I've won another giveaway, yay ^_^! Plus some nail pics & New Acquisitions. Including a must have product under 5 $ - really.

Blogspot Beauty e-mailed me...To tell me that I'd won her contest :).

Well, that's about as good as 'welcome back to the blogosphere' can get, right XD? Thanks so much BB ^_^. Everyone else, do check out her blog ;).

Here are the nail pictures. I'll do a look as soon as I stop feeling like a dried out pancake.

So, Nails Inc Victoria:

I'd swapped for this one ages ago, can't believe I'm only posting it up now.

Well...It's an autumn kind of colour :-P? Not that I personally pick my looks like that, but many do ;).

Nails Inc Victoria topped (in retrospect & as visible on there, sort of clumsily - sorry!) with Icing by Claire's Signature Runway (black with red sparkles, pics minus the sparkles >:-D here).

Can you see the red glitter on this pic? It just won't show up >:-/. But for the record (if you're planning on getting the Claire's polish, and you probably should if you can 'cause it's cheap enough to take a chance on ;D), they are there. And they're most intense under electric light. I think that topping a chocolate colour with this would look like OPI Midnight In Moscow ;) :D.

Alas, I don't own a chocolate colour XD. But I love this combo too :) - and it's even prettier in real life 'cause one can >:-) see the glitter. I think I prefer this to wearing Signature Runway on its own, and I'll be wearing it again ;).

Wet & Wild Bijou Blue...

Blue is my favourite alternative (that is, not red, white, pink or nude) colour to wear on nails. I feared that I might hate this (I don't really like teal), but somehow, with my skin colour, it works :).

[Here's a proper review ;).]

I've also worn my Essie Flirty Girl, but was too lazy to photograph it >:-). Will do next time though ;D.

On to my new stuff :D. I love things :-P. You can probably guess that by now >:-).

First of all, here are some things I actually bought >:-D.

A sharpener for my concealer (in my favourite colour, of course :-P), and two Tigi Bed Head brushes :D. They're hot pink ;D, and have names. Whoever came up with that is brilliant :). I don't like it when products have numbers instead of names & there's no real reason for it to be different with brushes. The liner brush is called Fame, and the other one's called The Love Brush ;).

These cost me 6 Euros each. If you can get them for that price, do. If you can get them full price, do it anyway if you have the funds, 'cause these rule :-P.

So far, I've used Fame with my Kate silver gel liner. (My black liners work fine with the cheap liner brush the Jane one came with, but this one called for a better tool ;D.) It works wonderfully :). I love it ^_^. And I'm sure I'll also love The Love Brush when I get around to using that ;D.

And now (you probably knew this was coming...), here are some swaps :).

Swap 1 [France].

(For my Maybelline Line Stylist in Jade Flash, and a few extras.)

An eye & lip liner from The Body Shop, in Chocolate ^_^. Also samples of a Crabtree & Evelyn hand cream and something anti-ageing by Guerlain - swapped that one off.

Swap 2 [England, Kaleidoscope swapper].

(I got her an Oriflame Radiance Energy cream and Beauty Balm, and as usual, added lots of extras ^_^.)

Palettes galore :D...

Profusion 36 Glamour eye palette, Sleek palettes (finally got my hands on these) in Acid and Chaos (which is upside down on the pic >:-D), the ArtDeco Beauty Box I'd originally bought for her (with two eye shadows in it ^_^), Coty Puzzle perfume (50 ml), Bourjois Violet Absolut eye shadow, and a metallic blues palette by L.A. Colours as an extra :). It's beautiful ^_^!

That shiny thing on the bag's top right is a pore strip, it was an extra too XD.

More pics...

The Profusion palette is a must have. I mean it. And it's only a few dollars in the US >:-). So freaking unfair to us all in other countries, but at least I managed to get one through this swap :).

It's got a lot of lovely neutrals and enough smokes, but also a red, some greens, a lovely periwinkle blue...A wonderful variety of colours :). And guess what: these colours go on metallic if used wet, and many are duochromes :D. See that pale orange in the second row (second from left)? It reflects white ^_^. This is for a single colour out of a 3.99 $ palette that contains 36 of them. If you have access to it, get it now ;D.

Oh, and it has the best and largest mirror I've ever seen on a palette XD. If you have a hard time justifying this purchase, tell yourself it's for the mirror's sake - and once you try these amazing shadows, you won't have any more issues :-P ;).

That's Acid on the left and Chaos on the right.

Well, only the middle four shades in Acid are true neons :-/. But the other shades are pigmented anyway - and I suppose that them not being fluorescent will be seen as a good thing by most people XD.

As for the shades in Chaos, they remind me of clay XD. But they're really nice colours :). Look at that orange, it'll be great for autumn themed looks ;).

You can also see my two new ArtDeco shadows on that pic: 82 and 217. But since I have 243 from the same collection the Beauty Box was part of, I put that one there. And to keep things green, I added my other two ArtDeco greens. It now looks like this:

ArtDeco eye shadows in 318, 243 and 390.

And this is a better pic of the Puzzle bottle:

It's so cute :). But in real life it's green, not blue :-P. (Though personally I would've preferred blue like on this picture, lol. But oh well.)

Swap 3 [The USA].

(For my mini Lancome Juicy Tube in Frozen Punch, and I added a few extras.)

C.O. Bigelow Soda Fountain Strawberry Sundae Mentha Lip Shine ;D. As you know, I love these - and this one looks so pretty :).

Oh, and it was brand new & still sealed. Not that I care XD, I don't mind used lip stuff. But I suppose it's nice to swap for something unused every now and then ;).

Thanks for reading :). I've got a lot of catching up to do XD...

Last Swap Update...For now. I still have more to come (literally) & will post them once they do.

Believe it or not, Swap Updates are my favourite kind of post to write. Looks are a pain because I'm a perfectionist and it's so annoying to get decent pictures, because I wasn't blessed with a nice face >:-). On the other hand, products are generally beautiful to look at (and if they aren't, I won't swap for those XD) :).

So, here goes ;).

Swap 1 [England, Kaleidoscope swapper].

(For 4 ArtDeco eye shadows & a Magnum Beauty Box to match, Stila tinted moisturiser samples, some extras, and a birthday present for her ^_^.)

Yet another huge multi-swap ;).

*Tesco Ginger, Vanilla & Pink Pepper perfume (50 ml). I love this even though it's cheap :D. It's a really nice, warm, spicy scent.
*So...?SuperStar mini perfume (20 ml). The packaging's so cute ^_^.
*Sugar Sweet Cheeks baked duo in Cupcake. This arrived broken, but it can still be used so I don't mind.
*Icing by Claire's nail polish in Signature Runway (wearing it here).
*Physicians Formula baked eye shadow trio in Baked Oatmeal (I love this - must try more baked stuff).
*Ruby & Millie Eye Colour in Red 420P.
*Bourjois eye shadow in Brun Somptueux.
*Milani eye shadow in Garden Mist.
*Barry M lipstick in 129 - the famous Lavender Whip supposed dupe. It's more Lavender than Fashion Mews ;).
*NYX lipsticks in Tea Rose, Ceto and B52.
*Benefit lip cream in If Only I Had Known. Isn't the pot gorgeous?
*Everyday Minerals eye shadow in Comfy and eye shadow mini in Hot Chocolate.
*Sleek Eye Dust in Inferno. Sleek palettes are famous around the blogosphere, but their pigments should be too ;D! They're amazing. I'll probably do a look to prove it ;).
*A Rimmel shadow & liner as an extra (swapped that off).
*Victoria's Secret Beauty Rush lip gloss in Slice Of Heaven - beautiful and tastes so good, I totally recommend Beauty Rush glosses and plan to get more ^_^.
*TheBalm Plump Your Pucker Tinted Gloss in Strawberry My Shortcake. Cooling effect (always a plus during the summer) and it does plump :).
*A Lancome mini Juicy Tube in Frozen Punch as an extra (I swapped that off too).
*Prestige Total Intensity eye liner in Intense Olive.
*Wet & Wild Idol Eyes Creme Shadow Pencil in Pixie - perfect for brightening inner corners ^_^. This was an extra too ;).

Close-ups:

Lipsticks from left to right: Barry M in 129, NYX Tea Rose, NYX Ceto and NYX B52.

Tea Rose is the colour of roses, Ceto is a mildly metallic tangerine coral, and B52 is a creamy rosy brownish nude.

Swap 2 [England, same swapper].

(For three Korres Lip Butters (Pomegranate, Guava and Plum), my Revlon eyelash curler (since I got & prefer the Shisem ;D), the Stila Illuminating Tinted Moisturiser (in 1), and some extras, including my Clinique Wow Violet lipstick.)

*Revlon Leading Lady Blush in Smoky Rose.
*Bourjois blusher in Rose De Jaspe (the lid broke off but the product's fine).
*Lots of sample baggies ^_^. Most are eye shadows, but there's one of lip balm :-/.
*Jane Be Pure mineral gel liner in Black (comes with a liner brush).
*An Avene face wash sample as an extra - gave that to my sister.
*Avon Treselle roll-on fragrance - it's sweeter than my usual type, but I think I like it.
*Soap & Glory Sexy Mother Pucker in Clear. Warning: this doesn't just make your lips feel cold or tingle, like most plumpers do - it has a very strong (probably close to painful the first time you try it) effect that's reminiscent of electric shocks >:-). Also, it smells freakishly exactly like cake (made me wonder just how fake food flavours may be nowadays). But it does work and the cake smell is pleasant :). And I got used to the electric shock treatment after enduring it twice :-P.
*Maybelline Line Stylist liner in Jade Flash (as an extra - I swapped it off).
*NYX Lip Pencil in Pink Nude.
*Tarte Lock & Roll Creaseless Eye Shadow Duo in Rose Gold. This works. I wore it on a hot day for over 12 hours and it didn't slide off :).
*NYX Lip Gloss With Mega Shine in Cady Shop [Candy Shop] and Frosteed Beige [Frosted Beige?]. Here's the situation: My glosses say 'Cady Shop' and 'Frosteed Beige'. The NYX official website lists 'Cady Shop' as Candy Shop (though the swatch is way off), but 'Frosteed Beige' is spelled with a double e :-/. Verify it here.
*Sleek Eye Dust in Jet Set and Vintage. I love these pigments so I got more ^_^.
*NYX eye shadow in Rust. I can never have too many reds ;D.
*NYX Chrome Eye Shadow in Iced Mocha.
*Everyday Minerals eye shadows in Lap Top and Net Surfing, and eye shadow minis in Mistle Toe, Snow Flakes and Starlit. Mistletoe is meant to be a single word as far as I know, but the packaging spells it as two words :-/.

I suppose this was the typoed products lot >:-). Lol. Close-ups:

Bourjois Rose De Jaspe, Jane gel liner, Sleek Jet Set, Sleek Vintage, NYX Iced Mocha, Everyday Minerals Lap Top, Net Surfing, Mistle Toe, Snow Flakes and Starlit.

Bonus pic:

Had to depot my Olivia lip balm to get a pot I could use for one of the Stila tinted moisturiser samples ;).

Not all brands featured have been added to the labels list, because 'the combined length of all labels cannot exceed 200 characters' >:-). I'm really sorry :(. [And annoyed >:-@.]

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...