Beauty in a tick: Clarins Instant Smooth Lip Gel in Crystal Pink

Instant Smooth Lip Gel in Crystal Pink

When I caught a whiff of Clarins Instant Smooth Crystal Lip Gel in Crystal Pink I was immediately transported back to my youth. Bang, I found myself standing inside our local candy store. The checkered floor, the confection-littered shelves and the sound of Rich slurping on liquid cherry.  

My teeth hurt just thinking about the slurping sound and the fact that he even ate that crap. Tho, I shouldn't judge as I was the one who always walked away with a pouch of Fun Dip.

For me, Clarins Instant Smooth Crystal Lip Gel is like a nod to my childhood, the scent of cherries minus the tooth decay and calories. 

Swatch of Crystal Pink with flash

Swatch of Crystal Pink without flash

Crystal Pink glides onto lips easily, feels whisper light and lasts for around two hours. My lips were left quenched, non-sticky (sticky gloss ranks low on my lippie hierarchy) with a hint of watermelon-y goodness.

If you're after a low-maintenance fruit bomb for your lips, Crystal Pink is sure to deliver just that. 

Wearing Crystal Pink

The Bagful breakdown:

Total amount for Clarins Instant Smooth Lip Gel in Crystal Pink:

• $30.00 AUS (Hits Aussie shelves on 4 November 2013) / $22.00 USD

Value for money spent (performance and quality):

• 8 out of 10 bags — Points for nostalgia and scent.

Would another purchase be on the horizon?:

• Perhaps Clarins 3-Dot Liner will take the guesswork out of the cat eye effect.

*PR sample provided –  Thoughts and ramblings written here are completely my own.

Sally Hansen, take me back to Sesame Street

From left to right: Peach Fuzz (Big Bird), Wool Knot (centre) and Tweedy (Statler & Waldorf)

There's nothing wrong with a little bit of whimsy, especially when it comes to nails -- you should never take your nails seriously, except when it comes to care, of course.

Sally Hansen released Fuzzy Coat for the nail art-challenged and even the glitter bar lovers.

Fuzzy Coat

Sorry for the base colour

Fuzzy Coat can be worn several ways, All Lacquered Up shows you three examples for your consideration (my personal favourite is the Jelly Sandwich). Last week I felt inclined to try them out before my weekly manicure to see how they looked and worked. Surprisingly, I found this type of glitter polish easy to work with; the trick here is to wipe off excess polish on one side of the brush and then with the other you can make a start on your nail by dabbing and dragging the glitter around.

The clear polish is extremely forgiving and thankfully it didn't dry too quickly. The extra time provided by this particular formula allowed me to layer the glitter until I reached the full effect I was after. Within an hour I was able to use my nails without having to worry about messing them up.

A few cotton swabs were harmed during the removal process -- let's bow our heads and pay them respect.

Today's post was brought you by the letter 'B'.

*PR sample provided –  Thoughts and ramblings written here are completely my own.

Beamed down from another galaxy: BY TERRY Ombre Blackstar "Color-Fix" Cream Eyeshadow

My eyes popped out after sneaking a peek at the price tag. With the myriad of eyeshadow pencil options out there, what could possibly warrant the $62.00 price tag? Well, once the colour is applied, it refuses to budge. However, with its unbudginess (official makeup geek speak here) your window for blending is very slim -- work fast and efficiently, folks.

The presence of Tahitian black pearl extract "smoothes and perfects eyelids" and possibly even adds to that insane price tag.

The tip of the eyeshadow stick is perfectly rounded and sized for sneaking into crevices and tight corners. On appearance alone, I think Terry's version is similar in size to Bobbi Brown's Long-wear Cream Shadow Stick.

Frozen Quartz is a shimmery mauve with brown and purple undertones, great for using all over the lid or in the crease. Misty Rock is a champagne tinged tan with a hint of light pink; I prefer to use this colour as a wash on my lid and along my lower lash line. If either of these colours don't do it for you, there are eight others to ponder over.

Misty Rock (left) and Frozen Quartz (right)

While I do enjoy the three dimensional colour I have found you need to apply eyeliner first, because the texture of the shadow does not make for a smooth base. For me it's a fair trade-off as I prefer the "tattoo-like hold".

The Bagful breakdown:

Total amount for BY TERRY Ombre Blackstar "Color-Fix" Cream Eyeshadow:

• $62.00 AUS / $43.00 USD

Value for money spent (performance and quality):

• 10 out of 10 bags — Despite the price, I love that this shadow refuses to creep.

Would another purchase be on the horizon?:

• Recently purchased Opaline Flash, think NARS Copacabana, but for your eyes.

Boxed up beauty: Violet Box

Of the three beauty subscription boxes I've checked out in the past two years, Violet Box happens to be my favourite.

Violet Box launched two months ago in a market littered with too many options. How can you be guaranteed you're getting what you've paid for? Will you eventually grow tired of receiving mediocre samples you could easily pick up at your local department store? Violet Box has avoided those potential issues by giving you at least two full sized products within your sample cornucopia.

Now it's only two months in, but I have high hopes for this particular brand. By the second month Violet Box upgraded their packaging from cute, albeit flimsy, cardboard to a sturdy constructed box fit for re-use.

July goodies

As for their subscription service, you can choose between four options -- it really depends on your personal appetite for sample consumption. Contextually, it helps to breakdown your monetary commitment -- I to want to know how much money I'll have left in my makeup budget :)

• Monthly @ $22.95/box
• 3 Months @ $22.00/box
• 6 Months @ $21.66/box
• 12 Months @ $20.83/box

Violet Box is even kind enough to let you exit their subscription scheme at any time (keep in mind, you will be held financially accountable for the box(es) you've already received) and you're also given ample warning prior to renewal.

It will be interesting to see how Violet Box grows and which well-known brands will jump on board in the coming months.

So, are you game?

*PR sample provided –  Thoughts and ramblings written here are completely my own.