OOTD | Blue Lace & Bright Orange

Happy Easter everyone! I hope you are all having a good day wherever you are :) Here's the outfit I wore this morning to the Easter procession in Cospicua with the statue of the Risen Christ.

 

Blazer, Promod | Dress, New Look 

Clutch bag, McBailey | Earrings, Peacocks | Pumps, H&M

 

I created a make-up look to match and this time I went a little crazy with the amount of lip products to create the perfect colour. Here's the full list of products:

Face
Catrice Ultimate Moisture Fresh Skin Make up in 010 Light Beige
Essence Stay Natural Concealer in 01 Soft Beige
NYX Concealer in a Jar in CJ12 Green
E.L.F. Studio Translucent Mattifying Powder
E.L.F. Studio Blush in Candid Coral

Eyes
E.L.F. Eyelid Primer in Sheer
Catrice Absolute Colour Eye Shadow in 580 Carrots Of The Caribbean
Catrice Absolute Colour Eye Shadow in 550 Saw It On Blue Tube
Catrice Cruise Couture Limited Edition Gel Eyeliner in C01 Nautica
Pupa Milano Multiplay Eye Pencil 09
Rimmel Soft Kohl Eyeliner in 012 Denim Blue
RevitaLash Volumising Primer
Pupa Vamp! Mascara in 300 Deep Night

Lips
Catrice Ultimate Colour Lipstick in 190 The Nuder The Better
Deborah Rossetto 24 Ore in 13 Creamy
Catrice Ultimate Shine Lipstick in 110 Shy Flamingo
Essence Lipstick in 61 I'm A Lobstar
Essence Marble Mania Trend Edition Lipgloss in 02 Peach & Mix

I just love the festivities held today and actually I am a little bit saddened at the fact that Holy Week is all over. Do you celebrate Easter where you live?

OOTD | Handchains and Khakis

This is what I wore yesterday morning to Mdina & Rabat. Every Good Friday morning, I always make it a point to visit both of these places as I really like some of the exhibitions there and it has become somewhat of a family tradition as my father used to take use when we were younger and boyfriend hails from Rabat.

Crochet Cardigan, Mango | Flower applique' top, Orsay | Khaki jeans, Stradivarius

Metallic pumps, Stradivarius | Belt, Peacocks | Leather Suede Fringe bag, Promod

Earrings, Orsay | Handchain, New Look

And as usual, here is a list of the make-up products used:

Face

Catrice Ultimate Moisture Fresh Skin Make up in 010 Light Beige

Essence Stay Natural Concealer in 01 Soft Beige

E.L.F. Studio Mattifying Translucent Powder

Essence Marble Mania Trend Edition Blush in 01 Swirlpool

Eyes

E.L.F. Eyelid Primer in Sheer

Essence Eyeshadow in 03 Dance All Night

Face Candy Couture Eyeshadow Pigment #116 Leaves

CoverGirl Eye Enhancer in Double Espresso

RevitaLash Volumising Primer

Essence Multi Action Mascara in Blackest Black

Lips
Catrice Ultimate Colour Lipstick in 190 The Nuder The Better
Deborah Rossetto 24 Ore in 13 Creamy
Essence XXXL Shine Lipgloss in 08 Glamour To Go

March Collective Haul

This month's haul is quite teeny when compared to others past (and future :P) but I have been saving up to buy a new laptop as my HP Compaq has been slowing down recently and no matter what I do, it is still slow. I sort of attach myself to things and didn't want to replace it but the time has come for that as well. Enough rambling and on to the cute stuff!

First up is this top I bought from Orsay for just €14.95. It's nothing special but I have loads of pieces in my wardrobe with which I can pair it. Tally Weijl have been getting some gorgeous shorts lately and I managed to get my hands on this white lace overlay number which is retailing for €25.95 and it also comes with a light tan braided skinny belt. The gold belt was a gift from my mother.

Then, from New Look, I bought this gorgeous pair of monochrome geometric earrings and this cute mint, cream and gold hand chain. Both items reminded me of my pre-teens when black and white where huge and so were hand chains although they were more fashionable in silver at the time. These cost €11.98 together. Johan bought me this orange clutch bag to go with my Easter outfit from McBailey and I believe it cost €21.99.

I needed some hoodies to wear for my night shifts and after loads of recommendations from my work colleagues, I placed an order on sportsdirect.com. They do have an extensive range of sports apparel and gear and I ended up getting three hoodies (one of which was too big for me but it fit my Mum) and a pair of Lee Cooper pink canvas sneakers which are totally comfortable! I paid €7.00 for the ecru marl hoodie, €8.00 for the mulled wine hoodie and €9.99 for the sneakers. My boyfriend and my brother also ordered some things and we were charged €18.99 shipping which was reasonable, considering the amount of items we got. If any of you want a detailed review of my experience with the website, let me know in the comments.

Lastly, some skin care and cosmetics. I have been having some spots showing up again and so I decided to switch to organic skin care once I finish my LRP Effaclar cleanser. Hence, after looking up reviews, I settled on Michael Todd True Organics and bought two cleansers off their website. The cleansers cost $24 each and I paid €6 shipping (€44.81 in total). So far I have made a very good first impression of both products and the company. Will let you know how it goes in about a month.

I also bought this eyeshadow from Essence that I had been eyeing for some time. It is a nice sheer coral called 55 Shrimp Me Up and it is a shimmer eyeshadow; and I got this white kajal along too for just €2.80 for both.

I couldn't skip the Limited Edition Collection from O.P.I. for Disney's Oz The Great & Powerful and I got three nail polishes from ebay for €26, shipping included. I chose Lights Of Emerald City, When Monkeys Fly and What Wizardry Is This? which has a rough, sand-like finish. Check out this post for swatches and more detailed pictures.

That's all I bought this month ladies, if you want to see swatches or more in-depth reviews of anything, just let me know :) Did you splurge or save this month?

OOTD | Maundy Thursday

My favourite time of year in the Roman Catholic calendar is fully under-way and yesterday, along with my father, my brother and my neighbour, we went to see some Good Friday exhibitions in my home-town, Cospicua and the neighbouring town of Vittoriosa.

Cardigan, Stradivarius | Shirt, ICHI | Jeans, Stradivarius

Boots, Nine West | Belt, Dorothy Perkins

Bag, ebay | Earrings, New Look | Bracelet, ebay

 As for make-up, here is the list of products I used:

Face
Catrice Ultimate Moisture Fresh Skin Make up in 010 Light Beige
Essence Stay Natural Concealer in 01 Soft Beige
E.L.F. Studio Translucent Mattifying Powder
Essence Marble Mania Trend Edition Blush in 01 Swirlpool

Eyes
E.L.F. Eyelid Primer in Sheer
Pupa Milano Multiplay Eye Pencil 09
Essence Eyeshadow in 03 Dance All Night
Catrice Intensif'Eye Wet & Dry Shadow in 010 Black or White Swan?!
RevitaLash Volumising Primer
Essence Multi Action Mascara Blackest Black

Lips
Catrice Ultimate Colour Lipstick in 190 The Nuder The Better
Deborah Milano Rossetto 24 Ore in 13 Creamy
Essence XXXL Shine Lipgloss in 08 Glamour To Go

Review | Catrice Lip Appeal Lipglosses

The next range of lipglosses from Catrice is the Lip Appeal range which is slightly less pigmented than the Colour Show.

The Lip Appeal lipglosses come with a silver cap and the sponge applicator can either be elongated and thin or short and wide. All of them have a sweet vanilla scent and are not sticky.

I have three shades in all, namely, 090 Back From Vacation (nude tan with slight silver shimmer); 160 Flirty Fuchsia (shimmery fuchsia) and 180 Little Red Dress (opaque red). The latter is the most pigmented of the three while the other are not so pigmented and I thus prefer to layer them over a lipstick of a similar colour. On me, I find that they last around 2 - 3 hours.

Clockwise from left: 090 Back From Vacation, 160 Flirty Fuchsia & 180 Little Red Dress

I would recommend this range of lipglosses for anyone who is a little bit shy of colour on the lips yet, still wants to experiment a little.

The Lip Appeal  range is priced at just €4.20 for 5mL and can be bought from pharmacies all around Malta & Gozo.

PR Samples

Review | Catrice Colour Show Lipglosses

Good morning ladies :) Today I have some Catrice lipglosses to show you. For those of you new to the brand, Catrice has two lipgloss ranges, namely, Lip Appeal which are sheer glosses and Colour Show which are more pigmented and are the ones I am going to review in this post.

Catrice Colour Show lipglosses have a black cap and some have an elongated yet thin sponge applicator while others have a pointed doe-foot applicator which I prefer.

In terms of pigmentation, the darker shades seem to be more pigmented and consequently last longer than the lighter ones. However, neither of them is sticky and they all carry a sweet scent. They last up to 4 hours and feel very moisturising on the lips without bleeding into fine lines around your mouth.

Here are some swatches and colour descriptions:

010 Toast With Champagne - pale gold shimmer (top left)

050 Purple Reign - creme purple (bottom right) 

070 Light My Fire - creme fiery orange with a hint of silver shimmer (bottom left)

080 Nude-Tritious - shimmery bronze (top right)

Catrice Colour Show Lipglosses can be found in pharmacies around Malta & Gozo and they retail for €4.20 for 5ml.

050 Purple Reign and 070 Light My Fire are PR Samples

Monthly Favourites | March

Spring is finally here! That can only mean one thing...pretty clothes and beautiful bright colours! The same can be said about my favourite products this month; although I don't have that many, my choices have definitely shifted towards a brighter palette.

Red lips were something I wore very frequently throughout this month and my favourite combination of products for the perfect red pout are NYX Long Lip Pencil in CLPL20 Plush Red and Givenchy Rouge Interdit in 20 Illicit Raspberry. Both products last for hours on end and my lips never go dry while wearing these two products. I still fancied a neutral lip for work and my choice of product has been MAC Lustre Lipstick in Naked Paris.

Catrice Ultimate Moisture Fresh Skin Make-up in 010 Light Beige has been my foundation of choice this month and I like how it doesn't feel like I am wearing make-up and it instantly brightens and evens out my complexion.

As for blush, I have switched to E.L.F. Studio Blush in Candid Coral both for day and night now that I am wearing brighter colours.  Lastly, I have been really enjoying Catrice Mini Max Precision Volume Mascara as it lifts my lashes and separates them for a nice fanned out effect, making my eyes look bigger and brighter.

Those were my March favourites, what are yours?

The Exit Interview Series | Volume #18

This month I think I did pretty well with using up beauty products. Here's my take on this month's empties!

Starting with skin care, I have used up two Nivea products which I have been using for a long time, namely, Daily Essentials Refreshing Cleansing Lotion and Smooth It! Mild Exfoliating Scrub. The first, I have been using as an eye make-up remover and I have to say it is very effective in that regard. I liked the creamy, moisturising formula and I have never had any irritation near my eyes when using this. I won't be repurchasing for now though as I am trying to go through a fair amount of products first.  The scrub used to be my favourite until now. I have found a better value for money alternative that works just as fine so I won't be repurchasing the Nivea one.

The next product I used up is a sample of La Roche Posay Effaclar K which is basically an anti-oil relapse treatment. Although I enjoyed using it, I don't think there was a difference over when I use Effaclar M moisturiser so I won't be buying this product either.  Lastly, when it comes to skin care, I have used another Montagne Jeunesse face mask which as usual has delivered optimum results and I will definitely re-purchase. I am throwing the sponge out simply because I have had it for quite some time and it is not as effective to remove face masks these days. I already have bought a couple more as I find they are quite handy.

Moving on, I have finally used up this Nioxin leave-in conditioner. I really didn't like this product and ended up using it as a rinse-off conditioner to get through it as fast as possible. It made my hair all greasy after just a few hours even though I only used a small amount and it also made it look limp. Needless to say, I won't be repurchasing! As for the Scholl Rough Skin Remover and the Veet wipes, I already have bought back-ups for each of them as they do an excellent job and are very handy to have especially now that summer is fast approaching.

Another product from Montagne Jeunesse has hit the bin this month but sadly I won't be repurchasing this one. While I really liked the concept of liquid talc and the refreshing mint sensation on my feet, I didn't like the powder reside which seemed to stick to my skin and I had to rub really hard at it in the shower to get it off. They say it's a non-rinse formula but I doubt you could stick with having powdery, white feet. The E45 Cream has proved to be a skin-saver when I had eczema and dry skin earlier in Winter. I won't be repurchasing this though because I still have to use up the LRP Lipikar Hand cream.

Lastly, I have also used up this Nioxin Conditioner, Malizia Deodorant and Lycia Makeup Remover Wipes. The wipes surely need no introduction and the deodorant has a nice smell and I have actually bought it previously too. I always tend to go for Impluse or Malzia though I prefer the former as the scent is much longer lasting.

As for the Nioxin Conditioner, I have had the same hair-gets-greasy-all-too-soon problem with this as well and I haven't perceived any thickening effect whatsoever so there was no way this was going anywhere near my hair. A while back, I had read an article somewhere that stated that hair conditioner works just the same when you do not have shaving foam at hand and so I have been using this conditioner instead of shaving foam. Turns out I liked it better this way as my skin felt really soft afterwards and I didn't need to use body lotion. I won't be repurchasing this product though.

Review | Essence XXXL Shine Lipglosses

Going through the products I haven't yet reviewed from the Essence & Catrice bloggers event last August, I have some serious lip candy that I should share with you presto! Starting with, 4 lipglosses from Essence's XXXL Shine range.

I have never tried this range of lipglosses before but when I saw one of the new shades at the event, I was completely sold! You have also seen numerous of my monthly favourites featuring this new lipgloss in the shade 020 Wood Of Roses which is a nice deep plum/old rose kind of shade with teeny tiny silver, pink and blueish-purple shimmer. I remember be hoping that the colour would show up as beautifully and as pigmented on my lips and I can triumphantly say that I wasn't disappointed! So off I went in search of some more XXXL Shine lipglosses.

The packaging is pretty standard and they come with a sponge applicator. One thing I don't like about the packaging is that the lettering and silver colour on the cap wears off eventually and there are no ingredients listed; although they do state when a lipgloss contains carmine. The applicator is an elongated sponge. All of the lipglosses carry a sweet, fruity smell.

I ended up getting three more, namely, 03 Timeless Beauty {an iridescent, pale lilac}, 08 Glamour To Go {shimmery, nude beige} and 15 True Love {slightly shimmery Italian pink}.  All of these lipglosses have proved to be non-sticky and last for around an hour, maybe a bit more, but you definitely need to re-apply throughout the day. Also, they are very moisturising and are extremely shiny and pigmented. 

Clockwise from left, Timeless Beauty, Glamour To Go, Wood Of Roses & True Love

The range consists of a total of 14 brilliant hues and they retail for around €2 from pharmacies across Malta & Gozo. 03 Timeless Beauty has been discontinued.

020 Wood Of Roses was provided as a PR sample

O.P.I. Oz The Great and Powerful | Swatches and First Impressions

Unless you've been living under a rock for the past couple of months, you would know about Disney's latest flick, Oz The Great and Powerful and their collaboration with nail polish giant O.P.I. I was instantly intrigued by the collection, mostly by the glitter polishes and the new Liquid Sand hue.

Apart from the Liquid Sand, the collection consists of six limited edition nail lacquers that vary from glitter packed shades to softer neutral shades in white, beige and pink.  Here is a press release picture of all the shades in the collection:

I bought three polishes from a US based ebay seller, namely, When Monkeys Fly, Lights Of Emerald City and What Wizardry Is This? I paid $6.95 for the glitter polishes and $7.50 for the Liquid Sand; all bottles are full size (15mL).

• Lights Of Emerald City ~ Opaque white squares and smaller iridescent square confetti in a clear base. Application is ok and the white squares are as frequent as they should be. Truly a unique polish! Swatch is just one coat.

• When Monkeys Fly ~ Large gold hex confetti mixed with different sized holographic hex glitters in a clear base. Another unique polish in this collection with the gold hexagons easily distributed over the nail surface. However, pay attention and smooth them flat as they tend to curl upwards. Swatch is just one coat.

• What Wizardry Is This? Liquid Sand ~ The new Liquid Sand hue was designed for James Franco's character (Oz) and features OPI’s ground-breaking technology for a textured, matte finish infused with reflective sparkle. I am wearing this on my nails right now and I just can't get over how beautiful it looks! The textured finish is not gritty at all and I love how the sparkles shine when they catch the light. I would describe the colour as an almost black deep brown with golden reflects...definitely the shade to make a bold statement with this Spring!! Swatch is two coats.

Finally, like all O.P.I. polishes the ones from the Oz collection are free from DBP, Toluene and Formaldehyde and all feature the exclusive ProWide Brush for the best possible application.

Did you buy any shades from this collection?

OOTD: Pin-Up Red!

Good afternoon everyone :) Seems the days are getting sunnier over here and with them, my hay-fever striked again :( Anyways, as promised, I am going to share with you what I wore yesterday to the feast of St. Joseph in Rabat. It was a warm, sunny day, the likes of which are only provided by the Maltese March sun and so I ditched the jeans and opted for a dress :)

Beige jacket, Orsay | Dress, Peacocks | Envelope clutch bag, McBailey

Red kitten heels, New Look | Nude charm bracelet, Pimkie

Gold crosses bracelet, River Island | Spinning Rings, 202 Jewellery

Necklace, Accessorize | Earrings, Tenda

As for make-up, I did my all time favourite look i.e. combining red lips with neutral eye make-up. Here is a  close-up and list of products used:

Face

Inglot Under The Makeup Base

Catrice Ultimate Moisture Fresh Skin Make-up in 010 Light Beige

NYX Concealer In A Jar in CJ12 Green

Essence Stay Natural Concealer in 01 Soft Beige

E.L.F. Studio Translucent Mattifying Powder

Rimmel Powder Blush in 004 Pink Rose

E.L.F. Studio Makeup Mist & Set

Eyes

E.L.F. Eyelid Primer in Sheer

Essence Eyeshadow in 02 Dance All Night

Catrice Intensif'eye Wet & Dry Shadow in 010 Black Or White Swan?!

Wet 'n' Wild Coloricon Eyeshadow Single in 251A Brulee

Catrice Eyeliner Pen in Carbon Black

Catrice Glamour Doll Volume Mascara

Catrice Mini Max Precision Volume Mascara

Maybelline Experteyes Kohl Eyeliner in Black

MUA Pro-Brow Eyebrow Kit

Lips

NYX Long Lip Pencil in CLPL20 Plush Red

Givenchy Rouge Interdit in 20 Illicit Raspberry

*ATTENTION ALL BLOGGERS & FOLLOWERS*

Good morning all :) Here's a very important notice for all bloggers and followers:

As of 1st July 2013, Google Reader is going to be taken down, which means - all your followers via GFC will no longer get your updates.

Luckily, we have a simple solution. Sign up to Bloglovin with your facebook account, and from there you can transfer the blogs you follow with GFC on your bloglovin account. It's simple as that, and you won't need to follow all blogs individually.

PLEASE SHARE, if everyone does this we won't we be losing any of our followers in 3 months. Thank you for your time.

http://www.bloglovin.com/

Thanks to Dyna from Makeup by Dyna for the heads-up!

Review | John Frieda Collection Frizz-Ease Straightening Potion

After featuring this product in last month's favourites, I thought it's high-time I reviewed it in detail. Basically I bought this Straightening Potion to keep my newly short hair straight and frizz free. Up till then I only used a little hair spray of hair mousse to give me volume buy the frizz would re-appear after some time and my ends would start turning wavy again.

I had used another product from the Frizz-Ease range once and I remember I liked the results so when I was at the supermarket staring at hair styling products to see which one I should get, I knew I was going for the John Frieda Collection; more specifically, their Frizz-Ease range. Also, I use heat-styling tools almost everyday on my hair so I had to keep that in consideration too...and the Straightening Potion ticked all the boxes.

The product comes in a pearlised, light grey, rectangular spray bottle with a pull-off cap. The spray is actually a transparent liquid that smells exactly like a hair salon if you know what I mean and you get 200ml in total which in my opinion is a very good amount.

The bottle bears the company name and product description on the front whilst at the back you have directions for use and ingredients.  There is also a little pink circle on the front that says that the spray doubles up as a heat protectant...perfect to use with hair dryers and straightening irons.

The John Frieda Frizz-Ease Straightening Potion is adapted for naturally straight or wavy hair with light, flyaway frizz and you just spray it on damp hair and style your hair as usual. I only use a small amount as my hair is quite greasy and styling products tend to make it worse. However, with this product I haven't had any issues of my hair turning greasy overnight and I have noticed a significant reduction in frizz and my hair stays straight for two days in a row!

Needless, to say I really like this product as it does exactly what it is intended to and I would recommend it to anyone with the same hair type as myself.

The John Frieda Collection Frizz-Ease Straightening Potion retails for €9 from leading supermarkets around Malta.