Face Of Australia Glitterati Collection

Face of Australia just released their latest limited edition nail polish collection, Glitterati. After seeing swatches on Lab Muffin, I knew I needed all 8 polishes. I haven't seen these in Priceline yet, but I stumbled across a display in Kmart yesterday.

The Glitterati collection is comprised of 5 glitter topcoats and 3 milky based glitters.

Dancing Queen

Dancing Queen is made up gold and black hexagonal glitter. The gold has a slight green/olive tinge. The glitter applies every evenly.

Studio 54

Studio 54 is a coppery rose gold glitter. It contains small hexagon's and fine dust. It's quite dense, probably dense enough to wear alone in 4-5 coats.

Saturday Night Fever

Saturday Night Fever is a rainbow glitter containing small and large hexagons as well as squares. I have lots of similar polishes (OPI Rainbow Connection, Hello Darling Confetti and Australis Fairy Bread to name a few), but this is the only one to contain square glitter pieces.

Lookin' For Some Hot Stuff

Lookin' For Some Hot Stuff contains fine red dust glitter, black, red, pink/purple hexagons and a smattering of white bars. It's almost dense enough to wear alone, it might get there in 4 coats.

Disco Inferno

Made up of red, blue and pink hexagons in assorted sizes, Disco Inferno bears a resemblance to OPI's recent release Polka.com. This was the only polish that needed the glitter dabbed on to achieve an even result.

Boogie Wonderland

Boogie Wonderland is loaded with small orange, purple, blue and pink hexagons, large silver hexagons and blue, green and silver bars, in a very pale blue base. It's opaque in 3 thin coats.

Heart Of Glass

Heart Of Glass contains a lot of small pink and purple squares and hexagons, large magenta hexagons, large red squares and hearts and small silver bars, all in a pale pink base. I had to go digging for the larger glitter pieces, and I haven't managed to get a heart on my brush yet, but don't think I've given up!

Funky Town

Funky Town is made up of blue, black and silver hexagons in a cornflower blue base. The subtlest glitter in the collection, the opaque base hides a lot of the glitter but the result is still very pretty. 

I always do a few layers of glitters for maximum sparkle. All the swatches above are of 3 layers, plus one layer of Seche Vite.

Once again, I'm really impressed with Face of Australia's nail polishes. I was wowed by the last limited edition release, the Pretty Pastels collection, and I'm wowed by Glitterati as well! I love a good glitter polish and have a pretty big collection of them, but almost all of these are unique to me. I'm sure indie polish enthusiasts will know of some dupes, but this collection is much more interesting than anything I've seen from other drugstore and mainstream brands.They all apply really well. A lot of glitter polishes, especially cheaper ones, are thick and goopy, but these are all thin and very easy to layer.

I'm really glad I got all 8 polishes, especially as I'm sure this collection will sell out super fast, but there were a few standouts for me. I love the black and gold combo of Dancing Queen, the coppery Studio 54 makes a nice change from silver and gold glitters and I'm excited by the uniqueness of Boogie Wonderland and Heart Of Glass. I think this collection might be the push I needed to start exploring some indie nail polish brands.

I bought these for $4.75 each at Kmart. I think they retail for $4.95 elsewhere.

Do any of the FOA Glitterati polishes catch your eye? Any recs for indie polish brands?

Priceline Haul and Beauty Bag Offer

Starting today, Priceline are offering a Beauty Bag containing $220 of beauty products when you spend $60 on selected brands. They do this once a year and I've always thought the goody bags were pretty great, so I headed straight to Priceline this morning.

 To qualify for the beauty bag I picked up two Revlon Colorstay foundations (with pumps, YAY!), a Sally Hansen nail polish remover, a Savvy by DB matte lipstick and an Australis Pout Paste, which took me just over the $60 mark. I needed the foundation and nail polish remover and I'd been planning on buying the two lip products anyway, so it worked out well.

The brands you can select from are Models Prefer, Rimmel, Revlon, Nude by Nature, Manicare, Savvy by DB, Australis, Kiss, Natio, Ecotools, Press & Go, Sally Hansen & Bourjois. You have to purchase cosmetics or cosmetic accessories, so skincare items don't count towards the $60. Priceline has different offers on all these brands at the moment.

The bag itself is a leopard print tote. It's pretty poor quality, but better than the faux snakeskin bag from last year.

The contents of the bag:

A coupon for $5 off Revlon's new BB Cream.

Rimmel Wake Me Up Instant Radiance Shimmer Touch in 001 Flush of Pearl

Nude by Nature Undercover Airbrush Mineral Primer

Savvy by DB wipes

Manicare Cuticle Therapy

Ecotools bath sponge

Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Midnight in NY

Models Prefer Brow Highlighter

Australis Paparazzi Perfect Concealer in Light/Medium

Natio lipstick in Flutter

Revlon Lip Butter in Brown Sugar

Bourjois Volume Glamour Max in Noir Max

Kiss Everlasting French glue on nails

Press & Go Press on Manicure in Call Me Agent

Overall I'm really pleased with what was in my bag. Other than the Australis concealer (too dark) and the Lip Butter (already have it), I can definitely use everything. I'm especially happy with the cuticle product, nail polish and primer, and the Bourjois mascara is one of my favourites so it's good to have a back-up!

A few quick swatches of the stuff I've opened so far:

L-R: Savvy by DB matte lipstick in Bali, Australis Pout Paint in Pash Me Pink, Natio Lipstick in Flutter, Models Prefer Brow Highlighter, Rimmel Shimmer Touch in Flush of Pearl

What do you think of the contents of Priceline's Beauty Bag? Are you planning on taking advantage of the offer?

Maybelline Color Tattoos in Timeless Black & Light In Purple: Review & Swatches

Three new Color Tattoos were released in the UK about a month ago. I quickly nabbed two of them on Ebay, passing on the vivid gold shade as I already have three gold Color Tattoos. I've struggled to find any info about these, but I'm just assuming they are limited editions like most of the other Color Tattoo collections.

The two shades I chose are Timeless Black, a matte black, and Light in Purple, a light blue/violet duochrome. I've been wanting a black Color Tattoo ever since they were first released and I had to get the duochrome.

L-R: Timeless Black, Light In Purple, Light In Purple layered over Timeless Black, Light in Purple layered over Painted Purple

These might just be the best additions to the original line up yet! 

Timeless Black is fantastic. I was worried it might be a sheer, watered down black, but it's extremely dark and totally opaque in two thin layers. I love using black cream eyeshadow as a base for darker eyeshadows, especially blackened colours, as it really intensifies them. I usually use MUFE Aqua Black, but this is just as good and a whole lot cheaper. It's also great for a smokey eye and works perfectly as a liner. Timeless Black really needs to be added to the permanent range worldwide, it's such a great basic.

Light in Purple is stunning. It's not a really extreme duochrome as in most lights it still appears pale blue, but the violet tinge makes it extra pretty. I think the purple in it shows up a bit more in photographs than in real life. It looks great worn by itself (sheered out it's a lovely all over wash) and is a great highlight shade for the inner corner of the eye. But it really comes to life when layered over another colour. My absolute favourite combination is Light in Purple over Painted Purple (far right swatch), but it also adds something special to the pinks and blues I own. If you like a holographic effect this is definitely a must have. It's worth it just for the fun of trying out different combinations.

As usual, these are great quality. Really creamy, so easy to blend, and they last and last on me. I've blended my Color Tattoos a million times, but I hadn't really layered them before so I was happy to find it was very easy to apply a thin layer of Light in Purple on top of other shades without just blending the two together together.

 So far none of the Color Tattoos bar the original ten have been released in Australia. I can't understand why as they're so popular, but if you like either of these or any of the shades released in the US I wouldn't keep waiting for them to hit Priceline. Ebay is the way to go. 

Update:

Nicole asked how Timeless Black compared to MAC's Blacktrack in the comments, so I thought I'd add a few comparison swatches for anyone interested :)

L-R: Timeless Black, MAC Blacktrack, MUFE Aqua Black

Timeless Black is blacker and slightly more pigmented than Blacktrack. It has a little more depth than Aqua Black, but it isn't as richly pigmented. Timeless Black is technically matte, but compared to the uber mattes Blacktrack and Aqua Black it has a slight sheen. Blacktrack's much softer, gel-like texture makes it easy to line the eye in one motion, but I find it easier to be precise with the two cream products. All three work as a liner and a base, but the Maybelline and MUFE products are more versatile in my opinion. Aqua Black is my favourite of the lot, but Timeless Black is almost as good and a much cheaper alternative, especially if you just want a base for other eyeshadows.

What do you think of Timeless Black and Light in Purple?

March Favourites

Hope everyone had a fantastic Easter break! I'm only just getting over my chocolate hangover. The famous Lindt bunny would have to take the title of my March favourite, but I managed to stop scoffing them long enough to decide on some runner-ups.

Sunday Riley Prismasilk eyeshadows in Burnt Eggplant and Solstice

Sunday Riley just became available from Cult Beauty recently, which is brilliant news as it was a hard brand to track down online before. I'd heard a lot about their eyeshadows, and these two didn't disappoint. They're so soft and blendable and the colours are gorgeous. I've already ordered some more shades!

Rimmel Match Perfection foundation

Finally, a Priceline foundation that's pale enough for me. The lightest shade is a good match (maybe a teensy bit on the dark side but the finish is very forgiving), it's buildable to medium coverage and while it has a nice dewy finish it still lasts pretty well throughout the day. Bonus points for having a pump. It's not my favourite foundation ever, but it's very cheap when on sale and easy to source so I'll definitely be repurchasing.

OPI Oz collection nail polishes in Lights of Emerald City and When Monkeys Fly!

I can't go past a good glitter topcoat from OPI. These are both stunning, but When Monkeys Fly! is really something special. Must haves!

Sinful Colors nail polish in Hottie

I've already managed to build up a little collection of Sinful Colors polishes. The brand itself may as well be on this list, but Hottie is a standout. It's just so wonderfully sparkly.

Maybelline Color Tattoo in Light in Purple

A recent UK release, Light in Purple is a holographic Color Tattoo that can be worn alone or layered over other shades. It's a light blue/violet colour that's very pretty on it's own, but I'm really enjoying layering and mixing it with other Color Tattoos. 

Arbonne lipstick in Vintage Rose*

Still loving this colour. So much so I'm slightly worried I might finish the tube before too long.

Maybelline ColorSensational Vivid lipsticks in Vibrant Mandarin and Shocking Coral

I recently bought six of the eight Vivids and I'm thrilled with them all, but these two are the standouts for me right now. It's so great to see colours like this coming from a drugstore brand. I know Sleek and Barry M make some brights that could rival MAC's, but these are really unique in the Australian market.

Le Metier de Beaute Lip Creme in Pink Berry Creme

THE prettiest rose gold lipgloss. I've been wearing Pink Berry a lot since it arrived. It's a great everyday shade but it has a special something. It's just a shame it's a bit to exxy to stock up on (it's a limited edition).

Le Metier de Beaute Indelible Inks Eyeliner in Artemis

This blackened blue liquid eyeliner is insanely pigmented. I've never used a blue liquid eyeliner before but I'm loving it as an alternative to black. 

Rimmel Apocalips in Galaxy and Stellar

Love these! I can't wait until they're released in Australia so I can see the rest of the colours in person. Galaxy is a great shimmering purple berry, while Stellar is the most amazing neon orangey coral. I never really rated Rimmel in the past, but between the Kate Moss lipsticks, the ScandalEyes eyeliners and now these lip laquers, they've really upped their game.

What were your March favourites?

* PR sample

Arbonne Lipstick, Lip Polish and Lip Liner: Reviews & Swatches

Recently I was kindly sent some Arbonne lip products to try out.

 Arbonne isn't a brand I'd heard much about before, but I'm very impressed with their ethos. Their products are paraben free, vegan and are not tested on animals. They began with skincare and it shows in their cosmetics, which contain botanical ingredients.

L-R: Runaway Rouge, Vintage Rose

Their lipsticks, available in 14 shades, contain ingredients like Wild Mango Butter, Alpine Skullcap, Pomegranate extract and Vitamins A, C and E. They are definitely some of the most hydrating lipsticks I've used.

Runaway Rouge ($36 AUD) is a richly pigmented shimmering pinkish red. It's such a vivid, sparkling pop of colour, I love it. There's a slight grittiness to the texture due to the shimmer, but it's very comfortable to wear. On me it lasts a good 5 hours.

Vintage Rose ($36AUD)is a cool toned purple/mauve. I'm loving purple lip products at the moment so this is a new favourite. Vintage Rose is a fantastic colour, a purple you can wear to work. Fully opaque in two swipes, it feels lovely and creamy on the lips and lasts 4-5 hours.

Arbonne Lip Polishes, available in 7 shades, contain Aloe and Vitamin E amongst other ingredients.

I was sent the shade Clear ($36AUD), which is fantastic because the one thing I don't have in my stash is a clear gloss! I really like this product. It feels more like a liquid balm than a gloss. It's completely non-sticky and really is very moisturising.

The final item I was given to try is a lip liner. Once again, this product has ingredients I'm used to seeing on the back of skincare bottles; Ceramide 3, Hyaluronic Acid and Vitamin E.

Available in 6 shades, I was provided with Pink Mauve ($32AUD), a pinky brown colour that's just a touch darker than my natural lip pigment. It's nice and creamy and applies easily. I really appreciate the wind up mechanism as I can't stand the waste that comes with sharpening liners.

L-R: Runaway Rouge, Vintage Rose, Clear, Pink Mauve

I can honestly say I was hugely impressed with all these products, particularly the lipsticks. The pigmentation is fantastic and the colours are beautiful, but what really wowed me was the way they felt on the lips, and more importantly how my lips felt once I removed them. The formula is intensely hydrating. I'll definitely be looking into purchasing a couple more shades.

Arbonne cosmetics can be purchased online here.

Have you tried anything from Arbonne? What's the most hydrating lipstick you own?

Disclosure: These product were sent to me without charge for consideration for review. All opinions expressed are an honest reflection of my experiences.