Twas The Manicure Before Xmas

It's Christmas Eve!! I've spent the day dying in the heat, cleaning my house and watching A Nightmare Before Christmas. Now i'm heading out to our family Christmas Eve dinner (Italian side).

So I thought I'd better do my possibly last Christmas manicure of 2012. It's pretty simple just 2 coats of China Glaze Poinsettia with a glitter gradient of China Glaze Twinkle Lights (they came in a pack together in 2011).

Hope you enjoy and have a lovely Christmas!

LUSH Christmas Bathtime!

This was meant to be posted much earlier then 2 days before Christmas... but there is a silver lining! SALES!

If you've been reading my blog for awhile, or my old blog you would know I'm a bit of a Lush fan (Lushie). One of my favourite Lush releases of the year is Christmas! Not only does it mean I can stock up on one of my all time favourite products (Snow Fairy). It means they bring out a bunch of great products and gift packs for the festive season.

Earlier in the month I went on a trip to Adelaide with my mama (she is also a Lushie!) and whenever we go away together if there is a Lush store in the vicinity we pick something up for a night of pampering and since where we were staying had a bath we both went for Christmas bath bombs.

Mum purchased the Father Christmas Bath Ballistic RRP $6.95AUD which is a citrus smelling bomb with mandarin oil  and orange flower so a bit better for our climate (I find a lot of the bath bombs tend to smell wintery and since we have a hot summer don't really apply). When she put it in the bath she said it turned red and then green..FESTIVE! 

I picked up the Golden Wonder Bath Ballistic RRP $6.95AUD mainly because when you shook it there was something inside! and it was shaped like a present with a big bow...I'm a big kid after all :)

Again, like the Father Christmas this was citrus smelling so again much better for our Christmas climate. It smelt good! However, the real magic was when you put it in the bath it started off turning the bath a golden colour, then a blue, then a bit green and it settled on this amazing teal colour and the sound in the middle? SPOILER ALERT! It was tiny golden stars which when they came out I thought they were amazing and then thought "Oh shit, I'll have to clean these up". Nope! They dissolve! 

Lush make great Christmas gifts and have many amazing gift packs for those people who are hard to buy or you need to get a last minute gift for. 

Also, keep an eye out in the sales... most years they do a buy one get one free on all Christmas goodies! I always stock up and will be buying a few of the Golden Wonder Bath Ballistics and some more Snow Fairy (you can never have enough Snow Fairy)

If I don't manage to post beforehand, have a lovely and safe Christmas! xx

Gloss Cosmetics Parramatta Store Launch - Manicams Galore!

This is a sponsored post for Gloss Cosmetics.

On Saturday I attended the grand opening of the new Gloss Cosmetics store in Parramatta Westfield (Shop 2154, Level 2, Westfield Parramatta).

If you love beauty and accessories, and let's face it if your reading this blog you probably do! This store is a mecca for both, coming in at at least 4 times the size of the previous Gloss Cosmetics store it's bright, colourful and full of shiny pretty things. The store is full of affordable brands with something for all budgets. If your a fan of BYS you will find the entire collection here including a whole aisle dedicated to their nail polishes!

One of the amazing new additions to this store is the Gloss Nail Nation nail art they are offering for customers. This will cost you $25 or FREE! If you spend over $50 in store, which really isn't too difficult....for me anyway. You get to pick any of the 10 designs below which suit all styles and trends at the moment.

The store has an amazing range of gift packs at the moment for Christmas, so why not buy a few pressies and get a manicure while your there? It's a win win situation for all really :).

 I was lucky enough that at the store opening they were offering a free nail art design by the team from I Scream Nails in Melbourne check out their Twitter, Instagram & Facebook. Diana did my nails (who you can see below) and is one of the permanent nail artists at the Parramatta store and she was absolutely lovely! Check me out below getting mah nails did! 

What design do you think I went for? It was a tough choice and since there wasn't a choice of skulls or studs I went with the cute Watermelon design! My nails look so summery!

One of the other fun things they had at the opening was the first ever Manicam! This was a concept thought up by the Gloss team. Basically your nails walked the red carpet... such a cute idea and so much fun! I had flashbacks of those Yellow Pages ads (let your fingers do the walking). I must say my chubby fingers need a bit of runway practice; but I managed to get a little video of their debut on the red carpet. 

This was only for the launch (sorry guys!) but the lovely people at Gloss did say that it could be touring other stores. I will let you know if I hear anything about that.

I also made a small purchase in store. While I was waiting in line they asked if I could remove my nail polish ready for the nail artist and handed me some nail polish wipes to do it. I was wearing the polish in my last review (China Glaze Ruby Pumps) which is a glitter. The nail polish remover wipes took the colour off, smelt amazing and kind of moisturised my cuticles! The little gem is from Be Yourself (or BYS) and comes in a variety of scents. You get 50 nail polish remover pads for $2.95... getting my own pack was a no brainer! 

So if your around Parramatta Westfield be sure to check out the new Gloss Cosmetics store and have a fun nail art manicure!

If you'd like to read more about Gloss Cosmetics or just stay in touch with them check out the following places - Gloss Cosmetics Website, Twitter & Instagram

Thanks Gloss Cosmetics for inviting me to be a part of this fun event!

Christmas Manicure - China Glaze Ruby Pumps

 Just a quick one today, with the festive season approaching my manicures are getting more and more Christmasy so I thought i'd show you guys what festive manicures i'm sporting this year.

First up is one of my favourite polishes of all time (BIG CALL!). Not only is it a gorgeous sparkly red colour for really anytime of the year but I also think it's the perfect Christmas red, it kind of looks like the red sparkly ornaments you might put all over your Christmas tree.

China Glaze Ruby Pumps was part of the Wizard of Oz collection from a few years back, but I believe it was so popular it's now a permanent shade. If your in Australia you can purchase it from Crush Cosmetics (i've sent the link directly to the page, you're welcome)and it will set you back $10.95AUD from there. 2 coats, dream application yadda yadda yadda... I freakin love it!

Enough talk, let's look at the prettiness!



Are your nails getting in the festive spirit? If you've done any rad Christmas manicures leave a comment, I'd love to check them out!



Product Disclosure: Purchased with my own moola, and I would buy it again..and again..and again

Essence Haul! 3 Items for under $10!

This is just a small haul, being on a budget sucks! I however can still shop occasionally when I have brands like Essence at my disposal and can get 3 items for under 10 buckeroos!

The goodies I picked up were the Essence Kajal Pencil in All I Want (RRP $1.95AUD...not even kidding!), Essence Lipstick in Sparkling Miracle (RRP $3.95AUD) and Essence Nail Polish in Alice Had A Vision Again, from the Twilight Breaking Dawn Part II collection (RRP $3.95AUD)

Let's start with the Kajal Pencil...firstly need to shoutout to my homegirl Angela for talking about this on a YouTube video and making me wanna buy it! It's basically a skin toned liner which is perfect for putting on your water line for that "more awake" look. It works well and for the price i'd buy it over and over again!

Essence Lipstick in Sparkling Miracle is a berry with a bit of shimmer. I don't know who i'm turning into but i'm kinda loving purpley shaded lipsticks. I don't think they flatter me all that much but a girl can dream right? I actually quite like the texture of the Essence lipsticks they are smooth, creamy and pigmented. The one thing I don't like? The flimsy packaging... but for $3.95 a pop who can complain really?

The last item I purchased was on a whim, my friend Michelle had been after a particular nail polish from the Twilight Breaking Dawn 2 collection, so when I saw my local store had the full range I asked which she was after and it was Alice Has A Vision Again, so I grabbed it for her and saw how pretty it was so got one myself!

The colour is basically a dark purple with purple shimmer but then you go into the light and you see other colours shimmering away, it's a really beautiful shade. The other thing I love is the brush used on the Essence polishes, it's thick similar to OPI Pro Wide brushes.

You can still find some of the Twilight Breaking Dawn collection hanging around some stores but they are mostly empty to make way for the new Snow White collection (which i've already gotten my paws on!...post coming soon!)

Essence is found at Priceline & Target, but I find Target has the new collections more frequently (especially the commercial collections). You can also check out the Essence Australia facebook page for further deets on upcoming collections and what they sell!

Product Disclosure - All products were purchased by me with my own $10 note :)

Coloured Hair? DIY Hair Chalking! Video Tutorial & Pictures

WARNING! This post is going to be quick pic heavy, but it kind of has to be to show the amazingness of DIY Hair Chalking!

I first saw this on Lauren Conrads website The Beauty Department  and i've wanted to try it out for ages, I eventually moseyed on down to my local arty crafty store (Riot Art & Craft) and found the Soft Pastels recommended for this look.

Let's take a trip down memory lane for a moment. When I was teenager; I loved having colourful hair I had pink, blue, green, purple, red... honestly, every colour under the sun. I trawled through my old photos, REAL PHOTOS...remember those? to bring you some of these doozies (bad eyebrows included!). Check out the last picture and my white nail polish, such a trend setter! 

So now you've seen my embarrassing photos, lets talk about how you do this! 

What you need:

• Soft Pastels (Not oil pastels...they won't work)
• Towel / Old Shirt
• Water if your hair is dark
• Gloves - Particularly if your using water. This does wash off your hands easily though!
• Hair Straightener / Curling Iron - something with heat
• Clarifying Shampoo (I've been using the Herbal Essences Drama Clean)

These are the Soft Pastels I used, I got a set of 48 for around $36 just check your local art/craft stores. They come in all varieties of sizes & colours.

How to do it:

• If your blonde just go straight ahead and rub the chalk/pastels on your hair where you want the colour to go.
• If you have darker hair, you need to wet the hair you'll be working with first and then rub the colour on.
• If you've wet your hair and put the colour on, let it dry off. The colour will intensify as it dries, then your going to want to add some heat either with a hair straightener or curling iron. (TIP: If your hair is naturally curly, straighten it beforehand it will make putting the chalk on much easier)

That's pretty much it really, I also did a video tutorial on YouTube if you'd like to watch below:

So now I have some final pictures, on my own hair and also on my friend Angela (click her name to check out her blog). She has dark hair so was kind enough to be my guinea pig in making her hair a rainbow mess... a cool rainbow mess :)

Hope you enjoyed this post! If you give it a go i'd love to see your results :)

Instaweek #2

Here are some snippets of my week as per instagram! Follow me at http://www.instagram.com/vulcanella

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• Afternoon snack! Rye Cruskits with cottage cheese, cinnamon and a little bit of honey..mmm mmm
• I'm part of a beauty blogger xmas card exchange and received this great card from Confessions of a Beauty Addict. I love it because the proceeds from the card go to the RSPCA.
• Penny Lane sure loves a tummy rub
• Penny & Minnie hanging out on the couch
• Ah-May-Zing breakfast from Circa Espresso as always - This was fruit & nut bread with ricotta, strawberries, honey & pistachios
• Equally amazing coffee from Circa
• My parents went away this weekend so I went over to the feed the pooches, this is Stella (or as I call her... Stella McBella with Cheese) isn't she adorable!
• Saw this skull at typo and my first thought was what an amazing makeup brush holder this would be (always a beauty blogger lol)
• Sunday dinner at a friends place! This lamb was amazing!

Hope you all had a good week! I'm off to Adelaide next weekend so this post will be up a little late but might also be a bit bigger... I'm sure i'll be instagramming like a crazy mutha fucker while i'm in Adelaide.

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Darling & Sweetheart

FINALLY! They have arrived! You can find them at Priceline for RRP $17.95AUD a pop and i'm sure they'll start popping up around all the other usual Revlon outlets shortly.

I'm talking about the Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains. I stood, swatched, looked at swatches on blogs until I finally decided on 2 colours; Darling & Sweetheart.

This product is not to be confused with the Revlon Just Bitten Lipstain & Balm...that product is a texta like lipstain with a balm on the other end, I reviewed one on my old blog if you'd like to have a squizz here. Way to confuse everyone Revlon.

This is what Revlon has to say about the Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain - It’s a pampering balm fused with a lightweight lipstain in an adorable chubby crayon. Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain gives softer, smoother lips with a perfect flush of color that lasts hour after hour.

In short, it's Revlons take on Clinique's popular Chubby Sticks... I don't own any but the packaging etc is very very similar and i've heard reports the formula is even the same.

So how do these wear? I've only tried them out each for a short time as I only got them yesterday but Sweetheart certainly worked as a stain, there were even remnants of it on my lips this morning after I put it on for my swatches yesterday afternoon. Darling is a little sheerer and won't stain as much but it's quite long lasting.

They smell of peppermint when you first apply them and they feel nice and moisturizing. So far I think they are pretty rad!

Update! I wrote this post the day after I purchased these, now i've worn these babies for almost a whole week I can give a better update...sometimes it's good to draft and update :) Darling wears nicely and through 1 cup of coffee but will be gone by lunch time. Sweetheart is an absolute trooper! Still going strong after lunch with a slight pink stain to the lip. If your lips are dry, keep a good lip balm on hand to keep it from looking cracking and crappy.

Darling is a lilac pink and unlike anything I currently own, I can imagine it looking amazing with a smokey eye!

Sweetheart was a no brainer for me, a bright pink it's actually quite different to the other pinks I own. I thought it would be a dupe for Sweet Tart from the Lip Butter range but this is a little darker and brighter. I love this colour! You'll see below how it just brightens my face up. Loves it!

Have you tried these out yet? What's your favourite colour?

I can see myself picking up more of these in the future!

P.S. Because I love you guys, if you head into Priceline they currently have BOGOF (Buy One Get One Free) on all lip and nail prodz, so grab 2 of these for $17.95...BARGAINOUS! (Valid to 3rd December 2012...soz if you're reading this a little late) 

Product Disclosure: Bought with my own moola, plus I had a Priceline voucher because i'm a bit of a Priceline Ho!

Top 10 Lipsticks - Video & Swatches!

Want to see my favourite lipsticks, well 10 of my favourites.

Watch the video below!

Here's the lineup -

Swatcheroo's -

Let me know if you'd like to see anymore top 10 favourite type videos/posts! 

Manicure Monday - Innisfree Glitter!

Just a quick Manicure Monday post, this polish was gifted to me by my lovely friend Michelle. She recently went on a trip to Hong Kong and very kindly bought back a few pressies, including this amazing glitter....she knows me all too well!

Innisfree isn't a polish brand i've ever heard of and they don't really name their polishes, this is just numbered 106. However it has the most amazing multi coloured glitter embedded in it with the main focus colour being orange. The application is amazing, you get a really good coverage of glitter over the nail. You could use this on it's own but I layered it over my favourite black Illamasqua Scorn. 

Instaweek #1

This is a new thing i'm going to try and start doing on my blog hopefully of a Sunday each week.

If you already follow me on instagram you would have seen these pictures, but for those who don't it's a fun way to get a glimpse into what happens in the life of the girl behind the blog. I'll also give little explanations of each picture as well.

If you want to follow me on instagram, my username is vulcanella

• The week started off with a Starbucks fix, my usual order Iced Caramel Machiatto (no cream) woot woot.

• Hanging out with my Boston Terrier, Penny Lane. She loves sitting watching tv with me...she sleeps I watch.

• It was 7/11 last week which meant FREE SLURPEE'S!! It was tiny and gone in minutes but boy it was what I needed after a long long day cleaning out my grandma's unit while she moved to a new one.

• Snuggling up with Minnie, she's my bayyyyy-beee.

• I attended an event this week checking out all the new Christmas goodies at The Body Shop, they had this amazing candy buffet.. so good! The new Christmas range smells as good as this candy buffet looks. Reviews to come!

• My lovely friend Angela posted a picture of her youth in cd's on instagram and I thought it was a rad idea so I copied. Funnily enough these are still some of my favourite albums of all time. 

• OOTD Yo! Just a casual shopping day rocking some Sid & Nancy :)

• I played with the new Lush Fun soap/shampoo/playdoh/multitasker and it was FUN! I made a little cupcake for the facebook comp...cross fingers $100 worth of Lush goodies would be pretty awesome. I picked up one of these as well in Pink, it smells amazing and is so fun! (hence the name)

• I have pastel hair! temporarily though.... Can't wait to do a tutorial on this for you guys, just wanted to test it out first to make sure it worked and get the hang of it before I film a tutorial. Probably will do that next weekend. Stay Tuned!

Have a great week everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Let's talk about Dry Shampoo

Whoever invented dry shampoo in my opinion is an absolute bloody legend!

If you've never heard of dry shampoo (blasphemy!) It's one of my "cant live without it" products, it's a product you spray into your hair to dry up any excess oil to make it look fresh and washed again. Being a "sometimes gym junkie" it's an absolute essential for me.

I have tried many and thought i'd give you my thoughts on each one i've tried, the good the bad and the ugly!

Tresemme' Fresh Start Dry Shampoo (RRP $11.49AUD) - I don't particularly like having to start my post off with a negative but i'm going in order of the picture. This dry shampoo did absolutely nothing for my hair, it made it feel sticky and worse then it being dirty. I've tried it as much as I could (different distances for the spray etc) and it's never improved. Now i've done the photo this can go where it belongs...in my bin. HOWEVER! I have heard some people say they like this, it could just be my hair it doesn't work for.

Garnier Pure Volume Dry Shampoo (RRP $8.95AUD) - I had high hopes for this product, I generally really like Garnier products (skincare especially). I haven't used their hair range in awhile but I've always loved the smell of their hair products for some reason. I was super excited to try this out and sadly it fell short. Similar experience to the Tresemme dry shampoo, it didn't feel like my hair was clean. So another one for my bin.

Batiste Dry Shampoo in Blush (RRP $9.95AUD) - One of the first brands to do dry shampoo and in my opinion one of the best. I love this because my hair looks like it's been freshly washed once I use it and it soaks up any oil I may have and it keeps my hair soft. This is one of the brands I keep coming back to time and time again. They stock a fair few different scents and I have tried them all, the scent doesn't linger so don't worry if you don't like it. They also have versions for darker hair!

Girlz Only Dry Shampoo in Party Nights & Hazy Days (RRP $2.00AUD) - I am not kidding about that price either. This brand with a crappy name is found in Target and can I just say this stuff is amazing! It's very similar to Batiste & actually gives my hair more volume then Batiste. Plus for $2 a bottle you really can't go wrong! It comes in a few different scents, and they aren't particularly incredible smelling but for the price point you kinda forget that. This is my number 1 dry shampoo now mainly due to the price point and the fact I go through a lot of this stuff. LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE!

Klorane Extra Gentle Dry Shampoo with Oat Milk (RRP $12.95AUD) - My one in the picture is a sample size from one of the sample boxes I received but I have also purchased this in full size. It's nice like the Batiste but due to the cost of it i'd purchase the Batiste or Girlz Only over it in a heartbeat. Nothing different really and would rather save my $$'s :).

I hope this may have helped you, I know there are plenty more brands out there now doing dry shampoo and i'd love it if you could tell me your thoughts on them.

Product Disclosure - All these products were purchased with my own money, yep i'm a certified dry shampoo addict.

Links & Loves #3

Here I am with another edition of my links & loves, as usual this is a post to showcase some blog posts that i've enjoyed reading recently and post some inspirational, pretty, cool whatever pictures that i've found along the way on the interwebz.

It's an easy read for you all and fun for me to do! :)

If you have any blogs you think I should read, please let me know! 

BLOG LOVE

• Chelle from Cosmetic Cupcake uses one of my all time favourite polish shades to create a mermaid inspired gradient manicure
•  Angela from Beauty Blogged shares some products that she won't be using again, I love these sorts of posts!
• Tina from Chasing Elixir writes a heartfelt blog post to her blogging besties, I related so well to the words she wrote in how I have found amazing friends from blogging. They know who they are and how much I heart them :)
• Tara from Keeping Up With Me recently got hitched! I was lucky enough to attend the ceremony via the wonder that is the internet :) Congratulations Tara!!! xxxx
• Dee from Year of the Tight Arse/Miss Prissypants posted a guide to some Etsy sellers, I love Etsy but sometimes find it hard to know what to look for so these guides really help/enable me.
• Claire from Clare De Blog shows a kick ass zombie halloween look. I met Claire at IMATS this year, and she's so lovely so go to her blog kthxbai :)
• More Nail Polish swatches the new Ulta3 glitter polishes, I have my eye on that rainbow glitter for sure!

IMAGE LOVE

Source: welcome-to-the-fishbowl.blogspot.com via Alyssa on Pinterest

Source: pinterestingdubstep.blogspot.com via Doreen on Pinterest

Source: silvertallest.deviantart.com via Stephanie on Pinterest

Source: thefancy.com via Samantha on Pinterest

Source: cache0.bigcartel.com via Stephanie on Pinterest

Source: fashforfashion.com via Susan on Pinterest

Source: 1.bp.blogspot.com via Rachel on Pinterest

Source: behance.net via Marina on Pinterest

Source: mayraamatal.tumblr.com via Danielle on Pinterest

Source: google.com via Ginny on Pinterest

Source: peoplestylewatch.com via Zara on Pinterest

Source: fuckyeahpurplehair.tumblr.com via Ginny on Pinterest