Mixed post: Some old swaps, some sample reviews & a nail polish pic or two.

Here's a confession: I like writing sample reviews 'cause they don't require as much effort as complete ones ;).

*Tresemme Moisture Rich Conditioner sample review: The 8 ml sample was not enough for my long & thick hair. Maybe that's why the product didn't make an impression. Pretty average. Using the sample didn't make me want to try it.

*Clarins Gentle Foaming Cleanser sample review: This has tiny scrub-like particles in it, so I wouldn't recommend it (and didn't use it) as a daily face wash. When used once to twice a week, it left my skin clean and smooth without drying it out. It also made my pores invisible. I'm quite pleased with this product.

Next, a very very late Swap Update...

Since these swaps were completed back in late 2009, I can no longer remember what I'd sent out in exchange - but I doubt that anyone really cares, so I'll just skip listing that.

Swap 1 [The USA].

Pictured: Revlon Sugar Sugar Lip Topping in Lemon Drop, Pop Glitter Stix pencil in Coco, Eyeko Eye Cake in Pretty Eyes, and (probably my favourite from this lot) Mark Flip For It Fall Colour Kit in New York.



And guess what? The Mark Flip palette was an extra :D. Swapping truly makes me feel better about humanity, the people one comes across are so kind. I really should get into it again.


Swap 2 [The USA - the swapper I got my Wild & Crazy bright yellow shadow from].



Lots of Glamour Doll Eyes sample baggies (I won't list them all just now, but feel free to request if you're interested) and two eye shadow minis (Secretive and Slumber Party), two Still Glamorus eye shadows in Chic and Crybaby, NYX lipsticks in Rea and Sparkling Bronze, Elf's Candy Shop gloss tin in Coconut Craze, Mary Kay Satin Lips Lip Balm, a sample pot of LUSH Dream Cream, and a bracelet :).

I can't remember what the white thing over the Elf gloss is XD. But I'm fairly sure it's a Jane mineral face product that I got for & gave my sister ;). She also got the Elf gloss and NYX Sparkling Bronze lipstick.


Swap 3 [Scotland, the lovely lady I got my Sleek Safari palette from].



Actual swap: NYX eye shadows in Apricot Moose and Root Beer, and NYX Concealer In A Jar in Fair. Expected extra: Clinique Blended Face Powder in 20 Invisible Blend. (That's the glowing circle next to the L'Occitane sample.)

Unexpected extras: The aforementioned sample of L'Occitane Creme Tres Precieuse, a lovely Hello Kitty tin ^_^ (gave the mints to my sister ;D), mint tea, and a Space NK catalogue :D.


This swapper is brilliant with extras - she really picks them out to suit you ^_^.

Swap 4 [The USA].



Lime Crime !!!


Pompadour & Vixen. Vixen's Limited Edition. I'm so pleased about snagging these.



There'll be another Swap Update post coming up in the future, and that'd be all - until I arrange some new swaps ;).

Finishing off this somewhat erratic post with better pics of Serial Blogger.

I'm pretty sure it's discontinued :(, but I love mine and the pictures I'd posted before didn't really do it justice, and I'm wearing it now so I thought I'd retake.


And here's a close-up with flash...



Wearing two coats there.
It's even more gorgeous in real life when each bit of glitter reflects a different colour :D...

Plus, discontinued or not, I plan to eventually photograph every nail colour that I own ;).

Thanks for reading :).

A tag & my swap with Hanna ^_^.

*10 labels instead of 20 per post (which was not enough for me either)?!? Thanks >:-@.

[I'll do the Daily Essentials tag next ;). Must take the necessary pictures for it.]

So, I was tagged by the lovely ladies at Italian Beauty Blog and The Adventurous Purple Koala (check them out, I love promoting the Euro blogosphere ;D) with the "I think you are an awesome girl" tag ^_^. Thanks :).

Since I (as way too often, hmmm...) end up posting this later than I should've, I'll leave this open 'cause I'm not sure who has or hasn't been tagged. Any reader of mine can take it - if you regularly read this, I do think you're awesome.

Here are my ten facts...

*I've always wanted a middle name. Or three. Having one name is just...Boring :-P.
*My voice changes according to various factors, including but not limited to my mood, what I'm saying and the language I'm speaking. And I don't mean minor changes - I sound like a different person fairly often (which must be odd to others).
*I love having blonde hair and dark eyes, I think it's unique and (along with my pale skin) makes me stand out.
*I can't do that spreading-lipstick-with-your-lips thing. I just end up clumsily squishing them against each other, and if I wore lip colour while doing it, I would just mess it up.
*I'm a fast reader.
*I really like being in motion. Buses, cars, planes, trains - anything as long as I'm moving.
*I make up my own names for constellations. There's the V sign (as in Victory), and the forever (looks like the mathematical symbol for infinity, which is an 8 lying on its side), and more.
*My beauty ideal is pale. (You probably know that.) I honestly don't understand why people use fake tan to lose something attractive they naturally have.
*I love taking photographs of anything that's beautiful. That includes make-up. It does not include myself. (But for the blog's sake, I try to do 'look' posts as often as I can.)
*I'd love it if someone did a make-up video tutorial on Dior Midnight Poison. (I won't do one 'cause I'm not beautiful enough to pull it off without looking like a parody or worse, an insult to the original. Don't argue.)

If you do this tag, let me know, I'd love to read your facts ;). Oh, and coming up with mine was sort of hard...But there they are :).

For my latest Swap Update, I'll begin with a swap I'd arranged with a fellow blogger ^_^. I love swapping with other bloggers :D. So, here it is ;).

Swap 1 [Malaysia - this was a swap with Hanna ^_^].

(For my barely used Mary Kate & Ashley LA Style gift set, containing the perfume & a body mist, all in a blue MK & A pouch. And of course I was generous with extras ;D.)

I was supposed to receive two glosses and a lip liner, but after no swap showed up two months later, Hanna offered to send me a replacement & allowed me to pick some items from her list. Isn't she a wonderful swapper?

So, I got these...

Contact lenses solution minis ;), a Stila Lip Glaze Stick in Brown Sugar (not brown at all when worn - more of a sweet nude), an Estee Lauder mini nail polish in Satin Gold (so cute ^_^!), nail polish remover pads, two mini tubes of Lancome sunscreen, and a Cafe Chocolate lip gloss by Amuse.

I recommend that gloss for occasions when you need to look and feel more awake. It's a beautiful fresh rose colour and smells very strongly of coffee ;D. (If you can't stand the smell of coffee, do not get this.)

But then, three months after the first swap was sent...It showed up!

That did take way too long, but I was still happy to receive it :).

The Estee Lauder gloss looks squished and half empty because it now is :( - it somehow was punctured in the mail and ended up leaking all over the other products. But I've cleaned them up ;), and there's enough of it left for me to try out anyway :D.

The Eyeko wipe and lipstick sample were extras :). The actual swap was for the Estee Lauder High Gloss in Berry, Stila It Gloss in Enchanting (bringing my total of It Glosses up to five :D, of which it's my current favourite ^_^), and Stila Glaze Lip Liner in Nude ;).

Thanks again to Hanna for a wonderful swap ^_^ (we're currently through our second ;D), and I do advise my readers to check out her blog ;).

Swap 2 [Portugal].

(For my Elf quad in Nouveau Neutrals, and lots of extras ^_^.)

Bourjois eye liner in Fil D'Or - this was on my wishlist, and now I finally have it ^_^. She also made me samples of Avene Hydrance Optimale Riche Hydrating Cream and The Body Shop Moisture Foundation in 1 as extras :).

She added the foundation 'cause she'd noticed that I was perpetually looking for pale colours. I love it when people add extras specifically to suit me.

Thanks for reading :).

Certain things I know & Swap Update.

I wasn't sure how to title this. I think 'beauty tips' sounds like something a professional, or at least someone experienced, would say. I don't want to claim that, so I'll just say that these are things I've learned from experience and consider worth sharing ;). Though they work well for me, I cannot guarantee that they will for you - but I certainly hope they do :).

*Apply cream onto damp skin. This works great for me personally :).

*If you have long & dark lashes, you don't really need mascara - just curl them ^_^! This'll save you time and eradicate the very annoying task of getting mascara off >:-) ;D.

*If you're out of make-up remover, try olive oil - it works better than half of the products I've tried >:-D and isn't irritating at all ^_^.

*Cheap liners can be made to look more vibrant & pigmented if you melt the tip a bit using a lighter. Just make sure you let the pencil COOL OFF before it touches your eye - test it on your hand if you're not sure. I do this to make liner look bold and graphic, or fluid-looking. And in case you were wondering, this is indeed the reason why I sometimes have a lighter on my Products Used photos ;D.
Note: this does not work on waterproof pencils. They burn >:-).

*Speaking of that, don't smoke - avoid the sun (and use SPF when you can't) - stay hydrated. This will keep you from decaying XD.

*Don't forget to wear SPF on your lips, neck and hands when it's sunny! (I assume that you do wear it on your face...) Failing to do this will result in your neck being darker and more leathery than your face - ICK, not to mention that most people will think, "Foundation line" >:-). And a lip burn is terrible - and easy to avoid, so just do :-P.

*Oh, and the sun can distort hair colour, so if you mind that, you'll need SPF in your hair too ;) (lol). On the other hand, if you're blonde like me, you may allow it to give you some natural highlights :). Don't forget leave-in conditioner though to make sure your hair doesn't fry ;D.

*A gleaming, 'pale glow' powder product is a great thing to own. It can be used on the eyes, as highlighter, or for an all-over glow. I recommend Elf Luminance - it's very cheap yet works brilliantly ^_^.

*Lip balm with high SPF (example: Nivea Sun) gives a matte nude Fashion Mews appearance that I personally really like :).

*Another cheap and practical thing to own is a four-step trim/clean/smooth/polish (I've also seen 'file/clean/condition/shine' used) nail file. Mine is from Essence, and I'm pretty sure that Avon makes one too, but I don't think the brand really matters. These things really do work, and after doing all four steps, you get the effect of a clear/nude mani without actually using lacquer ;).

*For brunettes: a sage tea rinse helps enhance your hair colour :). This tip was taken from a book & tested by my sister ;).

*Never assume that a cheap product doesn't work, or that an expensive one does work. Try things out. You may be surprised.

*If you have any beauty products that don't work on you, are neglected, or you no longer like, swap them ;).
As the blogosphere Swap Queen, I had to say that :-P ^_^.
Or you can give them away :). I often pass on products to my sister ;).

Most Important Piece Of Info: Never worry about trying a new make-up style, look or colour! If it doesn't suit you, you can just wash it off ;). If it does...You've learned something :).

Please add any little notes below (by commenting) if you have any of these to share - I'd love to read them ^_^!

Swap Update time :D!

Swap 1 [Canada].

(I bought her a Korres milk soap.)

2 Mark eye shadow stripes shadows (in Pure Nudes and Pure Pinks) in a medium palette, two blushes (Star Glo and Kitten Glo) in a medium palette, and a large palette - the shadows there are mine ;). Finally they have a home :).

And a lovely C post-it ^_^! This was the nicest extra in recent memory :).

I ended up moving all the shadows together into the large palette ;).

Swap 2 [Canada again].

(The two Mark blushes pictured above, and some extras. Lol - I see nothing wrong in swapping away things received in swaps though, if they're not what you expected or you found something you'd rather have, why not ;D?)

Funny how the blushes went from Canada to Greece to Canada though :-P XD.

Stila tinted moisturiser in Fair (it's not full & I was aware of that so no issues there ;D), NYC nail polish in Big Money (I'm not gonna wait for OPI Aragon something to indulge my craving for green lacquer :-P), Essie mini nail polish in Flirty Girl ^_^, and some lovely extras :D! Skin Food samples (I'll use these on my neck & hope they help with whitening it to match my face ;D - see above on why one should wear SPF on one's neck too, I'm a prime example >:-D) and a Blistex roll-on cherry SPF lip balm :). I love cherries ^_^! They're probably my favourite fruit ;)...

Oh, and she included a business card. First time I saw that in a swap XD.

Swap 3 [England].

(For my 5 Oriflame Daydream Collection mechanical liners. I just didn't use them much - I prefer pencils. And toe separators as an extra - my little sister donated these ;D ^_^.)

A Bourjois mineral powder in Vanilla (looks a bit too dark in person, but it's the lightest shade, what can I do :-/?) and as extras, an Eyeko ad and make-up remover wipe :). And a note ^_^. It looks like recycled paper :D!

Yeah, I adore swaps ;D. Thanks for reading :)! I'll be doing Part 3 of the My Make-Up Collection series (lip products) soon ;).

Still alive :-P. Awards, swap update, some randomness and a pic.

*Me wearing Brave New Bronze...

[Bare face, just Korres sunscreen.]

My face is funny :-P.

About my neck...Yes, my face is lighter than my neck. I don't mind, but I know that most people will assume that I'm wearing badly matched foundation or something like that, and will judge me accordingly.
Anything I can do about that? No. Thus, I don't care.
But I have started high SPF & AHAs on my neck too, and am hoping it evens out eventually ;).

Oh, and I like Brave New Bronze on me :). I haven't bought it yet (for this, I used the tester & took a pic once I got home) but I think I will ;D.

The new shade of SolarBits, I hate :(. But the repromoted ones are beautiful :). Bright Future is really pretty :D and I like Sunsationalist and Liberated too ;D. As you can see, got a mini wishlist - now I just need to act upon it :-P.

*I want this.

*Triple award from Sammie :D - who was kind enough to award every single follower of hers :'). Check out her blog if you don't read it already ;D.

Here are my pretty pictures ^_^.

I'll leave this open to anyone who'd like to take them :).

*Remember my red, white & green contest entry ;D?

Well, Linda sent me a little something just for entering ^_^! Isn't that kind :)?

There's even a note :D.

And stuff: A CoverGirl trio, N. V. Perricone and Skyn Iceland samples, and a Bare Escentuals mini Well Rested Multi-Tasker For Eyes ;).

I only kept the last 2, but I can't wait to use them :).

*And I won the random draw with my pigeon smokey eyes :D! Am I lucky or what XD? I really should enter some more contests, haven't done that in a while...

Swap Update :)...

Swap 1 [The USA].

(For my Oriflame 36 eye shadow palette, and I added many extras ^_^.)

Two NYC liners, an Avon Satin Gel Eye Liner in Black/Brown Pearl which I love :D, I'm afraid I'll have to swap for more gel liners XD...A Revlon highlighter stick in Crystal Calm, two Revlon lipsticks in Soft Silver Red and Silver City Pink, and the last 2 items were something of a disappointment :(...

The Physicians Formula Retro Glow gloss is lovely, but...I'm allergic :(. Will swap it off.

And this is what the Fiori eye shadow trio looked like when we were arranging the swap:

This is what I got.

Yup...Broken :'(. She didn't really wrap it properly.

Oh well, at least it's a pretty colour :).

Swap 2 [England, Kaleidoscope swapper ^_^].

(I got her 4 ArtDeco eye shadows and a shadow box for them, 6 Elf single shadows, and lots of extras as usual ^_^. And I think there was something else, but we always do large, generous multi-swaps and I can't recall every single item ;D.)

Two Revlon quads in Sultry Smokes and Berry Bloom, a Pout eye shadow duo in Miss England (yay, more Pout :D), the Revlon Pure Confection Highlighting Face Powder, Barbara Daly For Tesco Moisture Foundation in Porcelain (I hope this is good 'cause it is a supermarket product :-P, but I have to say that the packaging, at least, does not appear cheap at all), a Mark Kiss Therapy tin in Shimmering Bronze (you know me & Mark lip products XD - plus I was looking for something like this for the summer), the Eyeko pink 3-in-1 cream :D, a half-full (I was aware of it, don't worry ;D) Physicians Formula loose powder in Translucent, a Victoria's Secret Sexy Cheeks Mosaic Highlighter, Estee Lauder lip gloss in Cool Coconut, Sephora tinted moisturiser in 100 (so far, love this ^_^!), Bourjois Rose Fougue blusher and Noir Cobalt eye shadow, and extras - a mini lipstick and Avon samples :).

Lol, I practically wrote a mini essay up there XD. Close-ups:

You can see the Eyeko pot better in the mirror ;D.

I'll try to do some looks soon ;D. If I still have readers :-P.

Thanks for reading then :).

Kinda late swap update. Rhyming not intended, I'm just too lazy to eliminate it.

Other people have 'hauls', I have Swap Updates :-P :).
Well, not for much longer, since I (yay ^_^!) have indeed & finally run out of stuff I don't need...At least for now XD.

Swap 1 [The USA].

(For my L'Oreal lipstick in Nude, Maybelline lipsticks in Passion Red & Moon Star, a purple Avon gloss, and lots of extras :D. I was feeling generous XD.)

An L.A. Colors (I keep typing 'colours' XD) eye palette in Mesmerise (that I've swapped off too XD), Wild & Crazy eye shadow in New U Girl, and 2 Jesse's Girl trios in Lime Lights and Purple Haze.

I actually quite like the Purple Haze :). Probably because it's not purple per se - it's violet, periwinkle and lilac >:-).

Swap 2 [England, the Sugar Kaleidoscope palette swapper again, she's one of my regulars :)].

(This was a 2 part swap. In total, I've sent her: 5 L.A. Colors palettes, the black/white/grey KleanColor trio, a L'Oreal Voluminous mascara that I got from Posey for entering her contest & that she kindly permitted me to swap away :D, a set of 3 Travel Exclusive Juicy Tubes, a lightly used Bourjois mini nail polish in 38 that my sister got sick of >:-D, a NYX eye shadow in Prune, NYX depotted shadows in Prune and Deep Purple, and a lot of extras, I can't recall all of them now XD.)

& I ended up receiving all this lot...

Part 1:

A Mary Kay Signature palette, a Mary Kay lipstick in Pink Melon, Bourjois Asia foundation in Beige Clair (too dark, will be using it for tan looks ;D), Eyeko Minty Fat Balm (finally I have some Eyeko >:-D, last person around the blogosphere to, I suspect :-/ - and I guess that's another thing for the review list ;D), Burt's Bees lip balm (the one in a tin), Wet & Wild lip liners in Pink Mauve and Willow, Mary Kay lipsticks in Pink Daisy and Pink Coral (these are testers that won't fit into the palette, but I don't mind ^_^), a Tarte lip balm in Friday, a Mary Kay lip liner in Dusty Pink, and just for the sake of it, a Mark Hook Up connector :-P. I'm very likely to swap for Mark stuff, so it's good thinking on my behalf ;D.

I love this palette, it looks so beautiful and chic :). And here it is with my first ever Mary Kay eye shadow duo...

Part 2:

Cleanse Your Soul mini Geisha body cream (spicy, love it ^_^), Pout Love Glow (looks really promising, can't wait to actually use it), Revlon Bedroom Eyes powder :D liners in Plum Wicked, Jaded and Fishnet Jet, NYX eye shadows in Luxor and Cool Blue, a Revlon eye shadow trio in Plum Like It Hot (XD), a depotted Lorac eye shadow in Jade, Barry M lipstick in 100, Pout lipstick in Mi Amore, Revlon lipstick in Nude Attitude, Wet & Wild lipstick in Pink Suede, Estee Lauder lipsticks in Divine Wine and Sugar Honey, and a Hard Candy lip palette in Pin Up.

Showing off my new lipsticks :-P :).

Same order as before ;). I swatched Nude Attitude at a shop here & I'm positive the one I have is prettier. The shop one was much browner :-/...Shade discrimination again >:-(? But whatever, I have the good one >:-D and that's all that matters :). And oh, it is so good. I'll have to come up with a Look of the day to show it off to you all ;D.

I'm a bit confused about why would a palette calling itself Pin Up consist of, well, caramel, brown, bronze and clear :-/. But they're nice :).

Swap 3 [The USA, another swapper].

(For my Limited Edition Avon duos in Daring Doll and Porcelain Doll, a Cover Girl eye shadow I got from a swap, and some extras.)

That Everyday Minerals mini concealer in Peach was an extra :). I also got three more Mary Kay duos ^_^ in Jade, Twilight and Cotton Candy, and an Elf gloss in Baby Lips. Swapped that off ;). But here's my palette, updated ^_^.

And I'll be receiving more Mary Kay stuff soon, so I guess I'll need more palettes >:-).

Swap 4 [The USA & a different person again].

(For my Avon Angel Cake eye shadow duo and Sahara Sun nail polish.)

A skincare sample I didn't keep, a Wet & Wild lipstick in Hot Red (this is too good for such a cheap item - unbelievable ^_^), a Mark Hook Up gloss (Sugared Almond on the left & Marshmallow on the right, these are amazing :D), an Elf white liner (had to swap that away, it wasn't pigmented enough for me), and Prestige liners: an eye liner in Poly and a lip liner in Tomango.

There are more, but I've run out of label space >:-D. And since I want to label everything properly, you'll just have to wait for my next swap update...Coming soon ;). Thanks for reading :).