These little starfish studs are absolutely adorable, and well shaped for slightly curved nails. My nails are a little too curved for these studs to lie completely flat, but it's much better than them being fully straight! Some starfishes have extra metal around the edges which is quite obvious on the close up photos, but not at all in real life.
I love pearls, and these gold bordered pearls were too cute to resist! They're a great size for the nails, big enough to be noticed but not so big that they overwhelm the nail, and the gold border just gives them a little something more than your average pearl!
I created this cute little manicure using Color Club's Factory Girl as the base colour, and Essie's Beyond Cozy as the glitter/sand. I really love it, I haven't done nail art in such a long time, my cuticles have definitely suffered from lack of attention!
I hope you Princesses like this manicure! I really enjoyed using these cute little decorations from Born Pretty Store to create this manicure! You can use my coupon code LPP10K31 for 10% off your order! ^.^
Today I'm going to be talking about Skinfood's Egg White Pore Foam! I had two of these little sample sachets and was super interested in how well they would fare with my sensitive, acne prone skin!
What Does It Do?
"A pore-refining cleanser with egg white extract that deep-cleanses pores with white foam.
[Egg white Story] Egg white, enriched with alumin, promotes firmer skin and smaller pores.
* To Use Dispense an ample amount onto wet palms and lather. Rub face thoroughly in gentle massaging moitions, and then wash off with lukewarm water. Splash on cold water for astringent effects." (1)
This foam cleanser is not actually foam, but rather a very dense cream that looks like whipped egg whites! It does bubble up rather well and I enjoyed using it with my Clarisonic cleanser. I don't feel like it made my pores any smaller or my skin feel firmer, but it didn't irritate my skin or give me any new pimples which is nice!
Would I Purchase This Product?
Perhaps! I still have a ton of cleansers to use up, but this cleanser is quite nice, it's gentle, doesn't contribute towards any new acne and is quite cheap. The only thing I don't think it does is help heal the old acne or scarring, which is what I really want in a cleanser right now. But if I had lovely acne free skin I probably would go for this cleanser. ^.^
Today I'm going to be talking about my never ending struggle with the Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Even Finish Compact Foundation in the shade 00 Alabaster! You may remember some of these photos from the time that I bought this foundation and ranted about customer service, and it may be a surprise that I bought this foundation in October 2013 and haven't reviewed it yet, despite the colour being absolutely perfect.
The foundation comes housed in a chic compact with a hidden compartment for a sponge. It's super travel friendly since it's a cream formula, and you can bring it along with you for touch ups if you like (though I'm usually too lazy for that). The inside of the compact gets quite dirty quite quickly which isn't great, but generally unavoidable for compact formulas of any kind.
"What Is It
Your can't-live-without, long-wearing liquid foundation—in a fuss-free compact. Perfectly matched to skin tone and texture, this formula never looks fake or makeup-y, just like smooth, even skin.
Whose It For
Anyone who wants a medium to full coverage oil-free foundation that lasts for up to 12 hours (even in the most humid conditions).
Why's It Different
A special film former provides flexible coverage that feels like skin. Plus, it’s completely portable, with a hidden sponge applicator right in the compact so you look polished wherever you go.
How To Use
For a flawless finish, we recommend using an oil-free moisturizer to prep skin. To avoid adding extra oil from your fingers when applying foundation, use a brush or sponge to even out skin."(1)
I was so disappointed to see the amount of product in this $90NZD compact when I opened it fully, no wonder I'm halfway through the compact already - there's so little in there!
Like I mentioned before, this foundation is a spot on colour for me. It's pale, warm/yellow toned and just generally amazing. If you're wondering why I haven't purchased the other formulas, it's because New Zealand doesn't stock them in the shade 00 Alabaster. *BOO*
Upon immediate application, I find this foundation difficult to blend. If I use a brush I get streaky brush marks everywhere, if I use a sponge I fare a little better, but it takes forever and starts to look patchy after blending. This foundation leaves me with a soft, satiny matte finish which I adore! I don't need to set my cheeks, but I do need to set my T-Zone as usual.
After about 3 hours, this foundation starts to split up around my chin and nose, it basically looks like I need to blend it again! After 6 hours, my face is blotchier and absolutely swimming in oil. The foundation wears off patchily (I can see my nose and under eye freckles) and if I nudge something with my face a whole bunch of oily makeup will slide off. Forget itching your face or taking off your sweater while keeping your face intact.
My cheeks usually look quite nice, even after 6 hours, but the rest of my face is not so fortunate. I would need to bring a blending brush/sponge, translucent powder and blotting paper to keep this foundation looking fresh throughout the day. I've tried many tactics to crack the code on this expensive foundation, but in 1 and a half years and half a compact, I'm still absolutely stumped on how to keep it looking good.
What I Love
- Great colour for me (massive shade range too)
- Beautiful finish initially
What I Don't Love
- Difficult to blend initially
- Gives an unblended appearance after 3 hours
- Awfully oily after 6 hours (claiming to be oil free for 12 hours!)
- Can wipe it off with fingers after 6 hours (gross) - Tiniest amount of product for $90NZD
Final Thoughts
I love the colour and initial finish of this foundation, but it just looks awful after three hours! I have no idea what's making it look so bad, some foundations I own do have this effect (NARS Sheer Glow I see you there) but not quite as bad. I actually regret spending $90NZD on this foundation because it's given me nothing but trouble! I'll be experimenting with it until I finish the compact because there is no way this stupidly expensive foundation is beating me!
I would hesitantly recommend this foundation to any Princesses who may have drier skin because I feel like the cream formula may be kinder to drier skin rather than oily skin. I don't recommend this to anyone who has very oily skin as it will need touching up after three hours.
Today I'm going to be talking about the Etude House Nymph Aura Volumers! I had 10 testers of each of the different formulas of the Volumer in the hopes that they would make my skin look gorgeous and dewy like the beautiful Korean actresses and models that I see everywhere. Uhhh, they did not work like that for me.
"Nymph Aura Volumer is a multi-functional cream that maximizes the radiance and dewy glow on skin. Completes your look with a flawless finish with plumped and moisturised skin. Create a celebrity glow by mixing it with any liquid foundation, base, or BB cream to give skin a moist radiant look. Contains Argan Oil and Avacado Oil for anti-oxidant and skin elasticity care.
Directions: Apply evenly on skin with 1:3 mix of BB cream of foundation. Use foundation brush or BB brush for perfect blending. When used for highlighting, apply on the nose, forehead, and cheekbones with only the volumer.
This is by far the worst of the three formulas for me. It's ridiculously sticky, to the point that I can't wear it as a highlighter or in combination with a base because my hair sticks to my face if I don't set it with powder - thus mattifying and nullifying the effects of the volumer.
This volumer isn't very popular in comparison to the other two formulas, and I can see why. Even though it gives a gorgeous radiant glow when mixed with a BB Cream, it sheers out the formula of BB Creams and medium coverage foundations and provides no coverage for acne scarring or blemishes.
This volumer is ridiculously sticky. It makes it impossible to wear on my cheekbones or nose bridge because my hair will literally get stuck to it, a bit like lipgloss. Long haired girls know the issue all too well. Used as a highlight, this volumer makes my skin look oily, and accentuates pores and fine lines which is not cute either.
Mixing this volumer with a BB Cream doesn't have the best result, it accentuates my pores and uneven skintone, while sheering out the coverage of the BB Cream, doing nothing for my scarring. I hate the tackiness of this product, and it doesn't work as a highlighter or in conjunction with a base. Total fail.
02 Brilliant Nymph Aura
The second formula is more of a hit with me! It has a thin, pearlescent formula with hints of pink and purple throughout. It's not quite perfect though, I wish the formula was a little thicker and more pigmented, it's quite sheer.
It looks gorgeous mixed with a BB Cream, but just like the other formulas, it sheers out the coverage so much.
When applied as a highlighter this volumer is not my favourite. It looks more like oil than highlighter and is still quite sticky even though the formula isn't tacky. I need to set it with a powder to stop it sticking to my hair, but some of that radiance shines through the powder!
I do quite like this volumer mixed with a BB Cream. It gives a really lovely radiant glow, and doesn't make my face feel sticky or tacky. It does sheer it out quite a lot which means that I need to use a concealer to cover blemishes. This does make my routine much longer, but it does give me a lovely glow! A great option would be to use your regular BB Cream/Foundation in the contour areas and a mixture of BB/Foundation and Volumer in the highlighted areas (especially for me since my scarring is in the contour area's).
03 Transparent Nymph Aura
This formula for this product is like an improved version of the first! It's much thinner and less tacky, but like the second formula it's very sheer and gives off an almost oily appearance.
I found that this one made my BB Cream very sheer, but didn't interfere with the finish other than giving me less coverage. My pores were not enhanced by adding this product, and it did make my skin look moisturised and plump.
I don't particularly love it as a highlighter, like the others it makes my skin look oily rather than highlighted, and makes my hair stick to it just like the other formula's, but I did find that it accentuated my pores and fine lines much more than the other two formulas.
I found this volumer to be very average mixed with my BB Cream, it accentuated my pores, fine lines and any bumps or lumps on my face. It sheered out the coverage of my BB Cream and didn't give me any
What I Love
- Brilliant Nymph Aura gives a gorgeous glow - Easy to mix with Foundation/BB Cream and apply - Well priced
What I Don't Love
- Too sticky (sticks to hair like a lip gloss) - Sheers out foundation/BB Cream, not good for scarring and blemishes - Some formulas accentuate pores and uneven skin-tone
Final Thoughts
All three of these Nymph Aura Volumers were fails for me really, though the Pure Nymph Aura was by far the worst! I don't mind the Brilliant Nymph Aura, but I think that for my skin right now it's not really a good product, because I need a bit of coverage for my scarring. I could use it with a really full coverage foundation, but to be honest I don't own one because I'm too poor to buy the one I want at the moment. >< I would definitely recommend trying #02 Brilliant Nymph Aura if you're looking to make a base much more luminous, and #03 Transparent Nymph Aura if you're looking to make your base look more moisturised! ^.^
