Using products for other uses other than its intended purpose is something I am terribly guilty of in terms of makeup. For example, sometimes for a look I want blue lips, why should I fork over another $20 for a blue lipstick I’ll only use once? Why not just say… use some blue eye shadow, mix it in with a bit of Vaseline and voilà! Blue lipstick!

But there is a pretty good reason not to do this; some products that are meant to be used around the eyes only, are not safe for consumption. If you end up using them on your lips and you accidentally digest some of it, you could end up rather ill.

Similarity, products designed to be used on the lips (commonly red pigments) are not safe to be used around the eyes as they are more likely to cause irritation. E.g avoid using lipstick as a cream eye shadow.

However, from what I can see, using lipsticks on the cheeks is perfectly fine, it’s usually the eyes vs. mouth products which can cause a problem.

So if you want to be 100% safe, I’d stick to using products for their intended purpose. (in this case do as I say, not as I do!!)

So occasionally I get a build up of photos that prove I do stuff beyond this blog, you know on occasion! And I figured maybe you’d like to see

Me at a friend’s birthday party, the birthday boy is the guy in the stormtrooper suit, and yeah I pulled out my 8 year old Shia costume

Trader’s room at Melbourne Supanova!

Wall of germ plushies~~ *___* I wish they had a tonsilitis bug I get it alllll the time!

Flower cones at the LV Mother’s Day event

So much candy :9 The entire store was so pink!

I think we have kittens living in our backyard! Three to be accurate~ How cute?

These guys can’t get down XD; They struggled for 20 mins till their mother decided to help them in the end.

Yeah so I never said I did -much- more did I? What sort of photos would you guys like to see more of?

When it comes to online shopping, I’m a bit of an addict. And the with the Aussie dollar surging ahead, what better time to give out some of my personal recommendation? Today I’ll talk about beauty / makeup related sites I use, and if you find it useful I’ll throw together a post on fashion / shoes

One important thing to always keep in mind when placing online orders is to search for discount codes, most sites have them floating around somewhere and a quick search on Google will call them up and easily save you 10% off your total order.

Multiple Brand websites

All Cosmetics Wholesale
Key Brands: MAC, Urban Decay, Kryolan, Bobbi brown, OCC, Stila, Too Faced, Smashbox, YSL, Maybelline, L’Oreal etc
Shipping: So-so to expensive shipping, arrives within 2-3 weeks
Thoughts: One of the best discount sites to visit for MAC, even contains older collections that are no longer available. Some of the products may come damaged, but you get what you pay for as the prices are amazing here.

A lot of the collections available are USA exclusive, which is great for Aussies, gives us access to them. One annoying aspect is their inability to state items are out of stock on the product detail page for some items, you find out once you’ve added to cart.

Beauty Choice
Key Brands: BH Cosmetics, GHD, CHI, Bumble and Bumble etc
Shipping: Reasonable shipping, takes about 3-4 weeks to arrive.
Thoughts: So far have only purchased BH Cosmetics goods from here and everything went smoothly, keep in mind that when you purchase electrical goods from America you will need an adaptor.

Brigette’s Boutique
Key Brands: Huge range, almost every department brand.
Shipping: So-so shipping, takes about 2-3 weeks to arrive.
Thoughts: While the brand range is amazing, the product range doesn’t always match up. But I think my worst complaint is the quality of the products. Generally, they are fine, but I’ve had a couple of orders where the product clearly looked damaged, and this is the only reason I generally avoid purchasing from here now.

Cherry Culture
Key Brands: NYX, Beauty Blender, Eyeko, Milani, MOR Cosmetics etc.
Shipping: So-so shipping costs, takes about 2 weeks to arrive.
Thoughts: My go-to shop for all things NYX related, one gripe is when they were sold out of a particular item in my order, they didn’t tell me and shipped my order without it But after I contacted them they cleared it up and sent it a few weeks later.

They have a points collection system, which gives you discounts off future purchases.

Crush Cosmetics
Key Brands: Sleek, e.l.f, Barry M, NYX, Wet n Wild, Coastal Scents, Eyeko, China Glaze, Z Palette, Brush Guard, Seche Vite etc
Shipping: Reasonable, free when orders are $60AU or over. Fast shipping, arrives within a few days.
Thoughts: This is an Australian based company, I believe based out in Sydney. Their prices tend to be higher than most overseas sites, but not surprisingly their shipping costs are much better, they host a number of British brands not otherwise available to us. The plus side to them being an Aussie company means contacting them for help is easy (no time zone issues), and so far have found them to be very friendly and helpful. Website very easy to use.

Kiss and Makeup NY
Key Brands: NARS, Laura Mercier, Frederic Fekkai, Smashbox etc
Shipping: $9.95US flat rate, takes about 2-3 weeks to arrive.
Thoughts: Hands down my go to site for anything NARS or Laura Mercier related, they virtually stock the entire product range and charge the same prices being charged in America, and the staff are friendly. Unfortunately sometimes the system allows you to purchase a product that isn’t currently in stock or is no longer available.

Nail etc
Key Brands: OPI, Zoya, Essie, China Glaze, Colour Club, ORLY, Shellac etc
Shipping: So-so shipping, takes about 1-2 weeks to arrive.
Thoughts: Probably my favourite place to purchase nail polish, the prices are great and after your first purchase you get given a 10% discount code for future purchases. My only complaint is the customer service isn’t the best and sometimes can be slightly rude.

Nonpareil Boutique
Key Brands: NYX, e.l.f, Wet n Wild, Red Cherry, TheBalm etc.
Shipping: So-so shipping costs, takes about 2-3 weeks to arrive.
Thoughts: I constantly hit up this place for all my e.l.f needs, and occasionally NYX since for certain products it can be cheaper than Cherry Culture, but the range isn’t as good. Not the easiest site to navigate and use, they do issue out discount coupons with each purchase you make to encourage future purchases.

Rock The Catwalk
Key Brands: MAC, NYX, Urban Decay, NARS etc
Shipping: Reasonable shipping, can take up to 1 month to arrive.
Thoughts: I tend to visit this site if I’m looking for a particular MAC product that I can find from any other online stores I use. Nothing against this site, the owner is lovely, very friendly, but their product range isn’t the best and on occasion they can prove to be more expensive than other sites.

Sasa
Key Brands: Large mixture of Asian and Western brands
Shipping: Good or free if your order total is $75US or over, takes a few weeks to arrive.
Thoughts: One of the two sites I constantly visit for my Asian cosmetic and skin care needs, I wouldn’t bother ordering any western products from here as they tend to be more expensive. Great for BB creams.

Only complaint, they will let my order go through for items that are out of stock, wait a few days before telling me and then give my money back. Slightly annoying

Skin Store
Key Brands: Clarisonic, Stila, Too Faced, plus many more!
Shipping: Reasonable, takes about 2-3 weeks to arrive
Thoughts: I think most of my Stila and Too Faced cosmetics come from this site, however if you want the latest stuff from these two brands then you’ll have to wait a month or so before it appears as they tend to be a bit slow.

StrawberryNET
Key Brands: Huge range, almost every department brand from makeup, skincare, perfume and hair care.
Shipping: Free
Thoughts: Who hasn’t heard of StrawberryNET? It’s probably one of the biggest, most well known cosmetics sites out there. They give additional discounts the more you purchase and the quality of the products has always been perfect for me, however I have noticed that most of the products do tend to be older, as in when you purchase a product in store, if you check the dates they’ve usually been made 6 months to 1 year ago, but the products from here tend to be made 2-3 years ago. Generally speaking should be fine since they are unopened, but worth mentioning.

Their customer service is amazing, quick and friendly~

Trans Design
Key Brands: OPI, China Glaze, Color Club, Essie, ORLY etc
Shipping: Expensive shipping, takes about 2-3 weeks to arrive.
Thoughts: I’ve only ever used this site to purchase nail polish, but they do offer an large range of various tools and salon related products for sale. This is a great way to purchase collections cheaper and before they hit Aussie shores, but I’d be weary of their OPI as I’ve always found the serial number scratched out.

YesStyle
Key Brands: Clothes, Asian cosmetic brands
Shipping: Reasonable or free if order total is $150AU or over. Thoughts: Generally speaking, the prices they charge are only okay but do not reflect the prices charged in Asia itself, and I suspect YesStyle know this, however given the limited online choices for Asian Cosmetics they can play the monopoly card. The service is fantastic, very friendly customer support and the quality of the products are top notch.

Brand Specific websites

Benefit Cosmetics
Shipping: Reasonable or free if order total is over $115US, takes 2-3 weeks to arrive.
Thoughts: If you are comfortable with shopping online and love Benefit then I’d recommend this. Not only are the prices cheaper than Benefit prices locally, but new products are released here before they are at the counters, and you always get a few samples with every order, including discount codes.

Clinique
Shipping: $10AU or free if order total is over $100AU, takes a few days to arrive.
Thoughts: The products are exactly the same as what you’ll find at their counters. I’d recommend using their website to purchase products if you are planning to spend more than $100AU to qualify for the free shipping since you’ll receive a couple of samples. They also have a number of online only deals.

Estee Lauder
Shipping: $10AU or free if order total is over $100AU, takes a few days to arrive.
Thoughts: The products are exactly the same as what you’ll find at their counters. I’d recommend using their website to purchase products if you are planning to spend more than $100AU to qualify for the free shipping since you’ll also get a sample!

MAC Cosmetics
Shipping: Usually $10AU, sometimes free depending on promotions, takes a few days to arrive.
Thoughts: The products are exactly the same to those you find in the store, the only benefit I find is if you are desperate to purchase a limited edition product that may sell out fast at counters (assuming you can’t get to a counter quickly) this is a great way to secure them.

Sigma Beauty
Shipping: So-so shipping, takes about 2-3 weeks to arrive.
Thoughts: Sigma brushes are amazing, period! And as far as I can tell, this is the only place you can purchase the latest brush collections.

Phew, hope that helps! Apologises if anything was too brief, feel free to quiz me if you have further enquiries.

First, I want to thank everyone for entering my first ever giveaway! I was terribly nervous at first having never run a giveaway before, but it turned out to be so much fun I’m already planning out what items I want to use on future give aways I may host the next giveaways either on twitter or facebook, or maybe even youtube if I manage to get my videos into gear <3

Okay, and now for the winner! Congratulations to:

I will be sending you an email shortly to request for your mailing address If I don’t hear back in 48 hours I will draw a new winner~

Thanks so much again everyone!! Stay tuned for future giveaways <3

I first discovered this from Violet who talked about a lip gloss that could change colour according to the pH levels of her lips.. That definitely intrigued the geek in me

Soon after I rushed out to my local Priceline to get it. I don’t think this gloss has officially hit the shelves yet since since I’ve never actually seen it sitting not he shelves. The only reason I managed to get it was because I sadly, visit my local Priceline a bit too much and the girls know me there by name now and retrieved it from the back for me <3

Some quick points about the product as a stand alone gloss.

• Gloss applies clear and gradually turns into a pink shade, takes a few minutes.
• Smells delicious! Just like cotton candy (great for sugar addicts like me)
• Wand is a brush, making for easier application
• Does not hydrate lips, formula is sticky
• Gloss goes for about $21-23AU

The gloss claims to change to a unique pink shade according to the pH levels of your lips, I wanted to test this! I took a piece of paper and washed three sections with three different bases, toothpaste (high pH level), water (neutral) and lemon juice (low pH level). After the paper dried, I applied the lip gloss with three separate applicators so each patch would not be contaminated.

And here is the result!

Can you see the difference? Besides possible lighting issues, they pretty much look exactly the same to me! So in conclusion, the whole “lip colour dependant on pH levels” is probably just a gimmick. Marketing it just as a clear gloss that changes colour would have been perfectly fine with me.

This lip gloss doesn’t live up to it’s claims, but as a general lip gloss it’s pretty good and I’d recommend it as a gift to others, even if only for the cool colour changing effect.

Decided it was high time I throw together a FAQ page for Fables as I’ve noticed recently I’ve been receiving a lot of repeat questions~ Hopefully having this page will prove helpful~

If I haven’t listed your question, feel free to either contact me directly, tweet me, facebook me or better yet ask me via formspring! If I think other people would find the same question useful or if it continues to get asked a number of times then I will re-post it on the FAQ section.

Also be sure to check out the site, I’ve done a bit of rearranging of things, adding proper links to my external accounts along with an event log of future events I intend to be at~

Enjoy and ask away

_{I know image has absolutely nothing to do with this post, it’s a photo I took of the candy I’m currently rotting my teeth on, enjoy!}

So occasionally after releasing a review or post, time will pass and I’ll realise that I’ve now either changed my mind or realised somethig new about the product I feel needs to be noted on the original post. I thought it might be useful to bring to your attention the posts I have updated lately, rather than updating them and have them be forgotten completely~

Below are the posts I have updated as of today!

Revlon Grow Lucscious Mascara
The formula did not last as long as I had originally hoped (or as most mascaras do) and so have revisied the review to reflect this disappointing fact.

Deluxe Manicure? Really?
At the time I didn’t want to name the salon, and really I have no idea why. If I’m willing to rave and name, then why shouldn’t I be able to rant and name too? So I’ve added the name of the salon, hopefully that will help others in the future.

Essie Art of Spring 2010 Nail Swatches
Added swatch for Tart Deco, now the collection is complete!

Savvy by DB Luxury Liner
Updated with a more accurate swatch image, and added Glitzy Gold.

That’s it for now, probably in another 6 months to a year I may have to create another one Hope that helps!