NOTD: Revlon Lilac Pastelle + Revlon Peach Petal

Hi everyone,
I know I've been absent from this blog for ages - this is my final year of uni so I'm trying to focus a lot more on studying this year, but now that we're on Easter break I'll hopefully have the time to write a few blogs.

Tonight, I just have two quick manicures to share with you.  Both of these colours were purchased in my post project 20 pan haul when Priceline had a buy one get one free promotion for nail polish and lip products.  I'll try to post up swatches of the lip things I bought later this week.

Anyway, onto the pictures....

Revlon Lilac Pastelle

This was Revlon Lilac Pastelle, from one of the Revlon limited edition seasonal ranges from last year.  It actually looked quite pink in some lights and I'm still not 100% what I think of this colour.  This needed four coats.

Revlon Peach Petal

This needed five coats and I still had a bit of a visible nail line on some nails, so it was quite sheer.  Likewise, I'm not too sure what I think of this.  I found both these colours looked a little bit fluoro in some lights, although maybe they just don't suit my skin tone?  In real life, Peach Petal looks more orange than this but it would be a nice colour for spring.

Thanks for reading!

Project 20 Pan - finally completed!!!

Hi everyone!

I'm proud to announce that I have finished my 10th and final makeup item, which means I have finished my Project 20 Pan!  I haven't purchased a single item of makeup, skincare, perfume or nail polish for around six months now, and it feels good to have used up a few things that were lying around.

Project 20 Pan empties

I kept most of the empty containers just because I thought it would be fun to lay them all out together at the end (although I must've chucked out a few by mistake because there are only 18 or 19 in that picture).

Apart from a few things I have on my wishlist at the moment, I'd like to stay on the "no spend" bandwagon for the most part and from now on only purchase things to replace something that's been finished or something that is completely different from anything I already own.  In addition to trying to save for a small holiday at the end of this year (don't know where yet), I'm also trying to make an effort to be conscious of the impact that my consumption of goods has on the environment and other people (i.e. the people who make the goods that I consume).

This is getting a bit off-topic, but I read the book Affluenza by Clive Hamilton last year and the book Spent: Memoirs of a Shopping Addict by Avis Cardella earlier this year, in attempt to curb my shopping and spending habits.  I wouldn't consider myself a shopping addict by any stretch, but I am, like most women my age probably, guilty of the occasional impulse purchase and sometimes spending more than I should.  So this year, I'll try my best to reduce my shopping which will hopefully have two positive outcomes: I should be able to save more and hopefully afford a holiday at the end of the year and I will be able to feel better about the impact my lifestyle has on others.

So, the last item I used up was a Bourjois Mineral Radiance Pressed Powder which I was just using to set my foundation.  It was ok, although like all Bourjois Powders, the shade is very pink.  It also has that trademark "old lady makeup" smell which all Bourjois powder products seem to have.  I didn't really find that it gave my skin any kind of radiance (I'm still not really sold on the whole mineral makeup craze), but it was ok as a setting powder.  Having said that, I probably wouldn't repurchase, mostly because I dislike the heavy fragrance.

Bourjois Mineral Radiance Pressed Powder

Since finishing a few days ago, I actually haven't bought anything new.  I do have my eye on a few lip products though (I'm really keen to try the Body Shop Delipscious lipsticks and I might purchase a few Revlon lippies on eBay as well, as that seems to be the cheapest way to go), so stay tuned for some new purchases in the hopefully not too distant future!

Thanks for reading!

Quick Outfit + update on life!

Hi everyone!!  Long time no blog - I really must apologise for my extended absence from blogging, life just got crazy busy for me in January and February.  I was taking a summer subject at uni, working on the weekends, writing a research report for my summer subject, first aid volunteering, organising book donations for some recent graduates that are going to work in the Pacific for a few weeks, trying to fit in exercise (I ran my first ever 10km last week!!!!) and socialising and I just had no time to write any posts.

I'm back at uni now, as of yesterday, and it looks like this semester will be pretty full on (we're off campus on placements for six weeks, so for the six we do have on campus, the timetable is pretty full!  Six lectures a day sometimes!  Makes me feel like falling asleep just thinking about it haha!)  I think every uni student probably says this at the start of every semester, but I think this semester I will try to put in a big effort to try to improve my marks a little.  My marks are o.k. and I think I will graduate with honours, but at this stage I am still undecided as to where I want to go career wise so I'd like to have the option of pursuing post-grad study (probably a PhD), but I think my marks at the moment might not be good enough to get a scholarship.

Anyway, enough boring talk about uni...here is what I wore to uni today:

Cardi - Temt; Dress - Jay Jays; Footless tights - Target; Flats - Country Road

The dress was actually a playsuit/romper thing that I bought a while ago from Jay Jays.  I really liked the print, but disliked the idea of having to strip off completely to go the loo, so I pulled out the sewing machine and altered it into a dress!  I was quite proud of myself, haha!

The weather in Melbourne is so gloomy at the moment, hopefully there will be some more sunshine soon.  It was only about 16 degrees when I left the house this morning and I almost thought of taking a winter coat, but then I thought, no I'll look silly carrying a coat around on the first day of Autumn, but I think I nearly needed it!

Hopefully sometime this week, I'll cobble together a montage of recent purchases (although I'm trying really hard to save since I opened a uBank savings account, so there won't be all that many).

Thanks for reading!!!!

Guest post: Perfume Collection Part II (my sister's collection)

Hi everyone!

I've mentioned a few times that I have a twin sister.  We're very close and do a lot of things together.  We also share a lot of things like clothes, shoes, bags etc and also perfume!  So continuing on from my previous perfume collection post, I thought I'd do a quick review of the perfumes in her collection as well.

L-R: Moschino Couture (back); Cacharel Scarlett (front); DKNY Delicious Night (top); Viktor and Rolf Flowerbomb (bottom); Gucci Envy Me (back); Salvador Dali Purple Lips (front); Juicy Couture Viva La Juicy; Cacharel Liberté; YSL Young Sexy Lovely (top); DKNY Be Delicious Fresh Blossom (bottom); DKNY Be Delicious (top); DKNY Delicious Candy Apples Sweet Caramel (bottom)

I've already reviewed Flowerbomb, Viva La Juicy and Young Sexy Lovely in my original perfume collection post so I won't repeat myself!  Feel free to read back over the original post if you are interested in my thoughts on these fragrances.

As you can see, my sister is quite fond of the DKNY Delicious fragrances.  In fact, if I recall correctly, Be Delicious (the original one) was her first real "grown up" perfume, a Christmas present from our parents a few years ago.  So I guess I should start with these.

Be Delicious is a nice light fragrance with a very fruity note to it.  It's quite crisp and fresh so it's perfect for hot Summer days when you want a fragrance that is not too heavy.

She describes Fresh Blossom as one of her favourites.  It is more floral than the original with a strong scent of rose, but still very light and great for everyday wear as well.

Delicious Night is a much spicier, heavier fragrance which is great for night-time wear.

Finally, Candy Apples Sweet Caramel is a warmer version of the original with notes of vanilla and caramel.  This is quite sweet, but still light enough for everyday wear.

She also has a few Cacharel perfumes.  I know most people probably think of Anais Anais (and their grandma!!) when they think of Cacharel, but Liberté and Scarlett are much younger fragrances suited for younger ladies and they are certainly very affordable.

Liberté is quite floral and citrus-y to begin with but dries on the skin to reveal soft vanilla and patchouli undertones.  Light enough for everyday wear.

Scarlett is an interesting fragrance, combining fruity orange blossom and woody sandalwood for a great everyday perfume.  The bottle of Scarlett is gorgeous too!  I'm told this was a steal for only $16!!

Purple Lips by Salvador Dali opens with a strong scent of violet and dries with notes of sandalwood and musk.  This is a more wintery fragrance but still light enough for everyday wear.

Gucci Envy Me is a nice sweet, floral which is suited for day wear in Summer.  I think the bottle design of this is really cute too!

Finally, we have Moschino Couture, which is quite a heavy, spicy fragrance with strong hints of vanilla and bergamot.  She recommends this for daywear in Winter time.

Sometimes, the thing I love most about perfumes is the bottle design....so here are a few from my sister's collection.

Cacharel Liberte; Gucci Envy Me

Cacharel Scarlett; YSL Young Sexy Lovely (limited edition bottle design)

DKNY Candy Apples Sweet Caramel; Salvador Dali Purple Lips

Hope this is interesting for some of you, thanks for reading!

Recent Outfits

Hi everyone!

I haven't posted an outfit in a while so here is a random selection of things I've worn recently.

Top - Friends of Couture; Jeans- MNG; Flats - Witchery; Bracelet - Etsy

The top has a cute floral fabric bow detail thingy around the neckline.

Friends of Couture floral bow detail

And then today I wore this:

Top - Dotti; Cardi - Temt; Jeans - MNG; Sandals - Sportsgirl; Bracelet - Mimco

Dotti lace detail top

I bought this top over a year ago, but apparently Poh from Poh's Kitchen was wearing the same top in watermelon on tonights episode (I wasn't home tonight so I didn't see it).  What a freaky coincidence!!

I think my MNG jeans might be going to denim heaven very soon, they are wearing quite thin behind the knees.

Thanks for reading!

Edit: I forgot to credit my sister for taking the photos!  She takes all of the photos for my outfit posts - thank you!!!!