Cooking Dinner

For dinner tonight I've decided to make this:

picture ripped from lifestylefood.com.au

It's a 4 Ingredients Sour Cream and Pumpkin Quiche. It looks bloody delish, and I am a sucker for pumpkin anything. Here's the recipe (taken from lifestylefood.com.au)

1 sheet Puff pastry

3 Eggs

300 ml Sour Cream

½ cooked butternut pumpkin, cut into pieces

1. Line a rubber pie dish with puff pastry.
2. Beat eggs and sour cream.
3. Pour over pumpkin. To taste, add sea salt and pepper in a 180C oven for 30 minutes or until set.

It doesn't get easier than that. I roasted the pumpkin instead of just steaming it because I think it will be yummier. Also I didn't use a rubber pie dish, because I don't have one.

Tomorrow I am going to attempt to make ganache and fondant, a practice run for valentine's day. I've never actioned a fancy cake or frosting before so it should be an experience. I will blog about it. (i've already noted runningincuteheels.blogspot.com for tips!)

See you tomorrow!

It's Monday...

There's a thread on the Vogue at the moment about favourite eyeshadow brands. I just posted about my Chanel quad Nymphea, which is one of my favourite quads.

Here it is:

And here's one I found online, as my picture isn't very true to the colours:

ripped from strawberrynet.com

I like this quad because even though it contains a pink and a green (which IRL is not really like either picture, it looks a lot green-er than in photo), they're still neutral and not super duper bright. I wear this quad by starting off with a wash of the light champagne colour, then wet-line with either the green or the pink, and then smudge the sparkly chocolate brown into the crease.

I also named Stila as some of my favourite shadows, except I think I prefer Chanel, because Stila shadows seem to be very soft and your brush picks up too much colour as the pan seems to crumble when the brush touches them. These Chanel ones are a lot harder, but are still just as lovely to blend.

Today I went into the city to see if the Stella McCartney bag I wanted was there. It was. And at $19 (was $99) it was a bargain. I plan to use it as a uni bag for this semester.

Not a great picture, but you get the idea. The accessories were the only thing I really liked from this collection. I wasn't overly fussed on the clothes. I wanted to get the oversized sparkly knit in the black or nude (not fussy) but every one I saw had pulls in it. No thanks.

I wonder how many people we'll see in the lace camis now that they're all on sale!

Thursday

I have been loving Target recently. I'm a student so I don't have a lot to spend on clothes (what with my makeup addiction!) and lately I've found Target to have reasonably fashionable, good quality pieces. Not to mention the fact that their stock turnover is pretty quick so they always have sales and clearances.

Here's what I picked up today:

It's a Stella McCartney for Target clutch ($19 down from $69) and 2 Grandeur bath towels ($8 something each). Here is the clutch up-close:

It's textured like fish scales. I won't be using it as a clutch, probably a makeup/toiletries bag, or something to chuck all my stuff into when I go to uni. I hope there's nobody out there that forked over $69 for it. I wouldn't have bought it if it was full price.

I bought these yesterday:

They're just draping cardigan things, and yes they were clearance (spot the red sticker!). They were originally $45, then marked to $29.88, and then another 30% off clearance items. I think they will come in handy when I go back to uni and for that awkward change of season time. I was only going to get the grey one, but then I saw the cream one so I decided to get both. I think they were a bargain. The seams have some metallic detail which makes me like them even more.

I also bought a new Revlon Colourstay at Target, as I finished mine yesterday. It is the first foundation that I have ever finished in its entirety. My foundation drawer is depressing. I have a few 99% full foundations in there. A once used NARS Sheer Glow in Deauville (which the MUA in Mecca grossly mismatched me to...) and a Chantecaille Future Skin in Nude, which is far too orange to even have the slightest chance at matching human skin. Also mismatched in Mecca. When will I learn!? I'll have to save the Sheer Glow for winter, and the Chantecaille for if I ever get the desire to be an oopma loompa.

Anyway I noticed that this Colourstay has different labelling, and does not have the soft-flex formula. I wonder if I'll notice a difference.

I went au naturale to work today, with not one scrap of makeup. I got asked if I was sick by about four different people. One person even commented "you don't look like you've been out of bed for long!". It made me feel... unpretty.

Try & Spot The Dolphins

Here are some photos of my walk I went on to watch the sunset on Sunday.


I spotted some dolphins in the water right off the shore, but they don't appear for very long. I was snapping away like a mad thing hoping to catch a glimpse of them on 'film', but I don't know if I was successful or not.
Here are the photos. Let me know if you see any dolphins in them. If not, oh well. The photos are lovely anyway. I love Perth beaches. Especially at sunset.

And here is one of the lovely sunset.

I don't think I"ll do a makeup post today, but my FOTD (Face Of The Day) was Revlon Colourstay foundation, NARS Orgasm Illuminator, Full N Soft mascara and a swipe of Smashbox Agent lipgloss. Boring.

Sunday.

Hello.

I have my first follower. I feel very special! Hello lashka_.

Today has been very hot in Perth, 36C. I haven't left the house! Instead I have been actioning tasks such as cleaning and tidying. I'm not a fan of either. My cleaning and tidying involved going through my makeup collection and discarding anything I don't use (I am a self confessed hoarder, so I don't like to part with my makeup - but I was brutal). I decided I probably didn't need those fluoro BYS eyeliners that I bought two years ago. Or that Kryolan foundation that turns orange as soon as it touches skin.

Anyway, whilst I was going through my makeup, I noticed that most of my eyeshadows were either of the 'purple' family, or the 'gold/bronze' family. This is because one source will say that purples are the best colours to bring out green eyes, yet another will say that golds and bronzes are the best colours to bring out green eyes. So, I decided to do a side-by-side comparison to see which works best for me.

Here is what I used:

The bronze colours are Shimmer Cubes #6 from The Body Shop. I used Cover Girl Perfect Blends eyeliner pencil in Black Brown. The purple colours are a Sephora palette which is actually meant for brown eyes (go figure). The eyeliner is Christian Dior waterproof crayon in Precious Violet (or Violet Precieux for those who care). I used Maybelline's Full N Soft mascara for both eyes.

My eyes are not looking particularly green today, instead an off-grey colour. I swear, they are green in natural light!

Here is my bronze eye:

And my purple eye.

And a side-by-side comparison.

You'll have to excuse my unkempt and asymmetrical brows. 

I think that the purples make the green stand out more, and the bronze makes them look slightly blue. 

Right-o. I'm off for a walk at the beach to watch the sunset.

allcosmeticswholesale.com order

Hello.

How devastating are the QLD floods. I'm in WA so feel very helpless. I have donated to the appeal at my local Coles which I hope everybody who can does.

Just 5 minutes ago I placed my first ever allcosmeticswholesale.com order and by god am I excited. I've wanted a MAC 187 for so long, and at USD$41 I couldn't not buy it. I needed to replace my Manicare stippling brush which leaves stray brush hairs all over my face and isn't dense enough to apply liquid foundation, I just wasn't prepared to pay retail (AUD$85). Here it is in all its glory.

picture ripped from maccosmetics.com.au

I noticed they had the new OCC Lip Tar shades as well, so I popped Trick in my cart. I am not a huge 'lips' person, but there's something about Trick that directed me to buy it. So I did. It cost USD$12.50.

picture ripped from allcosmeticswholesale.com

On a slightly less exciting note, I also picked up a Stila Kitten eyeshadow pan (USD$10.99) and an empty Stila 4 pan palette (USD$8.99). I find people either love or hate Kitten. I am a lover.

There are so many things from ACW that I want. I hope my parcel arrives soon!

Bronzer

Somehow I ended up with 6 bronzers in my MU collection and I am completely oblivious to how this happened, because I don't consider bronzer to be a part of my 'staple' look. This just reinforces to me where all my money goes!

Anyway here are swatches of my bronzers without flash and with flash: 

 

L-R: Boots Instant Glow Shimmer Powder in Aztec Gold, Rimmel Natural Bronzer in Sun Glow, Neutrogena Healthy Blends Natural Radiance Bronzer in Sunkissed, NARS Laguna, Stila Sun Shade 1, Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick in Bronze.

The shimmery ones which I think look best for evening/night time are Boots Instant Glow, NARS Laguna and BB Shimmer Brick although I know some people swear by Laguna for daytime.

Rimmel Natural Bronzer is a great cheapie, but comparing it to the higher-end bronzers it can look very 'ruddy'.

I find the Neutrogena to be difficult to blend once it's on the skin and often have to put some Studio Fix over it to make it look less noticeable.

Stila Sun would have to be my current go-to for daytime (when I can be bothered with bronzer) because whilst it has a tiny tiny tiny amount of shimmer, it gives the most natural glow.

Schwarzkopf Perfect Mousse

Now, I am not one to usually do my hair colour at home. Being blonde-y, I find it far too risky because I'm scared it will turn orange, fall off, burn etc etc.

Today, however, was one of those days where I hastily decided that I NEEDED to do something about my hair. I had it foiled 1/2 head about 4 weeks ago, but as I only got 1/2 a head it was a mish-mash of different colours and tones, with  too much dark hair around my roots and underneath, and despite my daily shampooing with Matrix So Silver, my foils had a brassy tinge that wouldn't budge. I had a bee in my bonnet and my hair had to be remedied today.

I'd seen the Schwarzkopf Perfect Mousse last week when I was at Chemist Warehouse (unsucessfully) trying to source YSL Touche Eclat in shade 2 and I thought it looked pretty good, promising a pleasant fragrance, no ammonia, and glossy hair. So today at Priceline I picked up a box of Pearl Blonde (the lightest shade). I was tossing up between Pearl Blonde and Medium Blonde (the next lightest shade) but decided that if I was going to stuff my hair up, I was going to do it trying to be light blonde.

It was a cinch to use, open the developer bottle, pour in the colour gel, pop the pump on and hold upside down to combine.

Because the underneath of my hair was practically all my natural colour (dark mousy blonde) with only the last remains of a light brown semi, I decided to do the underneath of my hair first for 30 minutes. I then rinsed it, and dried it (as the product has to be applied to dry hair) and then used the remaining product to apply all over my hair (including the underneath again) except I was frugal with it around my hairline, I didn't want to risk looking like Draco Malfoy (have in the past). I knew it would be okay to do the underneath again as my hair seems to be very resilient, no matter how much it gets bleached, it is still in pretty good shape and glossy.

Fast forward 30 minutes, I hopped in the shower, rinsed my hair, shampooed it with my So Silver (left it on for a few minutes for good measure) and then conditioned it with the tube from the box.

The darker golden bit on the left was where my natural colour was, so as you can see it didn't turn it Pearl Blonde, rather a golden blonde (and looks darker here than it is because of the reflection of my hair). It definitely made my highlights a Pearl Blonde though!

My Thoughts:

Pros
+ No yucky bleach smell!
+ Easy to use
+ Only 30 min developing time
+ PLENTY of product (I was easily able to do the underneath, and then my whole head again with one pack)
+ Adapted amazingly to the tones in my hair, was not one flat colour
+ Left hair glossy just like it promised

Cons
- It developed darker than the shade depicted on the box (which was fine for me, because it lifted my previously foiled blonde, but for the re-growth it left it a darker golden rather than pearl blonde)

*** if you're a light-medium blonde wanting to use this, use Pearl Blonde, as I feel that Medium Blonde will come out too dark

I will definitely repurchase this. I like knowing that there is a blonding product I can (easily) use at home that won't ruin my hair.

I give it 4.5 stars (how do I get star shapes in my blog?!)

Barbie Loves (and Kitten!) Stila Smudgepots Review

I love a lazy Sunday, especially when the sun is shining and the day seems endless! It seems like the perfect time to do a review I have been wanting to get done for a while. The Barbie Loves Stila Smudgepot collection. I wanted my first review to be about something I REALLY love - gel eyeliners! Pictured below are my Stila Smudgepots (L-R Little Black Dress/Pink Noir, Purple Pumps/Ultraviolet, Cobalt Clutch/Electric Blue and Kitten).

The first three are part of the Barbie Loves Stila collection from 2009, but if you scour the interwebs these colours are still available. After umming and ahhing over them for a while, I recently noticed them on StrawberryNet, two of each colour for AUD$15.50. Couldn't say no! I thought I would also do a review of Kitten, considering it is such a popular colour.

Little Black Dress, Purple Pumps and Cobalt Clutch are their Barbie names, but the ones without the Barbie winking eye packaging are known as Pink Noir, Ultraviolet and Electric Blue. Anyway, they're the same colours, different names.

I am going to be honest, I am not overwhelmed by these Smudgepots like I was expecting to be. The only one I really really love is Pink Noir. It's a gorgeous inky black, which is packed with fine purple glitter.



I use this colour as an eyeliner and also smudged in the crease on top of other shadows. I am very happy with it, and recommend it to anyone looking for a glittery gel liner. Even if you have MAC Blitz & Glitz Fluidline, you need this! It brings a completely different dynamic to your look.

Ultraviolet was a bit of a let down, as the colour pay-off is very sheer, and not really what I am used to from a Smudgepot. I used it as an eyeliner yesterday, and had to layer it in order to get the colour I wanted, so it was difficult to get a thin bold line with it. The plus side is that it is also packed with glitter and has a beautiful consistency, so if you can get it right, it'd be a very fun colour to wear. I think I might just use it as a shadow in the future, as it's not really what I am after in a gel liner.

Electric Blue is a bold blue that is packed with very fine light blue shimmer, which almost makes it look iridescent. It looks beautiful in the pot and I was very excited to be receiving it as blue liner seems to be making a comeback. However, this is probably the biggest disappointment of the collection. I had read on some blogs and seen YouTube reviews which describe this colour as being a lot drier and flakier than other pots, and I was hoping that there were just a couple of dud pots out there, but when I got mine, I was disappointed to see that the consistency of Electric Blue was indeed very dry. When I applied it, it seemed to flake off with every stroke, and as I tried to apply more to increase the intensity, it flaked even more. So whilst it is a great colour, I'll need to have a brainstorm to see what I can do to make it usable for me.

Finally on to Stila Kitten, what can I say apart from I Love You? You're the only pot I've ever paid full price for at Mecca. Eyeliner, Eyeshadow, Primer, Highlighter... you do it all. So here's to you, Kitten! May you never be discontinued.

The brushes I use for my gel liners are below...

The top brush is the Mecca eyeliner brush which is AUD$35 at Mecca. I like to use this brush for the lighter colours, as it is more difficult to do a thin line with it, and I am not overly fussy if my Kitten line is slightly thicker than I do my black lines.

Stila #13S is one fabulous brush and I use this whenever I do tightlining with my darker colours. It's really easy to do a thin line right on the lash line. You can get this for a steal on StrawberryNet.

The Manicare Artiste brush is very similar to the Mecca brush, except the brush is slightly narrower. However for AUD$13.95 it is an excellent dupe. You can get this at Target/Priceline etc. 

After all my swatching, I want to give props to my Johnson's Baby Skincare Wipes Ultra Sensitive. They've done a darn good job in removing these liners from my hands and fingers!

Happy Sunday everyone!

Welcome

Welcome to my blog. This blog will most likely turn into something of a beauty blog, however I plan to also include some insights into day-to-day life!