first couple of weeks was the toughest, and I’ll admit to even breaking down on the first night. But with time, I’ve started forming routines to help me maintain my “work life balance”. Honestly with times like these, I really have to give it up to my family, friends and of course you, my readers / viewers for helping maintain some level of consistency in my life and putting up with all my whinging, so thank you very much
On to the empties for this month!
Lancome Eau Fraiche Douceur
Clinique Even Better Clinical Dark Spot Corrector *
Clinique Super Rescue Antioxidant Night Moisturizer
Clarins Sunscreen Wrinkle Control Eye High Production 30 SPF
Swisspers Organic 80 Cotton Make-up Pads
Swisspers 20 Round Make-Up Pads
Swisspers 100 Cotton Tips
Products marked * were sent to me for consideration.
Every now and then I come across a product that I just cannot use. Unfortunately Anew’s Clinical Luminosity Pro Brightening Serum Concentre Illuminant is one of them. This was kindly provided for me for consideration and I tried my best to use this as my nightly serum, and managed to after a full week. But the amount of tingling it caused me was just crazy, it left me scratching my face whilst I slept most nights, not something you want to be doing I went online to read reviews and see what others recommended. Some recommended using less, which I did, but ultimately this product just didn’t work for me. I can’t say if the results would be great or not, but based on reviews from others, they’ve given me the impression that if you can handle the tingle, the results are worth it. Unfortunately I don’t have that sort of self control.
About a year ago, before I started my youtube channel the Book of Fables existed only as photos on the blog. As a result there are many looks that have never made it into video format, so today I decided to change that and start to revisit some of my favourite chapters and re-produce them as video makeup tutorials. Admittedly an ulterior motive was to bring to life the emotion and feelings I felt whilst creating these looks. There is only so much a photo can say, but with a video and music, I feel like I can express myself so much more accurately.
Sorry for the strange quality of my voice over. I recorded it whilst travelling and since I didn’t have a mic, I had to use my camera. I’ll make sure to bring a mic with me next time and find a better area of my hotel room to record sound
MAC Prep + Prime – Skin Base Visage
MAC Studio Sculpt Foundation – NC15
Benefit Erase Paste – Fair
Maybelline Pressed Powder – 120 Classic Ivory
Bobbi Brown Bronzing Powder – Light
NARS Highlighter – Albatross
NARS Powder Blush – Orgasm
Urban Decay Primer Potion – Original
e.l.f Eyeshadow (can’t remember the name sorry, it was depotted!)
Lime Crime Chinadoll Palette *
Revlon Colorstay Eyeliner – Black
Cezanne Liquid Eyeliner – Black
Savvy by DB Luxury Liner – Shimmering Slate
Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer – Beige
MAC Studio Fix Powder Foundation – N4
NYX Lipliner – Deep Purple
NYX Jumbo Lip Pencil – Vixen
NYX Lipstick – Penelope
Last week I did a review on NARS’ Powder Blush Gaiety, and some of you may have noticed an eyeshadow that was photographed with it! That was Lhasa, also part of the Spring 2012 collection
Had to admit, really loved the colour options that came out with NARS’ Spring 2012 collection, they may not appear completely wearable in the pan (for example I thought that the blush would be way too bright for every day wear), but once applied you realise how versatile these colours are.
Lhasa is a taupe eyeshadow with a slight satin finish, in the pan I thought maybe I saw some shimmer, but when swatched you can clearly see it’s virtually matte. On the lid, you could almost consider it matte with some satin. A very wearable colour, everyday I’d pair this with a nude shade over the lid and Lhasa into the crease, but those who dare to wear a little bit heavier makeup during the day could treat this as an all over lid colour easily
The thing about this colour is that whilst it is highly versatile, it’s also highly dupable and I’m sure if I were at home with my makeup, rather than in a hotel room in Sydney *sad face* I could pull out some dupes for you (sorry!). But do check your collection before venturing out for this
Today’s post is all about Laura Mercier, namely a selection of products from their Lingerie Collection for Spring 2012. Probably super late to the party since their Summer 2012 collection is already out! Eep!
One thing I do love about Laura Mercier and many of the other brands who release collections is how manageable the sizes are. Over the last few years I’ve personally gotten a bit sick over the sheer amount of product MAC seems to love to throw out. Don’t get me wrong, I still love MAC but the sheer level of products leaves me feeling slightly overwhelmed to the point where I just can’t be bothered even checking it out anymore. *sad face*
When I look at this collection I think “fresh”, a lot of lovely neutral shades with pops of pink and orange! The palette from this collection is something I am contemplating bringing with me on my overseas trip later this year (yes I plan these things out far too in advanced, I clearly need a life of some kind)
Eye and Cheek Palette
Palettes, especially those with eye shadows or powdered products are definitely my thing. (Believe it or not, I am not at all a fan of cream / lip palettes). This palette is wonderfully versatile, there is a very equal split of matte and shimmer finishes for the eye shadows. All the eye shadows are neutral so perfect for everyday, but the deeper shadows are pigmented enough to achieve sultry smokey eyes.
The cheek colours like the eye shadows are great for a range of different skin tones and as you can see from the swatches below, are not the most pigmented which actually in my world means I can be a little more lazy with my application!
The one thing that does bug me about having cheek colours in the same palette as eye shadows (even more so if the palette contains cream products) is that every time you dip your brush into the blush to pick up some product, you inevitable will always kick up some of the powder into the eye shadows. Which can contaminate them. Not too bad for powdered eye shadows because you can just wipe / blow it off without much dramas, but imagine cream products!
I think you might still be able to get this product locally in Australia as I remember seeing it at David Jones just the other day. Unfortunately I don’t know the Australian price (I purchased it overseas), but I know goes for $60US, so it’s likely around 30-40% more expensive and in Australian dollars.
Lip Shine
I have always been a huge fan of MAC’s Tendertones and use the two that I do have sparingly because I knew that MAC discontinued the range. So I had heard that Laura Mercier’s Lip Shines were very comparable, and I can say that the two products are pretty close. Not absolutely the same, but similar. The smell being the biggest difference, MAC Tendertones have a very fruity scent but Laura Mercier’s Lip Shines don’t have any scent at all.
The product gives a sheer coat of colour, does provide some level of moisture (but not as much as a traditional lip balm), and leaves your lips with a beautiful pearlescent gloss finish.
It does suck that these are only available in pot form. I’m in two minds about this, I hate how unhygienic it is, and I hate that it gets my fingers waxy if I’m using it on the go. But I just think that pot packaging is just so much cuter!
Also likely these are still available in Australia, but no clue for how much. These go for $22US in America, so bump that up a fair bit.
Introducing Zoya’s Spring 2012 collection called True, I’m going to go out and just say it, I wasn’t too fond of the neutrals in this collection. They weren’t the best performers and really why have neutrals in a Spring 2012? Especially neutrals with these particular undertone. The last three shades listed below are my favourite from the collection, they are a much truer representation of Spring, and not to mention they are very unique!
As always, all swatches are two coats with no top coat.
Bevin
A dusty, medium sage green with teal tones, reminds me a lot of ORLY’s Jealous, Much? (which is actually lighter) or OPI’s Mermaid Tears which was actually the first polish I thought about without even referencing it.
Cho
Probably my least favourite from this collection because of the bubbly finish I got from it. I do admittedly tend to shake up my bottles before using them, rather than rolling but I almost never get any bubbling. Cho is a yellow toned light soft peachy beige with an ultra fine shimmer, and while the shade itself isn’t too bad, the finish wasn’t for me. Zoya’s Minka is a darker version.
Farah
A light khaki-beige with subtle sandy greenish undertones, I’d almost go so far as to say it is slightly muddy. Essie’s Sand Taupe is a very comparable polish.
Lotus
Love this shade and Tru, they are very much in the same family in terms of consistency and texture. Lotus is a very soft blue-toned amethyst purple with gold shimmer flecks that reflect pink. I found Chanel’s famous Paradoxal to have a very similar shade, minus the shimmer. And Zoya’s Meeka to also be in the same family.
Skylar
This is the stand out (and not necessarily in a good way) of the collection, a medium steel blue with a softened dusty look, infused by both gold and silver shimmers. It’s an interesting shade, but something about it doesn’t make me love it even though I’m a big fan of blues.
Tru
A saturated red-toned grape purple infused with gold shimmer that reflects gold, orange and red. OPI’s Funky Dunkey is very similar in shade, but with no shimmer.
This video was filmed quite a while ago (and twice actually, that’s how crap I am at doing these sorts of videos!). I had just come back from Inverloch which I think was around the end of January. I knew going up I wanted to film a whole bunch of Book of Fables Chapters (all of which are currently live on my channel now!), but I didn’t get a chance to plan any of them in advanced like I usually do because I didn’t know what Inverloch was going to be like Plus we had more important things to pack like food, so I had to make sure I didn’t bring my entire collection, whilst still making sure I was able to cover as wide a range of looks as I could.
You’ll notice the photo above is a bit different, that’s because as I said before I’d filmed this video twice so that’s a screenshot from the first take Also my brushes were stored in a different bag
Hopefully you find the video helpful, if not at least entertaining!
It is true, I am a sucker for packaging. A while back Chanel did a mail out on a new very limited edition mini collection called the Las Vegas De Chanel. It seems the eye shadow and powder products are always the ones that draw my eye. They are usually the most eye catching item from most collections, and they tend to be the products I get the most use out of. Well, those and eyeliner and mascara which are pretty much staples to me.
Anyways, let’s focus our attention back to Lucky Stripes, said to be powder for both the eyes and cheeks.
If you’re skilled enough and (more importantly) can be bothered using thin enough brushes (or fingers) to pick up the individual stripes to use on your eyes, then yes, this product can definitely be used as eye shadow.
But realistically I can’t see many people doing that given the enormous array of wonderful eye shadows already in the market that would be much easier to use. So selling this as a palette of eye powders is slightly misleading in my opinion.
However , that said, I actually am using this product as a wash over my eyelid (all stripes mixed together), even though I think this is better as a cheek product. And that’s simply because I don’t feel the tone really suits my skin tone, I think it would work as an amazing highlighter for people with darker yellow based skin tones. I feel like the tone or rather the use is similar to Estee Lauder’s Pure Color Illuminating Powder Gelee, but less shimmer and far more subtle.
As with most Chanel face powders, the pigmentation is above average and soft to the touch. And you have to admit that the design on the top (which disappears after a while) is pretty cool The swatch on the far right is with all stripes combined.
Unfortunately you cannot buy this product in Australia, available only from Chanel.com for a hefty $95US.
Thought it was high time I uploaded another set of photos from my iphone from what I’ve been up to for the last couple of months I’m thinking it might be fun to feature some of my photos from my instagram too to give them a bit more context, but we shall see
So back on my previous assignment I had this thing where I’d send one of the developers on my project a photo of the menu from downstairs so he could decide whether or not he wanted to come down to eat, I know right? How nice am I? (ignore the fact that I go downstairs everyday anyways to eat regardless) hehe, but as a result I literally have 10-20 of these types of photos on my iphone!
MBBE meets of course always mean food food and more food! :9
Moooar fooood!
I was able to work in the CBD for a bit before I was deployed to Sydney, I managed to try out a cupcake from one of the new cupcake stores. Unfortunately I’ve forgotten the name, but I would not recommend them at all >_< The icing is mostly just butter :/
*drools* Sorry so many food pics
After shooting the Art of Easter video I decided to treat myself to a meal at the Nautical, which was delicious :9
My little chicklet actors who were featured on my Art of Easter video
I know this sounds a bit dramatic, but my last meal with two of my closest friends before I was deployed to Sydney I miss our regular dinners so much <3
Blushes are such a mood dependent product for me, I only ever wear them when I’m wearing a BB cream or foundation and the shade I wear really depends how I feel on the day. I think NARS’ Gaiety is likely to be something I’d wear to work if sheered out because of it’s lovely matte finish. Gaiety is one of the products from NARS’ Spring 2012 collection.
I think the bubblegum pink shade (surprisingly) works wonderfully for people with generally lighter skin tones or people with very dark skin tones, sheered out for light skin, but because it’s so pigmented you can pile it a bit more for darker skin tones. The pigmentation on this blush is pretty amazing as you can see below, so you need to be careful and take only the smallest amount and blend blend blend. Build the colour rather than trying to get it right on the first go.
This product has a matte finish, there is absolutely no shimmer or sparkles, which once again makes this perfect for any conservative looks you may be trying to re-create. All in all I really do love this blush and can see it being a much loved item in my collection
Celina, based in Melbourne Australia is an aspiring artist. With a passion for expressing herself through makeup, beauty, fashion, cosplay & photography, she believes in living life as creatively as possible.
I went online to read reviews and see what others recommended. Some recommended using less, which I did, but ultimately this product just didn’t work for me. I can’t say if the results would be great or not, but based on reviews from others, they’ve given me the impression that if you can handle the tingle, the results are worth it. Unfortunately I don’t have that sort of self control.
(ignore the fact that I go downstairs everyday anyways to eat regardless) hehe, but as a result I literally have 10-20 of these types of photos on my iphone! 
