Merry Christmas!!

Christmas has come and gone, here in New Zealand. It was a gorgeous sunny day here, best Christmas day we've had in years! I always wonder what it must be like to have Christmas in winter...
I hope you all have had an amazing christmas and spent it with all the wonderful people you love and cherish the most. :D

I'm truly sorry I haven't posted in so long, this year has been... hectic to say the least, and just choco-block full of dramas! I won't bore you with the details, but I'm promising that when 2010 gets here, I'm going to try and post a heck of a lot more! I owe it to you to make more of an effort to post!
I also want to say a big thank you to you all, you're an amazing bunch of people and you've really made this otherwise shit (to be quite honest here) year, a pretty damn good one! I can't wait to get to know you all even better!

Take care and enjoy the holidays! Much love!
oxo

Maui’s Giveaway!

Head on over and check out this giveaway here!

 
Head on over, you have until 31st October to enter, winner will be announced on November 1st!

Makeup, Rants, Musings and More - click here to enter!

Review: Anatomicals Stop Cracking Up

 
Have you heard of Anatomicals? If not then I’m guessing you’re not part of Meg’s Makeup, in which case comment below (with your email address) or send me an email (makeupper@gmail.com) for your invite! You will not regret it!!

Anatomicals is a brand that I honestly wish I had’ve discovered earlier. With a philosophy like ‘We only want you for your body’ you know that these guys are going to be refreshingly honest about what their products can and can’t do!

As a member of Meg’s Makeup I was lucky enough to get my hands on their ‘Stop Cracking Up’ lip balm. Now, I’m going to make it clear here that I have very high standards when it comes to lip balms. I’m not interested in any nice scents or cute packaging. If it doesn’t moisturise my lips and do it extremely well, then it gets chucked.
For this reason, Lucas Papaw Ointment is basically the only lip balm I use. That is, until I got this.
I applied it to my lips, expecting it to be a fairly average product, nothing special. So you can imagine my surprise when I discovered that this product does exactly what it’s supposed to, it stops your lips from ‘cracking up’!!

Would I recommend this? Yes! Everyone needs this in their handbag. There is nothing worse than dry, cracked lips so let Anatomicals work their magic on you!

I’m dying to try more of their stuff especially the ‘No Old Bags Allowed’ eye cream! When I get enough money I’ll definitely be ordering some.

Don’t forget to check out their site, I guarantee you’ll get a laugh!
Thanks for viewing!
oxo

What cleanser are you using??

Big hello to all my gorgeous followers! I’m in need of your advice!

My skin is getting really sensitive lately. I used to use the Clinique skincare range without any problems, but lately my skin has started reacting to it. It gets all red and hot and my usually oily t-zone area is now really dry. Have you had this happen to you??

I decided to switch to this, in the hope that it would help:

My skin has definitely calmed down a little since I started using this but I’ve noticed that sometimes my skin doesn’t feel very clean afterwards…

So now I’m on the hunt for another cleanser to try. Something that won’t irritate my skin and will leave it feeling clean and fresh. Do you have any suggestions? What do you use??

Thanks for viewing!
oxo

Kreative Blogger Award!

 

 
I was lucky enough to be nominated for this Kreative Blogger award by the gorgeous blogger Sarah! I just love her blog, it’s always so interesting and she does the most awesome makeup looks! If you’re not following her already, then go do so now!

To accept this award do the following:
1. Thank the person who nominated you for this award.
2. Copy the logo and place it on your blog.
3. Link to the person who nominated you for this award.
4. Name 7 things about yourself that people might find interesting.
5. Nominate 7 Kreative Bloggers.
6. Post links to the 7 blogs you nominate.
7. Leave a comment on each of the blogs letting them know they have been nominated.

I dunno if you’ll find all this interesting, but I’ll write it anyway! :P

1.
My family and I go camping every year. We’ve been going since I was 7 years old and we always go to the same place. It’s actually my favourite place to be, because it’s so far from Auckland and everything there is so much more carefree and relaxed. I get to laze around on the beach all day which is one of my favourite things to do!

2.
I love crafting. I’m a craft freak. I make a lot of jewellery mostly, but also make plushies and clothes and basically just anything. My room is FULL of both makeup and craft supplies! There’s hardly any room for me! :P

3.
I worked at Air New Zealand Fashion Week last year and it was one of the greatest experiences of my life. I worked 4 days of it in total, which included one day assisting Steph Lai (well known makeup artist here in New Zealand), one day doing the makeup for the TAV show and two 12 hour days (exhausting much?!) doing the makeup for several shows on during Fashion WeekEND.
I wish I had’ve worked at it this year, but oh well… always next year! :D

4.
I’m somewhat addicted to Home and Away and try to watch it most nights. If I happen to miss an  episode then I try to catch the omnibus at the end of the week, lol! There’s just always something happening on that show, I love all the drama! :P

5.
My uncle has a tattoo set up, complete with all the hygiene and sanitation stuff. One day he decided to let my sister and I play around with it and now he has a really wonky looking pentagram on his arm, thanks to me. LOL! You would think he’d be bothered by that (come on, most people would be right?) but he couldn’t care less! It’s great! :P

6.
I LOVE Will Ferrell! His movies are hilarious! Elf is probably one of my favourite christmas movies, and Step Brothers cracks me up everytime I watch it. Not to mention Anchorman, Talladega Nights and Blades Of Glory.. pretty much any movie with him in it is a movie I enjoy. :P

7.
I’m such a huge fan of WWE, I watch Raw whenever I can. >_> I have so many favourite wrestlers and think that Randy Orton has the most amazing thighs in the world. <_< Lol :P Seriously though, I love watching WWE, it’s so hilarious. :D

Sorry I couldn’t think of anything more interesting, I never know what to say on these things! :P
Now I’d like to nominate:

• Tali
• Rai
• Natalie
• Lipstick Rules
• Brilliant Farmgirl's Beauty Secrets
• Caby
• Farah

Thanks again Sarah! And btw, Halloween isn’t big over here either, I really do wish it was! :(

Check out this amazing giveaway!!

Shades Of U is having an amazing giveaway that you can check out here!

Info:

 
I am so excited to present this MAC Giveaway for The Shades Of U followers and subscribers!! This contest is open to everyone eighteen (18) years old and older worldwide. Take a look at the prizes in store for the winner (all items are brand-new, untested MAC products):

1. Blackware glimmerglass
2. Blackfire glimmerglass
3. Blingblack glimmerglass
4. Black Knight cremesheen lipstick
5. Blue Flame mineralize eyeshadow
6. Cinderfella mineralize eyeshadow
7. Wisteria eyeshadow trio (Dame Edna collection)
8. Kirsch mattene lipstick

It is easy to join. First of all, you need to be a subscriber or follower of this blog, either via Twitter, Blogger or Google Friend Connect, RSS Feed, Facebook or e-mail.
Also, this is a viral contest, so you need to post a link to this blog contest or a link to The Shades Of U homepage, on your blogs (Blogger, Vox, Livejournal, Xanga, etc), forums you visit, or social networks (MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, Friendster, etc). Re-tweeting on Twitter or sharing this link on your Facebook account fulfills this requirement. One post about this contest is enough to become eligible. Then come back to this blog entry and fill in the form below, answering the question "How Are You Subscribed to The Shades Of U?", and including the link to your blog/forum/social network post about The Shades Of U or the contest.
Contest Mechanics:
1. This contest is open to all The Shades Of U Subscribers/Followers 18 years old and older. International subscribers (outside of the US) are welcome to join. Subscribe to The Shades Of U via one of the following: the RSS Feed, e-mail subscription, Twitter, or Blogger/Google Friend Connect or Facebook. If you are currently a subscriber, you are automatically eligible to join and you do not need to re-subscribe.
2. Fill up the contest entry form below, include your name and e-mail address (don't worry, only I can read your information and these details shall not be published). You also need to answer the question, "How are you subscribed to The Shades Of U?". Your answer should be one of these:
a. RSS Feed
b. Twitter (include Twitter ID)
c. E-mail subscription (include email address)
d. Blogger/Google (include Blogger name)
e. Facebook (include Facebook name)
3. In the entry form, also include the link to the post you created on your blog, social network, or forum you visited about The Shades Of U MAC Viral Giveaway.
PLEASE READ, VERY IMPORTANT: We've been receiving entries with no link to the blog, forum or Social Network post about this Giveaway. Please include the link to the post you've created about this Giveaway in your entries. Thanks.
4. The contest shall run starting today,October 3, 2009 and ends on Friday, October 9, 2009 at 11:55 p.m. EDT.
5. Contest Machine and The Shades Of U shall randomly pick one winner, announce the name of the winner on this blog, and shall contact the winner via the e-mail address provided in the entry form.
6. The winner shall respond with his/her mailing address within seventy-two (72) hours of the delivery of the notification e-mail; otherwise, the entry shall be disqualified and another winner shall be chosen. Thus, this is also the reason why entrants should subscribe to this blog to be promptly apprised of the winner's name just in case the notification e-mail does not go through or goes to the spam inbox.
7. The Shades Of U will ship the prize package to anywhere in the world via First Class mail. If the winner is a US Resident, the prize shall be sent with delivery confirmation. If the winner resides outside of the US, the prize shall be sent to the international winner using First Class international mail with no tracking number. However, the postal receipt shall be kept as evidence of shipment. The Shades Of U shall not be responsible for loss or delays in the delivery of the package after the prize has been mailed, nor shall it be responsible for customs duties or fees.

So go check it out!!

NOTD: Konad – My first try!

It has taken me months to finally give in and buy a Konad Stamping Nail Art ‘system’. I’ve been putting it off, mainly because I couldn’t afford it and because I wasn’t entirely sure that I’d ever use it.

I finally gave in when I was browsing trademe and came across an auction for a Konad ‘Set’ containing 2 special nail polishes of your choice, an image plate of your choice and a double ended stamper/scraper set. All up it was $20 (NZD) which I thought was a pretty good deal. I chose black and dark purple for the colours and the m57 plate.

It arrived today so of course I tried it out as soon as I opened it. And I have to say I’m completely in love with it!! It is so much fun and the results (once you’ve had a few practice goes) are fantastic!! Now I’m going to have to buy more image plates because I can see this becoming addictive!!

Here’s a pic of what I did today:

I used the Santee nail polish pictured as the base colour. The colour is M30 – Silver Blue. I seriously love these nail polishes, and at only $3 (NZD) they’re cheap as chips. The Konad special nail polish I used is dark purple.

Thanks for viewing!
oxo!

Giveaways!!

A lot of amazing bloggers are having giveaways at the moment and here’s links to just some of them:

Jen's First Giveaway!

 

The lucky winner will receive:

• Soap & Glory Flirtigo Moisturising Body Mist
• The Body Shop Body & Leg Shine (gorgeous wash off fake tan)
• The Body Shop Satsuma Body Butter
• Topshop pearl stud earrings
• Nails Inc nail polish inMarylebone high st
• The Body Shop mini hi-shine lipgloss (love this!!)
• No7 New Extravagant Lashes in Black
• Girls Aloud lashes, Cheryl.

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Oh Puffcakes Giveaway!

 

Prize 1: (1st pic, far top)

• Soapalaya Sensitive Skin Moisturizing Soap Sample (Handmade and All-Natural)-----her Etsy shop
• Soapalaya Lip Balm in Pomegranate
• Pure Spring Body Mist in Jasmine Tuberose
• Lip Stick Case with Mirror (from China =D)
• ELF Studio Complexion Brush
• EcoTools Foundation and Blender Brushes 
• ELF Natural Radiance Blusher in Glow
• CoverGirl Cheekers Blush in Pretty Peach

Prize 2: (2nd pic)

• Soapalaya Lip Balm in Asian Pear
• Bath and Body Works Body Splash in Velvet Tuberose
• NC24 Long Lasting Extra Rich Cream
• ELF Studio Blush in Peachy Keen
• Maybelline Mineral Power Illuminator in Nude
• Forever21 Brown and Gold Bracelet/Bangles
• A pretty pair of Light Blue Dangly Earrings

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Missmercurylady's First giveaway!

If she hits 100 followers, she’ll throw in 4 more prizes so spread the word!!

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Shanghainese Dumpling's Giveaway!

 

And now here’re the rules:

1) Be a follower of this blog
2) Become a Fan of Shanghainese Dumpling’s Facebook Page (Except if you don’t have Facebook)
3) Leave a comment on this post to let me know that you’ve done so

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XROCKSMAMA Giveaway!

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Gem's Giveaway!

 

G-lish trio eyeshadow
Clinique black mascara
Clinique lipstick in Berrylicious
Estee Lauder lip gloss
Elianto nail polish
G-lish mosaic blush powder
Blue eyeliner
Bag!

Mechanics:
1. You MUST be a follower of my blog. So, click on the "follow" button if you aren't a follower yet!
2. Copy the image and post it together with the mechanics on your blog. Don't forget to link back!
3. Leave a comment on this entry saying, "I'm in!"

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Make sure you check out all these amazing giveaways!

oxo

FOTD: Mixing!

 

Yeah I look pretty tired, and the colours didn’t show up as brightly as I’d hoped they would but I wanted to show you all this anyway!

On my eyes:

• MAC Paintpot in Painterly
• MAC Satin Taupe eyeshadow – inner third
• MAC Club eyeshadow middle – middle
• MAC Handwritten eyeshadow – outter third and underneath
• MAC Carbon eyeshadow – along lashes
• MAC Ricepaper eyeshadow – as highlight
• Revlon brown eyeliner
• Avon Supershock mascara

Face:

• MAC Face and Body foundation in C2
• MAC Studio Sculpt concealer in NW20

Blush (the exciting part!):

• OCC Lip tars in NSFW and Feathered mixed together and applied to the apples of the cheeks, then blended using my fingers!

Lips (also exciting!):

• OCC Lip tars in NSFW and Feathered, then sheered down with a bit of the Clear lip tar.

It really makes these bright lip tars a lot more wearable for everyday use by sheering them down with the Clear lip tar. God I love these things.
Definitely going to be doing some more intense/bright looks with these in the future though, so look out for those. :D

Thanks for viewing!

oxo

Yaby Dramatically Neutral Palette – Review Time!

Yaby Cosmetics is quickly becoming one of the most well known professional makeup brands available today. Their concept of downsizing makeup artist kits and their gorgeous, highly pigmented products are very popular among makeup artists across the globe.

I first really heard about Yaby Cosmetics while browsing through the Model Mayhem forums and was impressed by all the rave reviews they were getting, so I knew I had to check them out!

The Dramatically Neutral Eyeshadow Palette really is wonderful. It holds 40 eyeshadows which are a fabulous mix of both mattes and shimmers. The colours are divine, the pay off is great and the longevity is amazing! I can honestly say that I prefer these to all of my MAC eyeshadows – seriously!

As you can see from the picture at the beginning of this post, my palette needs a bit of a clean (I’ve been using it on myself a bit lately and haven’t got around to cleaning it yet). What you can’t see is that this (along with all the other Yaby palettes) comes with a built in stainless steel mixing palette instead of a mirror! How genius is that?! :D I love it!

I’m not going to swatch all the colours, because that would take forever, but I did swatch a few so you can see what the pay off is like!

ES339 – Fairytrail (has a high shine finish):

ES347 – Pottery (has a frost finish):

 

PP036 – Summer Night (pearl paint):

PP062 – Tamarind (pearl paint):

 

ES168 – Earth (has a matte finish):

 

ES154 – abyss (has a matte finish):

 

ES382 – turquoise dream (has a frost finish):

 

PP026 – amber rain (pearl paint):

They really are just gorgeous and even though this line is aimed at makeup artists, I would recommend this palette to everyone!
I’m definitely going to be purchasing more from Yaby (once I get some money!) :P

Thanks for viewing!

oxo

ARGH!!

I really need to apologise to all my loyal followers. I am SO sorry I haven’t posted anything in so long. My life feels like it’s been consumed with drama and whatnot lately (such as a break up) so I have been neglecting this. :(

I’ve really missed blogging and will try to blog at least once a week or so from now on. Since I last blogged I’ve got a few new things to review, and should be doing some FOTDs sometime soon! I’ve also been playing around with my lip tars a bit lately so I should have some of that up soonish too!

AND it’s my birthday on Wednesday (16th Sept) and I have to admit I’m stressing out about it a little. I’m not a huge fan of being the centre of attention! But I am a fan of presents so.. yay! Lolol :P

Thanks again to all my followers, I’m at 80 now and I just think that’s amazing!! I will definitely be blogging in the next few days so watch this space!

oxoxo

OCC Lip Tars – The Beginning Of An Obsession

Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics are a brand I recently discovered thanks to some fabulous bloggers, youtubers and the always informative – Model Mayhem forum.
Their Lip Tars immediately got my attention.

“A stunning new innovation in lip color, OCC Lip Tar combines the longevity of a lipstick, with the ease of application of a gloss. Goes on slick and moist, and dries down to a satin finish. Ultra-saturated in color, OCC Lip Tar contains an unprecedented amount of pigment, so a little goes a very, very long way. An intense yet featherweight layer of color that stands up to the scrutiny of Hi-Def Video and Digital Photography, without ever looking (or feeling!) heavy. Meant to be mixed, OCC Lip Tars come in concise range of colors (and black and white!) for a limitless selection of shades made by you!”

With an introduction like that, who wouldn’t be intrigued?? They also mention that they’re 100% Vegan and Cruelty-Free! :D

Upon receiving the 8 lip tars I ordered from camerareadycosmetics, I realised that the description of these was COMPLETELY 100% true.
They are by far the most amazing lip product I have ever tried. Period.
The pigment is insane. The tiny amount needed is just… crazy. I truly did not expect these lip tars to be as good as everyone makes them out to be, but they really are.

Onto the colours I chose:
Clear – obviously for mixing

Feathered – again obviously for mixing

Tarred – fabulous for darkening any of the colours. Plus how awesome would this be for a gothic photoshoot? :o

NSFW – I could NOT resist this. As well as being great for mixing, this is the PERFECT red!

RX – Everyone needs the primary colours!

Traffic – Primary colour again

Katricia – I couldn’t say no to this. Bit gutted that Pageant was sold out, wanted that too :(

Uber – I just needed this.

I am so in love with these, I don’t think I’ll be satisfied until I own every single lip tar they make. And wouldn’t ya know it, they just released some new colours! Make sure you check out their site here!
We all need lip tars in our lives!!

I’ll be posting swatches of the colours I mix, so be sure to come back and check them out.
Thanks for viewing!
oxo

Review: Napoelon Perdis Cake Eyeliner Sealer

Napoleon Perdis Cake Eyeliner Sealer turns cake eyeliner and regular eyeshadows into a liquid liner. It also waterproofs them and can be mixed with loose eyeshadows/pigments and used as mascara.

I bought this last year and have used it A LOT. It does exactly what it says it does with great results.
I have one huge problem with it though. The price. For around $25NZD you get a measly 15ml! That is ridiculous.
I’ve also heard that Napoleon Perdis cosmetics are actually just repackaged La Femme products anyway. I find that quite appalling considering the huge price difference between the two brands.

For that reason I will not be repurchasing this. I may however look into purchasing the La Femme version of this and compare the two, as the product itself is wonderful, just a complete rip off. :P

Have you tried this or other Napoleon products?? What are your views on them?

Thanks for viewing!
oxo

Review: Graftobian HD Foundation Super Palette

Being a makeup artist is fantastic, but I am sick of carrying around a million different foundations in my kit! Not only is it hard on my back but it makes finding the perfect shade a huge hassle.

This lead me on the hunt for a foundation palette. After reading lots of reviews I finally settled on the Graftobian High Definition Warm Foundation Super Palette.
This palette contains all 18 shades in their colour range of warm shades, which will cover almost every skin tone, with the option of easy mixing since it’s in palette form.
Each colour has enough product for around 12 applications, and all colours can be bought individually in larger amounts (around 7 times the amount in the palette) so refilling it isn’t a problem.

These foundations are made for high definition film and photography making them perfect for everyday use as well. The coverage is amazing (no need for concealer with these babies!) and they can easily be thinned down with a moisturiser for a sheerer finish. 
With cream foundations (especially high definition ones like these) it is important to remember that as these are very highly pigmented, a little goes a very long way. Too much product and the skin will appear and feel oily.
Personally I prefer to apply cream foundations with sponges as I find that I can get a more flawless finish than I can with a brush.

I am thrilled with this palette so far, and I can’t wait to use it on more clients. I would definitely recommend this to all makeup artists. For anyone else who’s looking for a great, full coverage foundation, check out the individual ones I mentioned earlier.

You can find this palette online at Makeup and Glow and Camerareadycosmetics. Both sites offer samples of these foundations. :)

Big thanks to all my followers!
oxo

Fabulous Prize – Thanks Makeup Mama!

So the other day I got the most amazing prize package from the beautiful Makeup Mama (Steph)! And of course my camera batteries were dead and I had to wait til they charged! Typical!
Anyway here’s what I got:

All of it together

Close ups:

Coolest thing I’ve ever seen! A little matchbook looking thing that has nail files in it instead of matches! HOW CUTE IS THIS?!

 

An awesome pair of revlon false nails!

 

Some really cool Revlon lashes!

 

An awesome glitter liner!

Kiss Me Mascara! A very cute little sample sized one! Almost too cute to use!

And a Kiss Me Eyeliner! Also almost too cute to use!

 

And a GORGEOUS Starry U.S.A Boutique Colors eyeshadow palette! Look at those pretty colours! You would not believe how pigmented this is, I will definitely be doing a FOTD with this!

And that’s everything! How lucky am I? Thanks again Makeup Mama, I could not have asked for a more amazing prize package! oxo

My June Favourites!

First day of July! (Here in NZ anyway!) I can’t believe how fast this year is going!
Here are my favourite products from the month of June:

• MAC Pigment in Violet
  
  
• Ben Nye Neutral Set
  
   
• Designer Brands Lipstick in Lilac Mist
  
   
• Neutrogena Rapid Clear Spot Gel
  
  

What were your favourite products in June?
oxo