Sally Hansen Crackle Polish - Fuchsia Shock

Its been a shockingly busy week for me...I started classes on Monday the 2nd, and have been spending entire days either in class, doing readings, writing papers or working on business simulations. But luckily I did a lot of photo editing for posts over the break, so I just need to write the words!

So I've been staying clear of the crackle nailpolish bandwagon, mostly because I couldn't really see how to combine colours with the crackle effect and also because I rarely do my nails. However my friend recently gifted me with a Sally Hansen Crackle polish in Fuchsia Shock so it was time to try it out.




I got some suggestions on twitter and ended up going with purple holo for my first pairing attempt. I used 2 coats of Milani 3D Holo in Hi Res, and once dry used Fuchsia Shock on top.



It looks better in pictures than in real life for some reason...I wasn't loving it much while wearing it, and ended up removing it in 2 days. I had used a medium to thin coat of crackle polish, so I think thats why the crackle effect isn't as much and tends to be more vertical. The thicker the coat the more horizontal crackle appeared.




Sooo...have you ever used a crackle polish? If so do you have a favourite to recommend?

Marcelle Rouge Xpression Lipstick - Jezebel

One of the products I'd been excited to try from Marcelle is their Rouge Xpression lipsticks.



It comes in a matte dark blue tube, very simple and elegant. The case does feel a bit light compared with higher end lipsticks which have a more solid feel, but it looks nicer than any drugstore lipsticks I've seen.




Jezebel is a dusty rose in the tube and appears darker when swatched. It has a creamy texture and very opaque colour.




On my lips, it tends to lean toward the cooler side of rose pink. The coverage is amazing though, it goes on opaque in just one coat which does not happen often with lipsticks for me.




Here's a full face look just so you can see the colour in context.





Eye makeup is the T'estimo Frame Impact Eyes palette in 01.


The lipstick feels amazing on my lips. I have very dry lips in winter, and am constantly applying lip balm. Most lipsticks, including MAC, emphasize my dry lips in winter, but Jezebel goes on smoothly and doesn't require any lipbalm or special prep underneath. It also makes my lips look a bit plumper than usual, probably due to the fact that it de-emphasizes my lip lines due to its creamy formulation.

In terms of wear, because the lipstick is a cream formulation, the colour does not last as long since it trades off longevity for an extra moisturizing feel and intense colour. However it lasts just as long as other cream lipsticks such as the Joe Fresh lipsticks and longer than the Korres Guava lipsticks. It stays on through drinking and eating with care, just as long its its not oily or greasy foods.

Overall, I'd recommend this lipstick for anyone who wants intense, moisturizing, full coverage colour. For someone like me with naturally pigmented lips already, it can be hard to find lipsticks that show a similar colour to what's in the tube, however the Marcelle Jezebel lipstick fits the bill for me.

You can check out the other shades in the line via Marcelle's Youtube channel. They have a series of adorable clips featuring certain shades!

Holiday look: Gold & berry

For most of this year I've been wearing mostly neutrals, so for Christmas I decided to do something different for a change. I was wearing red glitter tights, and a green wool skirt so it seemed like a good idea to match it with berry lips and gold eyes:





Closeup:






Products used:

Cream bases
Shiseido Hydro-Powder in Glistening Sand on inner corner of eye
MAC Brassy Fluidline on rest of eye

Eyeshadow
MAC Gold Mode pigment on inner corner of eye
MAC Cosmic eyeshadow on middle of eye
Annabelle 101 eyeshadow on outer corner of eye
Lunasol Geminate Liner EX02
Blinc Kiss Me mascara

Lips
Lancome berry coloured lipstick from a GWP a while back

Face
Lunasol Water Cream Foundation
Cle de Peau concealer
MAC Emote blush to contour

Eat, drink, shop, & be merry ;)

I can't believe 2011 is almost over, and with that the last few days of my holidays. So far I've spent most of the time watching movies, catching up with friends, eating and shopping.

First I met up with Rasilla and Babybubblz at Aroma Espresso Bar, and tried the white hot chocolate for the first time which was awesome!




On Christmas Eve, I also had an dinner with friends, we kept it simple with store bought rotisserie chicken, spinach & berry salad, roast potatoes, cinnamon raisin bread and apple pie for dessert.



The holidays wouldn't be complete without some wines to accompany the food.




On Christmas Day, I ended up cooking a full dinner for the boyfriend's family...turkey, mashed potatoes, baked potatoes, avocado salad...but ended up not taking pics, lol. Mostly because by the time I was done cooking I was too tired to remember and only thought about it after the turkey was already carved.


I also treated myself to a few things for Christmas ;)

First I had spotted these Cookie Monster mitts online and finally found them at Chapters. Granted these are the kids size not adults size, but from the measurements I found it looked like the kids definitely suited my hands better.



The material is surprisingly of good quality - 80% wool. The mitts have a lining which probably accounts for the 20% lining, which helps keep my hands warm and prevents the wool from feeling scratchy.




Esprit had a 50% sale off outerwear the week before Christmas (still on-going) so I picked up down jacket. The only jacket I had previously was the North Face Greenland Parka (see below) which tended to make me look like a shapeless blob that was 100lbs heavier...




I decided to get the Esprit jacket because it had a fitted belt and was nicely tailored so it gave some shape and less bulk. The jackets came in only 3 colours: black, blue, green. I ended up going with the green as black seemed nice but too generic and blue looked like it washed me out.



Stock picture (only black online)



Material is 50% down and 50% feather, so not as high quality as the North Face (100% down), but it is still quite warm.




They also had 40% off the entire store (now 50% for Boxing Week), so I picked up 2 dresses as well which were already discounted so the 40% was additional :)






How did you spend your holidays? If you scored any good shopping deals, do share!

Merry Christmas!