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 :).

Finally got my contest prize ^_^! & Swap Update and some nail pics.

*Getting a new phone (finally >:-D, lol) next week...Which means more posts ;D! I'm going to apologise yet again for slacking off, but I'm just not a summer person. I thrive when it's cold. [And I just happen to live in Greece >:-). Country swap, anyone :-/? Lol XD...]

I'm referring to the Barry M Nail Paint in Mint Green (famous for allegedly being a MAC Peppermint Patti dupe - can't confirm since I don't own the latter :-P), my prize for winning the random draw in Rebecca's Animal Instinct contest ;). (Here's my winning Smokey Pigeon look ;D ^_^.) That particular item was delayed (the reason was a perfectly valid one and I didn't mind), then sent, returned due to the sticker with my address falling off (lol), re-sent with lots of lovely extras to make up for the delay :), and finally reached me last Tuesday :D.

And here it is :).

I also got a mask, Tresemme and John Frieda samples (my hair's very dry right now for obvious reasons so these were brilliant ^_^) and a Glamour Doll eye shadow in Trophy Wife - this is so pigmented and metallic. I'm gonna love this ;D. Thank you so much Rebecca :).

(For the record, I've won a few other contests and giveaways, but I haven't always received my prizes...Oh well :-/. Thumbs up for all the honest bloggers who do complete their giveaways ;D ^_^.)

Of course, I had to wear the Nail Paint ASAP ;)...

(Pre-clean-up pic, which can sort of be seen, sorry about that XD.)

It's beautiful :D. It looks a lot better than it did on others' blog pics (no offence meant or anything, it's just far more appealing in real life). As for the formula, it applies quite well, and two coats provide enough colour :).

Now, it's time for a Swap Update :). (New readers: I'm an odd girl and usually swap instead of 'hauling' ;D. Oh, and hi :D!)

Swap 1 [Singapore].

(For my Jesse's Girl trio in Lime Lights, and some extras.)

Fine, I suppose I didn't need both XD - but red's my favourite colour :-P ^_^.

Oh, and they're Sasa eye shadow singles in RD002 ;).

Swap 2 [Canada].

(For my Bourjois mini pigment in 9 and Schwarzkopf mini shampoos...Remember those? Yes, this swap was arranged a long time ago, took two months to show up and was sort of stressful because of that :(. But it was worth the wait ^_^. Oh, and I did add extras ;D.)

Lots of stuff :D...All by Mary Kay ;).
So, I got blushes in Apricot Breeze, Burnished Bronze, Desert Bloom and Pink Meringue - the two bottom ones combine wonderfully for a pink contoured cheeks look ;).
And eye shadows in Ivy Duet, Fig, Periwinkle, Raspberry Rush, Storm, Tutti Frutti and Seashell. I asked for six shadows, but she added another as an extra ^_^! Along with lots of nice samples :). Despite the slow shipping, I'm glad to have done this swap :).

(Updated my palette with Storm, Raspberry Rush, Periwinkle, Fig and Seashell. Although I've since swapped off Storm and replaced it with Twilight, lol.)

Swap 3 [The USA].

(For my Revlon Black Cherry lipstick, a mix CD, and extras.)

Finally got a denim shadow :). I've always wanted to try that ;)...It's Clinique High Impact Eye Shadow in Faded Denim. The Sugar Sugar mini was an extra and I swapped it off because I already had that shade.
And a Colour Me Nude Lip Concealer by Etude House. I've worn that twice since then and I love it. If you're looking for a statement nude (I did say statement nude - this isn't a soft natural look and 'Lip Concealer' is a very fitting name for it), this is your product. I'll probably do a look with it to show it off ;).
More extras: a Hello Kitty lip balm ^_^ and a sample of the famous Urban Decay Primer Potion ;).

And here are some nail pics that I took before my Mint Green mani (pictured near the beginning of this post).

Two coats of OPI Rosy Future on all nails. Then, two coats of Oriflame Visions Skydiver on my thumb, and two coats of Icing by Claire's Signature Runway on the two dark nails.

(I always just paint over when I'm planning to use a darker colour after a lighter one. Why waste remover :-P?)

This (funny-looking) picture gives a much better profile of Rosy Future. It's similar to Skydiver, but while Rosy Future reflects violetish rose, Skydiver reflects glass-like icy light blue that reminds me of skyscrapers :-P. Rosy Future's more subtle ;), while Skydiver is a vibrant one, even though it's light.

I tried to capture the red glitter in Signature Runway, but failed >:-/. It's there in real life though. By the way, that's probably the reason why this colour doesn't make me look dead (me & black lacquer normally don't suit each other). Yay for that :).

Before doing a full mani with Barry M Mint Green, I swatched that on my ring finger. (Building up from the pics above, that is ;D.) I certainly had a funny-looking hand that day XD.

Thanks for reading, everyone :). Time to catch up ;D...