Curls, Curls, Curls! Review feat. Modiva Professional 25mm Curling Iron

Hopefully you sang that in the tune of Motley Crue's song Girls Girls Girls... that's how I envisioned it anyway :)

Let's talk hair... My hair is a bunch o tight frizzy curls which I don't like. So why would I be reviewing a curling iron you may say? Well let's just say i've always had curl envy... love everyone elses curls, hate my own! So when the lovely people at Modiva Professional offered to let me try out their new curling iron I jumped at the chance to get those perfect loose but bouncy Lauren Conrad style waves i've always lusted over.



I'm no stranger to the world of curling my hair... I've tried the GHD curls, failed. Curling tongs, failed. I have even tried top knotting and hairspraying the shit out of my hair so it became a crusty mess....biggest fail!

The thing I really liked about this particular curling iron is that it doesn't contain anything to snatch your hair onto which generally creates kinks. The thing I love most... It's easy and quick to use!

Just pop the little black heatproof glove (included) onto the hand you'll be using to wrap the hair around the iron, section your hair into pieces about 1.5" each, wrap your piece of hair around the iron (always away from the face), hold for a few seconds, let it go and voila beautiful big bouncy curls!



On Saturday night I did a little experiment in pictures with the first lot of curls I tried with this iron to show how well the curls stayed in my hair. With previous attempts at curling with the other methods my curls have generally dropped within a few hours, even with a ton of hairspray. Here is my little timeline.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="612" caption="7pm - freshly curled with hairspray"][/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="612" caption="12.30am.. looking a little sleepy "][/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="612" caption="Ready for bed! Put hair in top knot to see how the curl holds up!"][/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="612" caption="Next morning 10.30am! "][/caption]

As you can see the curls held up quite well, very impressive!

So all in all this is a great curling tong and something I think i'll be using quite a bit now. The one thing which did confuse me was it didn't really say when it was fully heated, but i gave it a few minutes and it was hot enough to make snazzy curls and boy it got hot. Overall loves it! !!

So if you'd like to pick yourself a Modiva Professional 25mm Curling Tong you can purchase directly from the Modiva Professional website for a RRP of $89.95

BUT! The lovely people at Modiva Professional have offered my readers a $30 discount off the full priced tong! All you need to do is use the following discount code - lovevulcanella when you checkout. This code is valid until 31st August 2011

This product was provided for my consideration, please read my disclosure policy.

Oooooo a high end lip gloss... it's Chanel too!

So i'm pretty much a Priceline aisle girl who occasionally dabbles in the higher end brands like MAC, Nars etc and to be honest i've always thought that some of the designer brand makeup was a bit of a rip off... I mean I can't really justify paying almost $50 for a lip gloss just because it has a designer logo on it (now removing self from high horse).

However it has always kind of intrigued me if the products are really worth that high price tag, and thankfully we have places like Strawberry Net where we can pick these products up a little cheaper and if you are a regular shopper there with your discount on top of that lower price. So I decided to try out a bit of Chanel and I took a safe bet on a lip gloss because even if the colour doesnt suit me I could easily try and manipulate it with a lipstick underneath etc.

I picked the Chanel Aqualumiere Gloss in Glass Quartz #69 (giggle!). Judging from the colour swatch on Strawberry Net this isn't the kind of colour i'd usually pick for myself but I did my usual searching for swatches on blogs and saw it was actually a really pretty wearable everyday colour. That's exactly what it is, it's a sort of rosey colour that looks natural on the lip.

The applicator is a brush which is something I haven't had before in any of my other glosses and it's a welcome change! The wear on this gloss is also pretty decent, lasting up to 3-4 hours even through my regular morning coffee and breakfast.

So do I think these designer brands are worth the extra $$'s... they are nice and the packaging is lovely but I think i'll be sticking to buying these sort of brands off the discounted websites, sorry Myer!

This particular gloss currently retails for $32AUD on Strawberry Net at the moment.

Haulage!

As usual life is hectic! So here is a little haulage post... I haven't done one of these in ages!

I had some family members go to the US in April and with the great $$ I sent them off with a shopping list, they did well!

The goodies!



Sephora!!!!

Urban Decay Primer Potion - My favourite eye primer....and it's in a tube!!! So much better then the crappy packaging previously which is what my current tube is, I'm going to attempt to depot that soon as i'm almost out. I'll let you know how I go!

Benefit Bella Bamba - 3D blush? yep that's how this is marketed. I am a fan of the Benefit boxed blushes so had to get this.

Illamasqua Ore Pigment - I have loved and wanted this for so long! IT'S MINE! Haven't used it yet but can't wait to give it a go.



Mac... really? could you tell? :)

Eyeshadows - Beauty Marked, Carbon, Blanc Type & Sketch - I can't even remember why I picked these particular colours but they are so beautiful, especially Beauty Marked... can't wait to try a sparkly smokey eye with this one!

Blush - Well Dressed & Peachykeen - Love Peachykeen still not 100% convinced about Well Dressed

Lipstick - Dubonnet - I think I had winter in mind when picking this... tried it and its very very dark... not sure if I can pull this one off but might try using it as a stain in winter. It is a very pretty colour though!

That's all folks!

 

Liquid Eyeliners - Face of Australia vs. Maybelline

It's showdown time! In the ring we have Face of Australia Liquid Eyeliner and Maybelline Line Stilleto Liquid Liner.

This review is a long time coming, I'd had everything ready to go for my review on the Maybelline Line Stilleto Liquid Liner and then BAM! I tried out the Face of Australia liner and found 2 amazing and well priced liners! So let's compare them!

Packaging

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Face of Australia Liquid Liner / Maybelline Line Stilleto Liquid Liner"][/caption]

The packaging on both of these products is quite different. The Face of Australia holds 8mls of product and the Maybelline holds 1.5ml of product. I really like how the Maybelline tube is quite small as it makes application quite easy. However you're getting more value for money with the amount of product in the Face of Australia liner.

Applicator



I like both of these applicators. The Face of Australia applicator is very small and fine making it easy to make a very thin line (great for a daytime eye) plus I find the smaller it is the easier it is to apply and mistakes are minimal. The Maybelline applicator is a hard felt style applicator and again is easy to use but it is a little bigger then the Face of Australia applicator.

Swatch



Well they are both black! haha! I think the Maybelline provides a darker line and I find the Face of Australia liner does take a little while to dry. The Maybelline liner works great on its own with no shadow, however I found the Face of Australia liner worked even better when it was over a primer or eyeshadow colour.

On the Eye!









[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Face of Australia Liquid Liner (with Primer underneath)"][/caption]

















[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="400" caption="Maybelline Line Stilleto Liquid Liner"][/caption]







Quite similar... I do prefer my application with the Face of Australia liner.

So overall they are both very good liquid liner products. I must be honest though I have been leaning more towards the Face of Australia one of late as I find it gives me a more precise and thinner line which is how I like to wear it with my everyday makeup. You also get a lot more product with the Face of Australia product and we all love a little bang for our buck right?

As for price you can pick up the Face of Australia Liquid Liner for a measly $8.95AUD and the Maybelline Line Stiletto Liquid Liner will cost approx $13.95AUD.

Now for something fun! Something i've always wanted to master and i'm really crap at is the Lauren Conrad wing...well Lauren launched her beauty site not too long ago http://www.thebeautydepartment.com (I actually really like the website) and on the site was a tutorial of how she does her liquid liner... want to give it a go? Here's the video :)

Face of Australia product was provided for consideration, please read my disclosure policy for more information.

Ahhh I may have found my perfect moisturizer!

I try out a lot of different skincare products especially when I hear hype about something I like to see for myself if it works for me... honestly 7 times out of 10 it probably doesn't. So when I saw rave reviews about Origins Vitazing Moisturizer I was a tad skeptical. I was so wrong, this is one item I think I will be continually repurchasing until they discontinue it (oh please no!).

So what do Origins say about Vitazing - This multi-tasking moisturizer handles the vital jobs of hydrating, energizing and protecting to maintain skin's momentum all day. Gives skin the refreshing zing of antioxidant-rich Mangosteen. And adds a healthy hit of radiance that mimics the glow you get from a week's vacation. All in 10 seconds max.  Slip it on first thing tomorrow - you'll look like you eat right, sleep tight & don't have a worry in sight.

Ahhh sounds too good to be true right? well I can say when I put this on in the morning my skin looks amazing! glowy and rested would be the words i'd use.

The moisturizer is somewhat tinted and I believe it is one of those tints that adjusts to your skin tone, I don't really believe all that rubbish but it does have a slight colour but for me not enough that I could wear this solely without any other foundation, concealer etc.

As for its moisturizing properties since that's what it's really all about. My skin feels soft, smooth and hydrated. It doesn't leave it oily or anything and the product sinks in quickly so I can apply makeup not long after putting it on.

Overall... I LOVE THIS PRODUCT!

So where do you buy this little tube of amazingness? Well head down to your local Kit Cosmetics and you'll pick one up for $44. Hey you might even see me there picking up another tube (my current one is dangerously low)

Face of Australia Opulent Eyes Palette in Rich & Famous

Have a looksie at this palette from Face of Australia, it's from a limited edition line of palettes they have bought out called Opulent Eyes and if the fact it is limited edition hasn't already got you interested, how about the fact that for a price with change from a $20 note these eyeshadows are actually very very nice!



I was lucky enough to try out the palette in Rich & Famous which is lovely bronzey neutrals (my favorite eyeshadow shades). The first thing I noticed about these shadows is the funky design of the palette, it's quite an unconventional design and honestly I thought it might be a bit of a pain to try and get product on my brush but it turned out to be a breeze.

The actual shadows are pigmented and really soft and easy to blend. The colours of course all go really well together which is something I love about palettes, all the work is basically done for you (in terms of picking an eye look anyway).



As for staying power, these held up pretty well! I wore them with a primer underneath (Urban Decay Primer Potion) and they lasted throughout the day with no creasing. The one thing I did notice though was the shadows in this particular palette are quite glittery and I had a bit of glitter around my eyes at the end of the day, this may be a negative for some but I love glitter so it didn't worry me at all.

Something i've never really done on this blog before is eyeshadow looks...main reason is i'm not wonderful at applying eyeshadow, but I decided to do a look using this palette and put it on here so you can see how lovely the colours all work together.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="612" caption="Natural Light"][/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="612" caption="With Flash"][/caption]

Since this is Limited Edition I suggest picking one up, or even one of the other colours in the collection. They are RRP $14.95 and can be purchased from Priceline, Kmart, Big W and stores that stock Face of Australia products

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="604" caption="Image from http://www.faceofaustralia.com.au"][/caption]

This product was provided for my consideration, for information on my disclosure policy please check the link in the toolbar.

 

NOTD - Face of Australia Luxe Nail Enamel in Ocean Villa

Face of Australia... I'm sure you've been seeing this brand popping up on a lot of blogs you read, that is because this brand is amazing with bloggers. For example, today I asked if this range of polish was still in stores so I could tell my readers if it was and how long and almost instantly I got a response. Sadly this range has been discontinued (it was Limited Edition) but you may be lucky and still find it around, I saw some at a Kmart the other week. GOOD NEWS THOUGH! The whole range is available to order directly from themakeupboxshop@gmail.com.

Onto the colour I have! As soon as I started applying it I was excited to tell you all that this is one of the best nail polish formulas i've worked with, not only that the blue colour is so pretty. Perhaps not conventional for some but Hey I love my blue nails :)

It dried down to a semi matte finish, which is something I wasn't too keen on but a coat of top coat (Seche Vite of course!) all was good again!

Want to know the most exciting thing though? These polishes are only $4.95each!

As I mentioned before these are being phased out so the new collection can come in (google Face of Australia Molten Metals and a grab a serviette because your going to drool..Ore is on my list and better not sell out before I get my grabby hands onto it!) However you can still order from the lovely make up box shop to the email above or even have a chat to them on twitter @TheMakeUpBoxAU or you may be lucky and stumble across some in your local Kmart!



This product was provided to me for my consideration, for more information please read my disclosure policy.

 

The New Face of Hugo Boss is....

Jared Leto!

Let's all enjoy this lovely piece of eye candy and reminisce of the early days when he was Jordan Catalano, did anyone else also crush on him then?

He is the face of the new fragrance HUGO Just Different and also HUGO Man. The campaigns will be launched in July 2011 but I found a couple of sneak peaks on jared-leto.net





Any excuse to post photos of Jared Leto ;)

FREE BEAUTY MAGAZINES!

We all love bargains don't we... well I found a couple of beauty magazines you can pick up for free!

Where? Well you need to pop down to your local supermarket... Coles or Woolies to be exact!

Yes they are kind of glorified pamphlets and only talk about products stocked at either store but they do both contain articles and tips and in the Woolies one you get 2 pages of discount vouchers.

So next time your doing your groceries have a look and see if you can find your free beauty magazines! :) They also do recipe ones which I find quite good as well.

My Pippi Longstocking Dream came true!

No i'm not talking about my hair standing on end in pigtails, though I did try that when I was younger...let's just say it took copious amounts of hairspray and a bit of wire and I got it to work.

I just got an email from one of the many "deal, cheap, wahoo you need this" websites I subscribe to and thought...oh my it's Pippi Longstocking!

Check these babies out!



They are only $9.95 for the next 24 hours on crazysales.com.au

No this isn't a late April Fools joke either, it's serious business! I'm kinda tempted to try them out

For nostalgia purposes and if you have no idea what the hell i'm banging on about here is a little reference for you.



Have a great Monday everyone :)

Love Vulcanella is now on Facebook!

Yep all the facebook addicts out there! you can get updates on new blog post, pictures and whatever I feel like mentioning on the new facebook page!

Clicky Click and Like away!

Today was all about the nails

What do you do on a rainy miserable Saturday in Sydney? Well you can stay at home and watch a re-run of the Royal Wedding or you can go for a drive to the cheap nail polish store.... guess which I did? Okay well I did watch the Wills and Kate movie when I got home but I did go to the nail polish store as well.

I've banged on about this place before, it's in Bankstown and stocks brands like OPI, China Glaze, Essie and Orly for a fraction of what we pay in the stores (not quite as cheap as online, but for quick gratification it's a good option).

First up though I was in desperate need for a Mani and Pedi so off I went to find a place that looked okay, I ended up at American Nails and got mah nails did. Have I ever mentioned before how much I hate pedicures? I hate my feet being touched so much that I swear I make the weirdest faces when i'm getting one, they even kept asking if I was okay! So after the torture was through I went to the nail store and at the front... CHINA GLAZE CRACKLES! OH MY! So I picked up a basket and stocked up.

I picked up the following

China Glaze Crackle - Lightening Bolt (White)

China Glaze Crackle - Broken Hearted (Pink)

China Glaze Crackle - Crushed Candy (Light Blue)

China Glaze Crackle - Cracked Concrete (Grey)

Crackle Shatter - Hot Purple (different brand but the lady said the crackle in it was good, so thought i'd give it a go)

China Glaze - Sugar High

China Glaze - Midtown Magic

OPI - Ink

Seche Vite (ahhhh my HG! I buy another bottle of this everytime I go so I always have a back up)

Here are some pics of my haul and my mani and pedi, mind my ugly feet...we have issues :)









If you want to check out the nail polish store yourself here are the details -

Pro Nail Supply

9 Greenfield Pde
Bankstown NSW 2200
Tel: (02)-9709-2300

They also have a website! http://aupronailsupply.com/