DKNY MYNY : Love At First Sniff

Well...I think the title of this post "DKNY MYNY : Love At First Sniff" sums up my review so let's just gaze at the gorgeous bottle instead...

Haha, just kidding...read on to see why it is such a delicious scent...

When this first arrived in the mail, I removed the packaging and plastic before I saw the bottle, but already my nasal senses were excited.  And then when I saw the heart-shaped bottle with the modern architectural lid, it was instant *heart eyes*.

Even though I can dissect the stench from my baby girl's nappy, I am not an expert at describing perfumes so I will let the experts do the talking...

Top notes :  Raspberry, galbanum, pink pepper
Middle notes :  Egyptian jasmine, freesia, oris
Bottom notes : Patchouli heart, vanilla absolute, creamy musks, ambergris

Together from top to bottom notes, DKNY MYNY is a fantastic concoction.  It is not overly sweet, the right amount of musk and it is all kinds of sexy!  Don't forget that the bottle looks gorgeous on your dressing table too!  This is guaranteed to escalate into your MUST-HAVE LOVE LIST!

Disclaimer :  Thank you to DKNY for providing DKNY MYNY for editorial consideration and for making me smell oh-so-damn-good!
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Essie for Spring 2014

Spring is here!

Spring is here?!

The weather in Melbourne has been crazy just like my recent mood swings.  One day it is full-on sunny, "slap sunscreen all over me STAT" and the next day it is raining cats and dogs and hailstones and frogs!  Okay, it didn't really rain frogs!

Anyway, to celebrate Spring 2014, Essie have released a limited edition collection and you may remember seeing a few of them in a previous post, but here they all are in their awesome colourful glory today.

Hide & Go Chic : an almost-denim blue
Truth Or Flare : a dusky greyish blue
Spin The Bottle : beige nude
Romper Room : babydoll pastel pink
Style Hunter : bright fuchsia pink
Fashion Playground : soft minty green (MY FAVE!)

Which shade are you loving?

Disclaimer :  These polishes were provided for editorial consideration
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Review & Swatches : Maybelline SuperStay Better Skin Foundation & Concealer

This post is proudly brought to you by Maybelline & Nuffnang.

I've had a lot on my plate recently with juggling work responsibilities and parental duties with severe sleep deprivation which translates to tired, dull skin and D.A.R.K. under eye circles and bags.  Bring out the world's smallest violin!

On the plus side, I realised that I was indeed the perfect candidate to trial and review Maybelline's newest range - SuperStay Better Skin Foundation and Concealer.  Bring it on!

Maybelline SuperStay Better Skin Foundation

So first up, there's the SuperStay Better Skin Foundation.  It is not like every other foundation because it contains a "powerful vitamin derivative", Actyl-C, which claims to give better looking skin in 3 weeks.

Hello?!  A foundation which gives an all-day flawless finish AND has skin-benefitting properties - slap it on my face pronto!!!

I was an eager beaver to put this foundation to the test, but first, I needed to select the right shade out of the 8 available.

Here is my verdict on Maybelline SuperStay Better Skin Foundation :

PACKAGING :  Sturdy glass bottle with a dispensing pump always gets a big tick from me.  However, the clear plastic cap can get mucky if residual foundation is not cleaned immediately after pumping.

APPLICATION :  Very easy to blend into skin using fingers which is fantastic for time poor ladies like yours truly.

PERFORMANCE :  Medium coverage which did a great job at masking my freckles (I hate them!), evening out my skin tone and hiding my pores.  On occasion, I did find it clung onto some extremely dry patches on my skin around my nose, but on the whole, I loved how it made my skin look like I had a good night's sleep - and we all know that I haven't had that for a while!!!  As for improving my skin itself, there haven't been any noticeable changes but at the time of writing, I have only trialled it for 10 days - so maybe it will get better with continued usage?  I'll keep you posted!

Maybelline SuperStay Better Skin Concealer

Moving onto the SuperStay Better Skin Concealer; there are only 2 shades available and it's either Light or Medium.

Here is my verdict on Maybelline SuperStay Better Skin Concealer :

PACKAGING :  Nice squeezy tube with a slanted tip gets no complaints from me.

APPLICATION :  Like the foundation, I can use my fingers to blend and pat this to cover up my imperfections (and there's lots of that!)

PERFORMANCE :  Just wow!  It was love at first use!  Fantastic at disguising my dark circles and hiding the redness around my nose.  Can't fault it at all.

PS - No, I was definitely not born with it and it definitely was Maybelline :)

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Pink + Black

In terms of makeup, I've been embracing my favourite colours this week, namely pink (there can never be too many pink in my life!) and black.

I also had to crack open my brand spanking new Shu Uemura Face Powder Matte and use it BEFORE I took any photos for the blog!  Yikes!

And if you look closely, you can see a smudged beige fingerprint on the oh-so-soft powder puff.  I had been holding off using it for a while after I finished using my previous Shu Uemura loose powder, but I quickly realised that not all loose powders are created equal and Shu Uemura remains my ultimate Holy Grail favourite!

That cute little dinky bottle of Benefit Posie Tint is courtesy of my lovely girlfriend, Gigi, who got it free from Glamour magazine in UK.  UK magazines give the best little freebies!  They recently had mini Clinique Chubby Sticks!  I love makeup mini-me's!

Onto the essie polishes*, they are - Romper Room, Style Hunter and Spin The Bottle - from their forthcoming Spring Collection which is Limited Edition and only available September to October so get in quick!  They have updated their formula (which I already thought was fab, so now it's even fabber!) with a new thicker brush for easier application.

I reviewed Benefit They're Real Push-Up Liner* a few months ago and back then, I liked it but I wasn't enamoured in it.  Fast forward a few months and it has become my go-to eyeliner!  How did that happen?!  It's like the guy who you put in the friend zone but they are persistent and eventually, they win you over.  True story.  Didn't happen to me but one of my guy friends who was friend zoned is now engaged to the girl!  Fantastic excuse for me to go to Sydney for their wedding next year!  YAY!

And last but not least, Lancome Rouge In Love 163 Dans Ses Bras*.  My current handbag lippie.  'Nuff said!

Have you tried any of these products?  What is your holy grail loose powder?  What beauty products have you been loving lately?

Disclosure :  Products marked with * were provided for editorial consideration.

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Review & Swatches : Maybelline Color Elixirs

I was in lippy heaven when the collection of Maybelline Color Elixir Color Sensational Creamy Lip Lacquers (phew, what a long name to type out!) landed on my desk recently.  I had already read rave reviews about these lip-tastic elixirs and I wondered if they would live up to the hype so I immediately put them to the test.

Hello doe foot applicator, my lips are pleased to meet you!

And the rumours are true!  Maybelline Color Elixirs are the bomb dot com.  Here are the reasons why I have big *heart eyes* for them :-

• The right amount of glossy shine (as opposed to S.C.A.R.Y. glossy as adorned by "I-will-eat-you-alive-Blake!" girls from The Bachelor Australia!) - check.
• Non-sticky so come at me strong winds with my glossy lips and long glossy hair - check.
• Great pigmentation and can almost survive a soup noodle eating marathon - check.
• Hides an abundance of lip sins including lip wrinkles - check.
• It isn't a bitch to remove at the end of the night - check.

The only teeny tiny thing that I didn't really like about these Maybelline Color Elixirs (apart from the Americanised spelling of "Colour") is that it has a slight vanilla-y perfume-y taste when you first apply it but it dissipates after a few minutes.  Of course, you're not really supposed to be licking your lip gloss and eating it like me!!!  But when a girl gets hungry and there are no nearby snacks...  well, I rest my case! :P

With 12 shades of Maybelline Color Elixirs to choose from, it can be quite overwhelming if you struggle to make decisions like me.  (Apparently it's called Dependent Personality Disorder!)  To save you from staring at your swatches all day long at the nearest Maybelline counter, I have simplified it into the following 3 categories :-

1.  Vampy Vixen shades
025 Mauve Mystique, 030 Raspberry Rhapsody, 040 Vision In Violet, 020 Signature Scarlet

2.  Nude with Attitude shades
065 Caramel Infused, 060 Nude Illusion, 100 Petal Plush, 095 Blush Essence

3.  Bold & Bossy shades
085 Hibiscus Haven, 015 Mandarin Rapture, 075 Fuchsia Flourish, 090 Rose Redefined

Anyway, if you're in Aussie-land, head to your nearest Priceline ASAP as they are currently doing a half-price on everything Maybelline which means the Color Elixirs are under $10.

For non-Aussie readers, drop everything and go directly to your nearest Maybelline counter now.  Do not pass Go.  Do not collect $200.  Maybe it's Monopoly! :P
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