Allergies, Birthday, Work and more work...

Hi dolls!
I'm about to do a strawberrynet haul, but first of all I thought I'd give you an update of what's been going on in Christel-Land lately. :P

Some of you might not know that I'm an allergy freak. I have chronic hayfever, chronic sinusitis and asthma. To give you an idea of how intense my allergies can be, I'm on four times the recommended dosage of antihistamines - everyday! Hahaha. Crazy. :P

In December last year I started seeing an immunologist (allergy specialist) and he's helped me out more than I can even explain. He's seriously amazing, and it freaks me out when I think about how bad I was before I got his help!

Earlier this year, he recommended I try desensitization, which is basically where they inject you with the allergens that set off your allergies. Over time, you build up an immunity to these allergens. It's a really slow process - takes around 3 years, and in the beginning it is really full on. I have to have 2 injections every week for the first 14 weeks, then every 2 weeks, 3 weeks and eventually every month.

At the moment I'm on week 4, just had the injections this morning. They're getting more and more painful and irritating every week - I just have to tell myself that they'll be worth it in the end!!

It was also my birthday on 16 September! I turned 24, so now I feel really old. Hahaha. It's also why there's a strawberrynet haul post coming up! :P

Other than the injections and my birthday, the only other thing that has been consuming my life has been work. Because the injections make me tired, work has felt a lot harder these past few weeks! Hoping I settle back into a good routine soon..

Thanks for viewing dolls, about to take pics for this haul post - so stay tuned!
oxo

NOTD: Rugby World Cup!

Today is the official opening of the 2011 Rugby World Cup, which is of course being hosted in my beautiful country - New Zealand!

Since I'm working the late night at work tonight, I'll be missing all of the opening ceremony (I'm dying a little on the inside) BUT, I will be home to see the opening match of New Zealand VS Tonga! Yay!

To show my support for NZ, I decided to paint my nails >_>

Not gonna lie, it's pretty wonky. But what do you expect?! I painted it all with a dotting tool because I still haven't got nail art brushes. Hahaha!
Here's what I used:

• Kleancolor Pink Sleepers as a base on all nails apart from my ring finger
  
• Kleancolor Black as the base on my ring finger, and on the tips of the others
• Santee White for the silver fern design
  
• Kleancolor Chunky Holo in Bluebell on all other fingers
• Clear nail polish (no brand) as a top coat

GO THE MIGHTY ALL BLACKS!!!

Thanks for viewing dolls!
oxo

NOTD: Super Mario!!

I absolutely LOVE old school Super Mario, so when I saw this video by cutepolish on Youtube, I knew that I had to give it a go.
Now I'm not gonna lie, my hands were shaking like crazy - but I'm still really happy with how it turned out!

Heres what I used:

• Kleancolor Pink Sleepers as a base
  
• Santee White on the tips and as the 'dots' on the shroom
• LA Colors Art Deco in Limon on the tips and as the shroom
  
• Beauty Treats in Black for the eyes
• Kleancolor in Clear as a top coat
  

Ugh, I'm dying from the cuteness. I've been staring at my nails all day - and so has everyone else! I've had SO many comments on them, some positive, some not so positive. Buy hey, haters gon' hate! Hahaha.

Thanks for viewing dolls!
oxo

MAC Haul - For the first time in aaages!

I finally got to visit the MAC Pro store since it relocated to Britomart in downtown Auckland. I am so impressed. The store feels much more spacious and the set up is more like that of the St Lukes store. Thumbs up from me MAC!

The whole reason for me visiting was because I had run out of my Face & Body Foundation. Of course... somehow I ended up leaving the store with much more than I'd budgeted for...

Oops.

Hahaha. Well first up are the MAC Face & Body Foundations that I'd run out of. Geez I love these. C2 is the foundation I wear pretty much everyday - it's perfect!

Next was something I've been meaning to try for years - the MAC Paint in Bare Canvas. Never tried it before, but it looks real good. Hoping that it'll be amazing as an eyeshadow base!

Here's a swatch:

And finally I got my hands on MAC's Myth lipstick! It's been out of stock in New Zealand for sooo long, so I had to buy it!

Swatch:

Eyeshadows have always been my greatest weakness though, so I kinda knew I'd end up buying some more of them. In my defense, Shroom was only bought because I've hit pan on my old one.

Then I got Tempting because I've always been tempted to buy it. Hahaha. See what I did there? ... Yeah I'm lame. :(

Sable I bought for my Mum, but somehow it's in my palette now..

Everyone has All That Glitters, but I didn't so I added that too.

Electra is one I've wanted for ages - it's so pretty! I need to find an excuse to wear it now.

Swatches! Top: Electra, All That Glitters, Sable. Bottom: Tempting, Shroom.

Ugh, I knew that once I visited the MAC store that I'd fall in love with MAC products again.. There's just something about them (eyeshadows especially!) that are so alluring.
Since I just found out that you can use the mascara tubes in their Back2MAC recycling program, I really want to try one.. is there any MAC mascara that you would recommend??

Thanks for viewing dolls, this has been fun!
oxo

Glitter Gal now available in NZ!

Remember that gorgeous holographic nail polish I showed you here?

Well, it's now even easier for us Kiwis to get our hands on these gorgeous nail polishes! Be sure to check out Polishqueennz for the range of Glitter Gal holographics - you will NOT be disappointed.
Exciting! (my wallet isn't nearly as impressed)

Thanks for viewing!
oxo

Old Reliables – Blushin’ Beauty!

Yay! It’s time for another instalment of “Old Reliables”. This time we’re looking at my all time favourite blushes.

First up is definitely my Smashbox Blush Rush in Masterpiece.

This was actually released with their Muse collection, so I’m not entirely sure if this is a limited edition shade or not, but it’s definitely my ‘go to’ blush. I literally wear this almost every single day. It’s the perfect peachy colour that seems to just go with everything! It’s also extremely pigmented, so I only need the tiniest little pat with my blush brush in order to get enough colour.

Next would have to be the beautiful blushes in my La Femme palette.

This palette has something for everyone, no matter what skintone they have. It’s amazing! They’re also the most pigmented blushes I’ve ever owned (which makes it a little bit too easy to go crazy with the blush) – less is more! In all honesty, this is probably the only blush palette I need.

MAC Cremeblend Blush is next.

I just love the look of cream blushes, and MAC Cremeblends are my favourites so far. Ladyblush and Posey in particular are beautiful – especially for brides! They give the illusion of a glow from within and look so deliciously natural! I really love to use cream blushes on mature skin too, makes the cheeks look youthful and dewy.

Of course there are other blushes I adore, but these are the ones I always seem to go back to – my old reliables!

Thank you for viewing!
oxo

NOTD: Barry M Test!

So I ordered a few nail polishes off nzsale when they featured Barry M, one of which was the Black Magic Instant Nail Effects polish. Since I haven't got any 'crackle' polishes, I knew I had to get this!
I am SO freakin' impressed with it. Here's a photo of it overtop of Barry M Cobalt Blue:

How cute is that?! I'm in love!!
Let's break it down.

• Kleancolour clear nail polish as base coat and top coat
• Barry M Cobalt Blue as base colour
• Barry M Instant Nail Effects in Black Magic
  

After seeing several photos of other 'crackle' polishes I personally think the Barry M ones look the best - but that's just my opinion! :P

Thanks for viewing!
oxo

Quick Update!

I know, I know. It's been over a month since I blogged. I'm sorry guys! It's been pretty full on around here.
To start with I had all four of my wisdom teeth out. I was in so much pain, I couldn't believe it! All the painkillers I was taking weren't really doing anything apart from taking the edge off, so I really had to just wait it out.
I'm happy to say that my mouth is healing well now, but I still feel a bit tender. >_<
Also been pretty full on at work, which has really been wearing me out - although I am happy to say that I've been given even more hours! Yay!!
So this is really why I haven't been blogging, and to tell you the truth - I've really been missing it! I've bought HEAPS of new nail polishes since my last post, and I'm looking forward to sharing more NOTDs with you soon. I also got my hands on that awesome NARS Blush/Bronzer/Highlighter Trio - so watch out for that review!

Thanks for viewing dolls, I really do appreciate every single one of you!
oxo