The Balance of Beauty

NOTD BYS Red Carpet

2011-02-17T13:38:00.000-08:00

So it turns out that being a Mum is pretty hard on your nails, so please excuse the condition of mine.

Today I am wearing the very beautiful BYS Red Carpet. This is the first time I have worn this polish and I am very impressed by the gorgeous vibrant red that seems to glow from within. I used two coats of polish but probably could have got away with one. The only downside to this polish is that it was a little thick which made application tricky but I should be able to fix that with a bit of polish thinner,

Not a great picture, it's early morning so I couldn't get a nice sunlight pic. It is a much brighter red in the sun.

I'm Back

2011-02-10T02:09:00.000-08:00

Sorry for taking such a long time to return to you, life has been rather hectic since my little bubby girl arrived. Now that she is a bit older I am going to get back into the blog.

stay tuned..............

China Glaze 2NITE

2010-05-24T00:24:00.000-07:00

Ahhh, pale blue holo goodness. I feel calm just looking at this polish. Love it! This is such a pretty colour even when you can't see the holo effect.

China Glaze Rodeo Fanatic

2010-05-21T20:51:00.000-07:00

Please excuse my poor little nubins, I broke my thumb nail and had to cut all the others down. In my post with ChG Gussied Up Green I was saying how much I loved the Rodeo Diva collection, here is another polish from that collection. I was sitting here starting at my nails (does anyone else do this?) and thought that this colour would make a perfect base for Nfu.Oh 52. I was right - they are a match made in heaven. I have included a picture of that combo at the end.

China Glaze Gussied Up Green

2010-05-17T19:00:00.000-07:00

I love this! It's one of my favourite greens. It is so rich and deep and just beautiful. China Glaze really outdid themselves with the Rodeo Diva collection and I ended up purchasing quite a few of them. After I applied this I had a thought that is would make a fantastic base for Nfu.Oh 55 so I have included a picture of that as well.

ChG Gussied Up Green - 2 Coats (sorry it's a bit blurry, it was the most colour accurate pic)

Two coats ChG Gussied Up Green with 1 coat Nfu.Oh 55

China Glaze Bridezilla

2010-05-14T20:21:00.000-07:00

I am really enjoying wearing this polish! China Glaze Bridezilla is a super pretty pale pink with glass flecked shimmer. This is what I wanted from OPI Princesses Rule but that one was just to glittery for me.

China Glaze Cords

2010-05-10T18:55:00.000-07:00

Hmmmmm, not really a great colour for me I don't think but I will keep it because I don't have anything else like it. I think this is one of those colours that would be perfect for a specific occasion or with a certain outfit but as an everyday colour it's just not for me. I had some serious issues with bubbles / dents / sheet marks so please excuse the rather lack luster photo - I don't think it was the fault of the polish, my application skills weren't great.

China Glaze Grape Juice

2010-05-07T20:15:00.000-07:00

I think my favourite type of finish is glass flecked so as you can imagine I really love China Glaze Grape Juice. It is a wonderful medium purple with lots of glass flecked shimmer. I had a bit of a play with this and added some Nfu.Oh 50 to it.

and a close up so you can see all the flakie goodness of Nfu.Oh 50

China Glaze Trophy Wife

2010-05-03T18:47:00.000-07:00

This is what I wanted OPI Cozu-Melted in the Sun to be. Unfortunately Cozu-Melted was a touch to warm for me. I am really loving China Claze Trophy Wife, it is a lovely light nude/pink shimmer without being too pale. I can see myself wearing this one quite often.

This last picture was taken with flash, the first two without flash.

ISQUEEN Ultramicro Aqua

2010-04-24T17:35:00.000-07:00

I have been focusing a bit on skincare since my baby was born and felt I had used this product enough to be able to share it with you. ISQUEEN Ultramicro Aqua is a very like gel cream type moisturiser, It is so light that generally I use it as a serum underneath a richer moisturiser but then my skin is a bit dry at the moment. If you had oily skin this would be fine on it's own.

I really like this product. It feels light and fresh without an overpowering scent and I think it really has improved my skins moisture levels by using it as a serum. I love that it comes in a pump bottle so I am not dipping my fingers into a pot of cream (I hate doing that!) The bottle is frosted glass and looks really nice. I purchased this from sasa.com and would definitely buy another bottle when this one runs out.

Cosline Flower Cheek Blush

2010-04-22T19:40:00.000-07:00

Another blush from my Gmarket blush haul. This time it's Cosline Flower Cheek in '2' Barbie Doll Pink. When I opened the packaging I thought that this blush was going to be way to strong for my pale skin but after trying it was pleasantly suprised. The colour is easy to apply lightly for a pretty flush or can be built up if your needing a bit more.

VOV Showcase Ball on Cheek

2010-04-20T19:33:00.000-07:00

By now you are probably picking up that I am a bit of a fan of the Korean brand VOV. They make some really great products and by shopping on Gmarket.co.kr you can pick them up for a fantastic price. The Showcase line of products is one of the newer things from VOV. I only have this one product but they have other things as well. I got the Showcase Ball on Cheek in '2' which gives a really nice sheer champagne coloured glow. Please note the container is pretty small - the pictures are a bit deceiving.

Caracosa Marble Blusher

2010-04-18T18:15:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple more blushes from my Gmarket haul. I purchased the colours 102 & 106. I really like both of these they give a lovely wash of glowing colour that is in my opinion nicer then Mac MSF's which can be glittery.

102, 106

Sasatinnie Nail Polish Haul

2010-04-16T17:29:00.000-07:00

In my last sasa.com order I picked up a few more Sasatinnie nail polishes. I am really happy with all of the colours I got - two of them even have flakies!

FCCHO005 (Chocolate Scented)

FCGL002 (this is my favourite - see the little flakies?)

FCGL003 (this one also has flakies)

FCPU002 (couldn't capture this properly - it has ultrafine hot pink and blue shimmer)

FCRAS002 (Raspberry Scented)

FCROS001 (Rose Scented)

VOV Casltedew Diacut Eyes Palette M601

2010-04-13T17:05:00.000-07:00

This palette is a great combination of neutral colours. The quality of the shadows is quite good and they apply quite smoothly leaving a silky shimmery finish.

The packaging is really pretty and the amount of each colour in the pan is quite decent. I think I paid around $15 for this palette and I would definitely say it is worth the money. This is the first Diacut Palette that I have purchased and I will seriously consider getting some of the other colours as well.

VOV Castledew Oversetting Gloss

2010-04-11T17:04:00.000-07:00

I wanted to share with you one of my very favourite products ever - VOV Castledew Oversetting Gloss. I love these glosses so much. They come in a very large range of colours, are really comfortable to wear, last a decent amount of time and the packaging is very pretty.

9, 17, 7, 12, 45, 44, 43, 28, 4, 31

Etude Jewelade Nail Polishes

2010-04-11T16:09:00.000-07:00

I have another couple of new additions to my nail polish collection, the very lovely Etude Jewelade RD102 & BR305. Got to post and run as my baby is a bit fussy this morning. Enjoy the pictures!

RD102

BR305

3W Clinic Color News Baked Multi Blusher

2010-04-10T14:21:00.000-07:00

Here are another few products from my latest Gmarket purchase. 3W Clinic Color News Baked Multi Blusher's in 13, 16 & 21 (which I purchased to use as an eyeshadow)

This is 16 (on left) & 13 (on right)

Swatches of 16 (top) & 13 (bottom)

This is 21 - I'm going to use this as an eyeshadow

Swatches of 21, the black flecks are glitter that didn't photograph well

BYS Haul from fashionaddict.com.au

2010-04-04T00:30:00.000-07:00

Yay for parcels! my lovely parcel delivery man delivered this the day after we got home from hospital. I discovered an Aussie website selling pretty much the entire range of BYS products - fashionaddict.com.au . Sorry for the packaging dust all over the bottles.

And now for a close up -

Amethyst Metallic, Fushia Metallic, Peacock Metallic, Blue Sapphire Metallic

(picture taken with flash)

Fern, Shadow Puppets, Nocturnal

Red Carpet, Raspberry Sorbet, Hunter Green

Prorance Sunny Glam Blusher

2010-04-01T19:50:00.000-07:00

I received another Gmarket parcel the other day filled with mostly blushes. I will post the others as I get the time. The first one I am going to show you is one of my favourites of the bunch - Prorance Sunny Glam Blusher in the colour '2'. It is a lovely peachy pink shimmery blush with a nice fine texture and sheer finish. It looks really nice on my very pale skin. The packaging is very sturdy and looks very pretty.

And a swatch -

OPI Top Five

2010-03-31T22:14:00.000-07:00

It's the end of OPI month so here is my top five -

1 - Didgeridoo Your Nails? - My favourite colour of all time. It is the most perfect berry pink with shimmer and I just adore it. Here is a link to a post I did a very long time ago about this colour - OPI Didgeridoo Your Nails?

2 - I'm Not Really A Waitress - This is an absolute classic red shimmer and if you don't already have it you should seriously consider adding it to your collection. Sorry I don't have a picture of this one, you'll just have to trust me!

3 - Makes Men Blush - This is my perfect sheer nude polish. I don't know what I would do without it. Here is a link to a previous post - OPI Makes Men Blush

4 - Suzi Skis in the Pryenees Suede - Ok, so I love all of the Suedes but this would have to be my favourite of the bunch. It is a lovely graphite grey that looks awesome with a topcoat. I did a NOTD with this one early in the month if you want to check out a picture.

5 - Jade is the New Black - Who would have thought a creme would make it into my top five? This is just such a unique pretty colour that I can't help but love it.

Welcome to the world Charlotte

2010-03-29T21:30:00.000-07:00

Just a quick note to let you know I had my little girl Charlotte Tamara so I may be missing in action for a little bit on the blog.

NOTD OPI No Bees Please

2010-03-29T19:48:00.000-07:00

I really love OPI's sheer polishes but have really been neglecting them lately and as a result my nail are starting to get some pretty horrible stains. To give my nails a bit of a break from colour so they can recover from the staining I decided it was time to do a sheer mani. I have chosen to use OPI No Bees Please, a nice nude/pink sheer with hot pink micro shimmer. I think this polish looks best with two coats but I have used three today to help cover up the staining on my nails.

NOTD OPI Ink

2010-03-27T18:22:00.000-07:00

I'm feeling really lazy at the moment so sorry about the lack of clean up. I love this colour and I think it works well on my skintone but for some reason it just does not want to dry on me no matter what I try which means I end up with dents and marks, oh well, I will keep wearing it anyway in the hope that one day it will dry and look as perfectly pretty as it should.

Tiny Little China Glaze Haul

2010-03-25T23:57:00.000-07:00

Meet my three newest China Glaze polishes -

First we have Ruby Pumps, next is Sublte and last but not least is Passion in the Pacific