NP Set Palettes galore! Glam Set & Red Carpet Set (Pic Heavy)

Ahhh Napoleon, to be honest i've not tried very many Napoleon makeup products, I bought a lipstick once on a whim and I actually really like it!

These palettes are from Napoleons more "budget friendly" range NP Set which is available in department stores (Pretty sure BIG W has a sale on these products this week...go go go). I honestly can't see the difference between these more pocket friendly products and the normal range, so for me it's pocket friendly each time.

I was sent these palettes to try out (eons ago... yep bit slow on the ol blogging front over here) and I thought they were the perfect option for someone just starting to get into makeup (younger girls, i'm looking at you!). At a very wallet friendly price of $29 each you get yourself 4 lovely eyeshadows which are nicely pigmented, easy to blend and with a kick ass eye primer hold out throughout the day. You also get 4 lipglosses (to be honest i'm not a fan of these, just because it's a bit impractical to take this palette for touch ups) and lastly, there are 2 blush colours!

Onto the sets, you have a choice of 2 sets which makes life easier... ask yourself the question are you a neutral girl or a little more daring?



The Glam Set is for your more neutral loving girl, the shadows in this are right up my alley and the 4 shades compliment each other really nicely and make for some nice easy eye looks.

The blushes are meant to be a contour and highlight blush I think, these did not work for me at all. The darker colour was just too dark for my fair skin, it may however work for you.

Here are some close ups of the palette and some swatches







Sorry I didn't bother doing the lip glosses, the swatches I tried were way to sheer and really didn't show anything at all.



The Red Carpet set is a little brighter and bolder, you can experiment a little more with the eyeshadow colours while still maintaining a quite neutral look if thats what you prefer.

When I first received this the thing I was most excited about was the blushes in this particular set... bright bold and exactly what I am into right now, the blushes on their own are fantastic and highly pigmented but I made a little discovery! Mixing these blushes together gives the most perfect pinky coral cheek....quite similar to one of my favourite blushes, the limited edition MAC Ripe Peach blush. I did a swatch of the colours blended together on their own so you can see for yourself.









Ahhh I just love them mixed together!!!

So overall these palettes are a nice addition to my makeup collection, personally if I could choose i'd have the neutral eyeshadows with the 2 bright blushes and no lip glosses in my ideal NP Set palette.

If your interested in purchasing this you can find NP Set at Target, Big W and now TVSN!

Products mentioned were provided for my consideration, please read my disclosure policy for further information.

 

Subscription Box Videos - February 2012

I've received all my monthly subscription boxes for this month and filmed videos for each of them. Watch below if your interested.

 



 



 

Manicure Monday - Australis Nail Colour in Flip Flops - Ltd Edition

Thank you Sydney for giving me a finally nice sunny summer weekend! Although it's Sunday night as i'm writing this (yes I know it's Manicure "Monday") and it's just started raining...

Because of the great weather I decided to have a fun nail weekend and decided to try out the new Australis Nail Colour that I got sent in the shade Flip Flops... it's blue, it's sparkly, it's awesome! It's also limited edition so get thee booty to Priceline or the like and pick one up.. it'll only set you back a RRP of $7.95AUD.

The formula is lovely, I could have gone with 1 coat and been out the door but i'm a stickler for putting 2 coats of polish on and a top coat (Seche Vite).

The royal blue with a gorgeous lighter blue shimmer is perfect for those warm days, or perhaps you want to channel your inner Beyonce and honour the birth of Blue Ivy like Beyonce recently did on her first public appearance since giving birth.



A bit of a close up to see the glitter a bit better, ignore my crappy application of the polish. I was in a rush to take these before I went out for the day.



 

This product was sent to me for my consideration, all opinions are honest and my own. For further information please read my disclosure policy.

 

Empties... and Products that didn't work for me!

I've seen these posts on other blogs before and have always wanted to do something similar, I don't think I could do monthly as I don't seem to finish enough things each month to warrant it's own post. However I had a bathroom clean out the other day and found a few empties and also a couple of prodz that I've given up on that didn't work for me and are going into my beauty graveyard (bin)



1. Wella Brilliance Conditioner - RRP $24AUD *

LOVED this conditioner, it smells amazing and made my hair feel incredibly soft and manageable. The thing I love most is the smell actually lasts and my hair stays fresh for days! Repurchase? Yep, I would!

2. John Frieda Sheer Blonde Colour Renew Tone-Refreshing Shampoo RRP $17.99AUD 

I need a good purple shampoo to keep my blonde from going brassy, I remember picking this one up at Priceline when there was a sale on John Frieda products since my usual go-to Blonde shampoo's are a bit on the pricier side. This isn't a deep purple shampoo the purple colour is quite light. Basically it does nothing for my blonde hair so it's headed to the beauty graveyard. Repurchase? Nope!

3. John Frieda Sheer Blonde Go Blonder Lightening Conditioner RRP $17.99AUD

I picked this one up the same time as the above, I also got the Shampoo in the Go Blonder range but i'm still using that. I saw Make Up By TiffanyD review this on her YouTube channel and she mentioned she used it in between salon colourings to keep her dark roots at bay, I thought if this works it'll be brilliant. So it didn't really help with my root situation it may have slightly lightened them (in conjunction with the shampoo) but it is actually a really nice conditioner! Repurchase? I would but haven't as yet

4. Lush It's Raining Men Shower Gel RRP $30.50AUD (500g)

Honey I Washed The Kids is one of my favourite scents you can get from Lush, this is the shower gel version! I am more of a fan of shower gels then soap so I was so happy when they released this last year for Valentines Day. I was even happier when I found out it was going to be a permanent part of the line (no more scrimping on using it!) Repurchase? NEED ANOTHER ONE NOW!

5. Dove Go Fresh Revive Nourishing Body Wash RRP $7.36AUD *

The bottle looks like it's been handled by The Hulk, this is the result of the boyfriend using my body wash! It's nicely scented with Pomegranate and Lemon Verbena and is moisturising on the skin. I like it! Repurchase? I bought the Nectarine & White Ginger one from the range

6. Neutrogena Deep Clean Cream Cleanser RRP $13.99AUD

This product has been a staple of mine since I was a teenager, it's refreshing on the skin and doesn't dry my skin out. It takes away the day and doesn't leave a trace of makeup Repurchase? I need to, I feel lost without one!

7. Nivea Invisible Black & White Clear Roll On RRP $3.79AUD *

It's a roll on deodorant, nothing too special about this one. It does its job and smells fine. Repurchase? Possibly if it was on sale or something

8. BioEffect EGF Serum Sample Bottles - RRP $180AUD (15mls) *

I've received 3 of these samples and used up 2. I actually really like this serum it made my skin look and feel amazing when I used it. What I don't like is the price! So expensive! Repurchase? Wayyyy out of my budget, so no

9. QV Face Rescue Gel - RRP $19.95AUD *

This product is for calming the skin, It couldn't have come at a better time when my skin was having major issues (due to a product i'll be mentioning in this post very soon). It helped calm and give it a bit of an extra moisture boost. I also used it as a skin reliever when the boyfriend had really bad sunburn a few weeks back. IT WAS SO GOOD! Repurchase? YES!

10. Garnier Youthful Radiance Multi-Action Night Cream - RRP $13.95AUD

For years Garnier have always been my go-to brand if I run out of night cream, i'll grab a Garnier one... I don't know why either? I managed to pick this one up for an absolute steal (around $5) and I really liked it, the scent is quite strong but it gave my skin a lovely overnight moisture boost! Repurchase? Yep!

11. Lapurete Resurrection Night Cream with Okuru - RRP $59.90AUD *

Sorry but no love at all for this product, it's meant to be natures botox but it just broke me out badly and made my skin completely dry and flakey for weeks on end. I had to go into a lot of damage control after using this product. Repurchase? No Way Jose

Products marked with * were provided for my consideration, all opinions are honest and my own. For further information please read my disclosure policy.

Bye Bye Google Friend Connect! How to import your blogs currently on google!

As you may have seen already on some other blogs is that Google Friend Connect has decided to not allow people who are on non google hosted blogs (ie. Anything other then blogger blogs) to use their service anymore. I believe this is to make way and force more people to use the new Google+.

This is frustrating as I know this is how I've come to follow all my blogs, and it's what I use so people can also follow me.

I'm not entirely sure if once this comes into effect that the current subscriptions will stop updating on Google Reader, so i've decided to let you all know of other ways you can find my blog and follow it :)

• The easiest thing to do is follow this blog via bloglovin, Click Here to follow me!


• I also tweet a lot, and on my twitter I automatically update on any new blog posts or videos


• Facebook is another option! Like my page to receive updates straight to your facebook timeline! 


• I have setup a Google+ account for the blog as well, It might take awhile to get used to it but it is there!


• Subscribe to my YouTube channel! 

Now not totally blog related or whatever but you can also find me on the following websites if they interest you at all!

• I have a tumblr that I sometimes go on major tumble spree's on, but honestly it's quite neglected!


• I am utterly addicted to Pinterest! I can get lost for hours on that website


• Another slight addiction of mine, Instagram! I love this app and am often "instagramming" 

Now you have no excuse to not continue to read this blog :)

Something else I wanted to share with you, I had a panic about 40mins ago thinking if google friend connect is going to stop following my favourite blogs, how do I keep updated with them all (I read a lot of blogs). I then found a way to import your blog list from google reader into Bloglovin! YAY!

Here's how to do it

1. In your google reader account, go to 'settings'

2. Click on the tab with Import/Export

3. On the 'Export Information' graph there will be a download on OPML column and the first line 'subscriptions'. Download this file.

4. Go to - http://www.bloglovin.com/import

5. Upload the file you downloaded from Google Reader

6. DONE!

I'm pretty sure it only imports the blogs that are currently on Bloglovin, but it's at least a start.

I am keeping the Google Friend Connect widget on my blog for the time being, I will remove it once it has stopped working. I am also working on fixing my RSS feed which is down for some reason and getting badges for the new G+ page etc. Sometimes blogging isn't all makeup and fun :)