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 :).

Some nail pictures.

I admit that I'm posting this as an alternative to nothing at all. At this point I'm literally too busy to focus on writing here :'(, and trust me, I'd love to blog more frequently and will as soon as it's viable. And that's a promise ;).

These were taken back in 2009 when I left the blogosphere for a fair period of time...But since I never intended to quit, I took blog-related pictures anyway ;D.

NYC Big Money:

Very foil looking. A nice shade for pale complexions. But not the easiest formula to work with. Still, in my opinion the colour makes it worth it. And hey, it's a very cheap one so fair enough :-P.

Also, that nail length isn't for me. I kept scratching my face by accident when applying anything to it XD. I've gone back to short, cute & practical ^_^.

MAC Girls Will Be Girls:

Limited Edition, from Fafi. My only MAC polish & it, like NYC, is also kinda too fluid and hard to work with. But I love the unique colour. Will probably re-photograph this one to get a truer representation.

Oriflame Visions Serial Blogger:

Love the name. Love the fact that it makes a great glittery top coat for anything I care to throw it over. Its texture is like rough sugar because of the glitter bits (lol).

That's it for tonight. Thanks for reading :). Will do my best to write and comment more.

P.S. Thank you all SO much for the birthday comments :). Sending wishes of cake to all who requested it XD ^_^.

My Make-Up Collection Part 4: Face Enhancers.

Nice title, right? That's what I call my cheek stuff ;). I don't have too many of these products (compared to eye or lip stuff), but it's still a nice & useful lot :).

I keep them in here...

This is everything laid out on my Hello Kitty bag ;).

Well, you cannot see every single product, but it does fit most in one go. Can't imagine doing that with my eye shadows :-P...

I'll begin with my Everyday Minerals minis ;).

Everyday Minerals mini blushes in All Smiles, Anytime, B & B, Best Friends, Chit Chat, Cookie Sheet, Corner Office, Jump Rope, Once And Again, Pink Ribbon, Plum Dust, Photo Album and Theme Park. (Also pictured is a sample of Pure Luxe Cheeky, but I swapped that off.)

Estee Lauder and MAC...

Estee Lauder Deluxe All-Over Face Compact containing Bronze Goddess Soft Shimmer Bronzer in 2, and Tender Blush in Pink Kiss, Rosette and Petal, Estee Lauder mini Soft Matte Bronzer, MAC Fafi Powder Blush in Hipness and Hello Kitty Beauty Powder Blush in Tippy.

Elf and Asian brand stuff...

Elf Healthy Glow Bronzing Powder in Sunkissed, Warm Tan and Luminance, Nichido Powder Blush in Sunkissed (it somehow ended up cracked, but I don't mind 'cause I can still use it), and Fashion 21 Fine Blush Powder in 1.

Wet & Wild, Revlon and Mary Kay.

Markwins Eyes & Cheeks palette (there's nothing else written on it :-/), Wet & Wild Silk Finish Blush in Berry Shimmer, Revlon Leading Lady Blush in Smoky Rose, Revlon Pure Confection Highlighting Face Powder, Revlon Cream Blush in Just Peachy, and Mary Kay blushes in Apricot Breeze, Burnished Bronze, Desert Bloom and Pink Meringue.

Bourjois ^_^. I love Bourjois :D - definitely one of my favourite brands ;).

Delice De Poudre Highlighting Powder, Blushers in Rose Fougue and Rose De Jaspe, and Compact Powders in Miel Dore and Abricote. (Being pale, I use Miel Dore for contouring and Abricote as a peach blusher.)

Opened:


Various products in see-through packaging:

Physicians Formula Organic Wear Bronzer, Charm Colour Face Colour in FB5, IsaDora Diamond Glow, The Body Shop Shimmer Waves in 02 Blush, Stila Illuminating Finishing Powder in Gold and Sugar Sweet Cheeks in Cupcake.

Various products in opaque packaging:

Models Prefer Blush in Pretty In Paisley, Luscious Cosmetics Luscious Blooms Blush & Highlighter Duo in Coral Gables, my Oriflame shimmer balls I can't remember the official name for :-P (and that cream pot isn't their actual packaging either >:-D - I've moved them), Cargo Mini Medium Bronzer, Tarte Cheek Stain in Flush and Pout Flush Blush in Fuchsia Fusion.

Opened:

That's it ^_^. Of course, I do have blushes in palettes, but those will be published within the palettes section, coming soon ;D. 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...

My Make-Up Collection Part 3: Hello Kitty Lip.

[No, this is not a tutorial on how to erase one's mouth >:-).]

(I had a comment on Hello Kitty Eye, something like, "I thought this was going to be a Hello Kitty eye look...", and well, wasn't & won't be a lip look this time either ;D.)

This is the case I keep my lip products in :). It's Hello Kitty ^_^, hence the nickname Hello Kitty Lip XD.

View from the top:

Alright, let's open it...

Scattered on top of most lipsticks and glosses are various lip palettes, glosses that aren't tube-shaped, small-sized products, and certain lip balms that are coloured enough to belong here & not inside the Rimmel Case ;).

Hard Candy Pin Up lip palette, Mark Candy Stripes lip gloss in Candied Apricot and Candied Apple, a Mark Hookup double-ended gloss in Sugar Almond (left) and Marshmallow (right), a mini Hello Kitty lipstick, Tarte lip balms in Thursday and Friday, Embodyment Organic Essentials Cherry lip balm, Hershey's Milk Chocolate Scented Lip Gloss (this is a lot more of a balm-like product despite the name :-/), MAC lipstick in Malt (in a sample pot), L'Occitane lip gloss in Rose Bonbon, Biotherm mini Glossy Shine Luminous Crystal Gloss in 130, Burt's Bees Lip Shimmer in Champagne, and Oriflame Sweet Talking Lip Candy in Sweet Bubblegum, Sweet Caramel, Sweet Vanilla and Sweet Butterscotch.

These heart things are the tastiest lip product I've ever tried. It's sort of annoying because they're literally good enough to eat, and too often, I do >:-). Oh, and they're gorgeous too ;D.

After removing all the clutter on top, here's what is left...

Most lipsticks are located in the centre section, while the lip glosses are split into groups & live in the side pouches ;). I'll cover the glosses first.

Estee Lauder High Gloss in Ivory and Pearl, mini Pure Colour Crystal Gloss in Sugarcane, mini Pure Colour Gloss in Burgundy, Pure Colour Crystal Gloss in Raspberry Pop, and Pure Colour Cool Gloss in Cool Coconut.

Labello CareGloss & Shine in pink and nude (can't find a name on them :-/), Clinique mini Superbalms in Raspberry Tint and Mango Tint, mini Colour Surge Impossibly Glossy in Cream Soda and Camisole, and mini Glosswear For Lips in Air Kiss.

Mary Kay lipsticks in Pink Daisy and Pink Coral, and Liparazzi lip gloss in Velvet Rope and Stalker. Yes, these light up :D! Will do a review one day ;). Oh, and I'd love to swap for Premiere if anyone has it ^_^.

Palladio Plump 'N' Shine Herbal Plumping Lip Gloss in Frosting, Miners Double Trouble lip gloss (the pink one - no shade name given :-/), Tigi Bed Head Dumb Blonde lip gloss (which is what some will think of me after reading all this, I suppose >:-D), Dior Sparkle Shine Glitter Top Coat For Lips, and Wet & Wild Diamond Brilliance in 616 Rachel's Rocks.

L'Occitane Cherry Blossom Lip Gloss, Bourjois Rouge Pop Chic in Poupre Chic, Oriflame Plump & Gloss in Naughty Girl and Nice Girl, and Stila It Gloss in Striking and Inviting.

Bourjois Poupre Chic is rain-proof :D. And I'm referring to crazy flood-like rain. I'm always happy when it rains :), but a lasting-through-the-elements bright red lip colour just makes it better ;).

MAC mini Lipglass in Gold Charm, Lipglass in Cult Fave (Fafi), Totally It (Fafi) and Silly Girl, Pout Lip Gloss in Tickle My Fancy and Be My Baby, and Urban Decay XXX Shine Cooling Lip Gloss in Love Junkie.

For someone who allegedly dislikes glosses, I sure have a lot >:-).

And I happen to like lipsticks ;D...Guess what brand most of mine are by?

MAC >:-D! Of course :-P...Eleven and counting ;D.

Fresh Buzz, Pretty Please, Flowerplay, Fresh Brew (Hello Kitty), Fashion Mews (Hello Kitty), Strayin' (Hello Kitty), Not So Innocent (Fafi), Strawbaby (Fafi), Flash-N-Dash (Fafi), Fun 'N' Sexy (Fafi) and Utterly Frivolous (Fafi) - that was my first one ^_^.

Next, Oriflame.

Power Shine lipsticks in Rose Bite and Sangria Red, Matt Glam (that's how they spell it - why not 'matte', I don't know) lipsticks in Liz, Lauren, Jean, Audrey and Marilyn, Colour Attraction lipstick in Golden Forest (sadly, the pretty green tube's Limited Edition packaging :-P) and Visions Lip Love lipstick in Justin.

Opened:

Estee Lauder and Clinique.

Estee Lauder Pure Colour Crystal Lipstick in Crystal Baby, Crystal Pink and Tiramisu, Futurist Full Treatment Lipstick in Divine Wine, and Pure Colour Long Lasting Lipstick in Sugar Honey, and Clinique Colour Surge Lipstick in Wow Violet.

Opened:

Wet & Wild, NYC and Essence.

Wet & Wild lipstick in 514A Cherry Frost and 519A Hot Red, Precious Metals lipstick in 762A Ruby Glam, Mega Colours lipstick in 909B Pink Suede and 907A Black Cherry (the packaging is completely different but both are named Mega Colours :-/), NYC Ultra Moist Lip Wear in 324B Cameo and Essence lipstick in 03 Romantic Secrets.

Opened:

NYX, Revlon and Barry M.

NYX Black Label Lipstick in Nude and Round Lipstick in Iced Honey, Revlon lipstick in Nude Attitude and Silver City Pink, and Barry M Lip Paint in 100 Baby Pink and 123. At least I think it's 123 - the label has partially faded. As of me writing this, there's no 123 on the official site.

Opened:

Various luxury brand lipsticks.


Dior lipstick in Golden Mirage, Orlane Rouge Extraordinaire Lipstick in 34, Cargo Plant Love lipstick in Nahinni, and Pout Full Cover Cream Lipstick in Mi Amore.

Opened:

Last but not least, my set of mini Mark glosses :-P.

Glow Baby Glow minis in Girly Girl, Bubbles, Smooches and Blow Kisses, and Glow Baby Glow Luxe minis in Lucky Luxe, Choco Luxe, Flirty Luxe and Petal Luxe.

Swatches/reviews/looks on request ;). Next, I'll be presenting my cheek stuff, or as I like to call them, Face Enhancers :). Thanks for reading ^_^!

Oh, and to the one person who answered, "I don't know why you do these make-up collection posts anyway, they're so show-off & frivolous..." on my poll, thanks for the honesty - and I do it to keep a log of what I own, and because I enjoy looking at make-up :-P. I hope some of my readers do too :).

Blogger won't let me include more than 20 labels, so I can't mark this post with all the brands I own. Sorry :(!