Day 27 - Throwback Thursday

I was trying to get a lipstick swatch post done today but it takes forever to apply, take photos and edit 26 lipsticks. So it may be awhile until I finish that post but I am determined to get it done.

I don't know what else I can post about and I don't have any pictures to post. So I guess I'll see if I can find any old photos and do a throwback Thursday post.

Here we go.

Here I am in 2007 in an outfit I made out of milk bottle tops for a school project. I actually made it into the local paper with this creation.













This is 2007 or 2008, maybe even 2006 and it was my profile picture for the longest time. My face is so round and I hadn't started filling in my brows yet. I felt so fancy just wearing lip gloss or "borrowing" some of my mums tinted moisturiser.

This is November 2008 when I was living in Dunedin. I never get picture with my boyfriend anymore.

This is me at about 2? Still in England and posing in my mums boots with my sister in the background.

This my boyfriend and I at my first school ball in 2007. It was the first time I had my make up done by a professional.

Here I am in 2007 just after dyeing my hair dark. I wanted a chocolate brown, but it came out a little darker.







This was actually quite fun to look back at. Maybe I can do some more Throwback Thursday posts in the future.

Day 26 - Eyebrow Tinting

It has been quite awhile since I last tinted my eyebrows and I have been spending quite a lot of day make up free recently, so I thought I would tint my brows and show you some photos.

I am aware that that the before photo is blurry but I didn't notice until now and obviously I can't retake it now.

In the first photo is my naked face and natural brows, in the second I have the tint mixture on my brows, in the third photo I have just removed the tint and in the fourth photo I waxed my brows and I applied mascara to show how it looks.

I know my brows my look a little dark but the colour fades in the first couple of days because at first the skin under the hair is also tinted but as you wash your face, the tint comes off your skin and the brows look less dramatic. For this reason I always go a little darker than I think I should but you can experiment and see what works best for you.

If you would like to read how to tint your brows read on.

You want to start by cleansing your brows to remove any oil that will prevent the tint from sticking. I just wipe them with toner.

Next, using a cotton bud and some vaseline, mark off the areas you don't want tinted. Basically outline your brows with vaseline.

You now want to mix up your tinting solution following the directions that come with your product.

Now apply the tint to your brows making sure to rub in both directions so that you get down to the root of the hair.

Next clean up your lines using a cotton bud to wipe off any tinting mixture that is not where you want it.

Now let it develop on your brows for 2 - 3 minutes, then remove with a damp cotton pad. If your brows are not dark enough reapply for another 2 minutes or until desired colour is achieved. I left mine on for about 6-7 minutes. If it is your first time it is better to have to apply a few times than leave it on too long and your brows go too dark. Remember you can always darken but you can not lighten.

Make sure all tint is removed and you are done. You can now go on and shape your brows how you would like.

Day 25 - Nutrimetics Hair Serum Review

Nutrimetics Essentials Hair Serum with Ginger and Virgin Coconut Oil 40 ml for $22.

I would just like to be fair to this product and mention that my hair is extremely dry at the moment because I spent a lot of time in chlorinated water over the weekend, so it is soaking up moisture like crazy.

I will do a little comparison between this and the only other hair serum I've used the Dove Nutri Oil Serum which I reviewed here and before and after photos here.

This serum is a little bit thicker and more gel like. It also is a little bit heavier on my hair and I feel I have to use less to get rid of frizz. I also notice that it takes awhile to absorb in unlike the Dove which is almost instantly absorbed. If I apply a little too much of the serum, it will absorb over night and leave my hair silky the next day.

This serum has a much stronger smell than the Dove which has barely any scent. This serum smells very strongly of Ginger which I guess is because it is one of the main ingredients. You can smell it on your hair.

I think that I prefer this Serum slightly more over the Dove because it is slightly heavier and for my dry hair I feel it does more to repair my hair than the Dove does. I do still like the Dove and if you have already quite good hair and just a few flyaways to tame I would definitely recommend the Dove over this Serum.

If I know I am going to wash my hair the next day or in the evening I will apply a generous amount of the Serum to the length of my hair and braid it, then leave it in throughout the day or overnight. Then when I wash my hair it is nice and healthy.

Because I find this product does absorb into your hair, you don't get a build up of product. On second day hair I will sometimes add an additional pump to smooth any frizz that has appeared over night.

The first photo is my hair air dried overnight and brushed through, the second photo is my hair with two pumps of the serum which is normally enough for my hair but today my hair was so dry I used a third pump which is my hair in the last picture.

Excuse my really bad roots but I am trying to grow out my natural colour.

Day 24 - Product Empties

Here are a few products I finished up this month.

Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser 250 ml I got mine for around $20 from Farmers. This is a cleanser that can be used on your face or body. It is extremely gentle which is great for my sensitive skin. I can't say that it is a miracle product that cleared up my skin but it does not make my skin worse. It cleans my skin without causing a reaction. It has a gel cream texture. I feel as though the Cetaphil, the Comfort Soothing Creme and also the Skinfood NZ Cleans All are all quite interchangeable. They are all gentle cleanser that clean my skin with out causing a reaction or drying out my skin. I would re purchase this cleanser but I am currently trying out a new cleanser.

Orly Nail Lacquer Remover Non-Acetone Formula 473 ml for $19.99 from Farmers. Being a beauty therapist, especially one that loves doing nails, I use up quite a lot of nail polish remover. I always choose to use acetone free formulas because I do have some clients that get acrylic nails. This nail polish remover works just as well as the other acetone free formulas that I have used. But like most acetone free formulas it does take a little extra effort to remove metallic and glitter polishes. I would re purchase this.

Orly Cutique Cuticle Remover 9 ml I think I got mine for around $12 at Farmers. As a cuticle remover this is great, it softens the skin on the nail so you can use a cuticle stick to scrape it off. It is also a great nail stain remover. I don't find that this dries out the skin too much as long as you wash off the product and use a cuticle oil or hand cream as part of your manicure routine. I would re purchase this.

Nutrimetics Comfort Soothing Cleansing Creme 150 ml for $33.01. This is another gentle face cleanser. It has a cream texture and is part of the sensitive skin range from Nutrimetics. The Comfort Skincare range is supposed to be on par with the Clinique Sensitive Skin Range but I have not tried the Clinique, so I can't say whether this is true or not. As I mentioned above, although this is a great cleanser that doesn't make my skin react or dry out, it is interchangeable with the other two cleansers I mentioned. I don't think that I would re purchase this cleanser because it is more expensive than the Cetaphil and I feel as though they have the same effect on my skin.

Nutrimetics Comfort Gentle Toning Lotion 200 ml for $33.01.This is a toner for sensitive skin, a lot of toners I have tried before are too harsh and break me out as well as drying out my skin. This toner is alcohol free and doesn't dry out my skin or break me out. I like to use a toner to remove any excess cleanser on my skin and to make sure that all makeup has been removed. If my cotton pad turns foundation coloured, I know that I haven't washed my face properly. I haven't found any other toners for sensitive skin so I have already re purchased this product.

Nutrimetics Nutri Rich Oil 25 ml for $30. I have already done a review of this product which you can read here. I love this product as a night cream and I have already re purchased this item.

I love empty product posts because if you have finished the whole product then I feel like your opinion has had plenty of time to form, although sometimes you instantly hate a product and never use it so it will never make it to an empty products posts. I guess that's what products I regret buying posts are for. Only four more days of February Fun to go.

Day 23 - Oops.....

So I thought I would be really clever and schedule my posts for while I was away this weekend. Turns out that I wrote the post but forgot to schedule it. So instead of doing a double post I'm just going to  post this as my day 23 post.

I will be back on track tomorrow.

Day 22 - Zig Zag Nails

This is a set of gel nail polish nails I did quite a while ago based on a design that Shaaanxo had done. We swapped out the colours to better suit my clients taste.

This is a really easy design to do and can be done with regular polish also.

It seems I do a lot of nail designs inspired by the Orly Nail Girls and Shaanxo. These are just the designs that my clients bring in.

Day 21 - What's in my bag?

It was time for a much needed clear out of my hand bag, so I thought I may as well do a post about it.

In my bag I have;

A mountain of receipts, the ones pictured are just the ones floating around loose, there are a million more in my purse.

I have a few beauty items, two lip glosses from Kmart, a baby lips lip balm, a Kmart lipstick, 3 hair ties, a mirror that I got from a Christmas cracker. Some hand sanitiser and hand cream and also a nail file.

I have my purse which is from the brand Ruby and Kit.

A bag of lollipops.

An empty tray of voltaren, some loraclear and some plaster.

Im have my cotton on sunglasses, a pen and a USB drive.

Not pictured is a whole bunch of sand I picked up from the beach.

Whats in your bag?

Day 20 - Lavender Daisy Nails

Today I did these lovely lavender and silver nails with white daisies. My client brought in a photo from the Orly Nail Girls but I can't find the specific photo to link to sorry.

This is a nice simple design that still looks amazing.

I mixed two colours together to make the perfect lavender purple.

The silver nail is a silver polish with silver glitter on top.

I made the flowers using a three different sized dotting tools. The original design also had small dots filling the empty space on the ring finger but my client decided she preferred them without.

This design would look lovely in many different colours and you can swap the glitter to gold. The flowers can be done with more petals or with a rhinestone centre. This is also a great design to do on yourself because it doesn't require too much control with your non dominant hand.

This is a gel nail polish design but this could easily be recreated with regular polish.

Day 19 - Nutrimetics Lip Apeel Review

 Today I am doing a review of the Nutrimetic Lip Apeel. It usually costs $32 but is on sale at the moment for $24.90. I recieved this free for selling/buying a certain amount of products.

Here is what Nutrimetics says about the product; "Two-step treatment instantly smooths and plumps the appearance of thin, dry lips. Step one of this innovative treatment gently polishes away dry, rough skin and removes lipstick build-up, while step two plumps fine lines, leaving lips softer, smoother and looking younger."

I have taken before, during and after photos so you can see the results for yourself. Click on the picture to enlarge.

Before I started I thought my lips weren't really that bad, on my naked lips I didn't see a lot of dry skin. I decided to apply a lipstick that accentuates any dry skin, so that it would show up better in a photo. In case you are wondering the lipstick is Australis Colour Inject Mineral Lipstick in Honky Tonk.

As said in the quote above, the Nutrimetics Lip Apeel is a two step product. You start with the bottom segment of the jar, which is the white paste. Before I put this on my lips I gently removed excess lipstick with a tissue, I didn't scrub my lips with the tissue because I didn't want it to do the job of the Lip Apeel. I applied a layer of the line peel to my lips then let it dry. Once it was dry I rubbed the majority of the product off my lips with my finger and then removed the rest with a moist cotton pad.

I did feel a slight tingle when using step one.

Step two is called the lip nourisher, it supposed to be a plumping lip balm. It smells like oranges. I applied this to my lips quite generously. This step was a lot more tingly than step one but nothing too bad.

I didn't notice that my lips looked any different after completing the two step process but my lips did feel smoother when I rubbed them together.

Before taking the after photo I dabbed off excess lip nourisher with a tissue then applied the same lipstick that I used in the before photo. I noticed that the lipstick did glide on a lot smoother. I'm not sure if you can tell in the photo but the lipstick still settle a little bit in the lines of my lips but they are a lot smoother than in the before photo.

I didn't notice much plumping, but if you look at the photos it looks to me as though the lines in my lips are deeper in the before photo.

After seeing the photos, this product definitely works. I am not sure whether it is worth its $32 price tag just because I feel as though the same out come could be achieved with a homemade sugar scrub or toothbrush, although I haven't tested this out.

The lip nourisher (step two) itself is a nice balm. They recommend using the balm when needed and the line peel (step one) once a week or so. I feel like this product would last quite a while if you were using it once a week, but if you were using the nourisher more regularly you may run out of it before using up the line peel.

If you can pick this up on sale or you have a problem with chapped lips, or your lipstick not going on smoothly I recommend giving this a try. I haven't seen any similar products before, if you have let me know.

Day 18 - Orange and Blue Triangle Nails

Finally, I have a nail design to post about. Today I had a client that wanted a bold and bright  Gel nail polish design. She chose the orange colour and gave me free reign to come up with a design.

I decided to go with triangles and together we chose the contrasting blue colour.

I painted all the nails orange except the ring finger, which I painted blue. I put blue glitter on the ring finger also.




Then onto the triangles, I did a few triangles at a time before setting in the light, then I would add more triangles and add more polish to any triangles that weren't opaque.

Then Top Coat and we are finished.

I know that this colour combination won't be for everybody, but you can swap it out for your favourite colours or use complimentary colours in stead of the contrasting blue and orange that I have used.

This triangle design is quite similar to this design.

Day 17 - Nutrimetics Dramatic Lash Mascara Review

I finally managed to take some photos of something to post about. Yay me!

I am reviewing the Nutrimetics Dramatic Lash Mascara, I have it in Black.

When I first got the mascara I was surprised by how big the tube was, it looks like a jumbo mascara compared to my others.

The brush is also quite large and spiky. It definitely hurts if you poke yourself in the eye with the brush, I suggest not to do this.

The formula is quite wet at first and then dries up a little after the first few uses. This is not a bad thing though, I feel as though you get more dramatic lashes when the formula thickens up a little bit.

This mascara adds thickness, length and also a little bit of curl on my lashes. You can see this in the before and after pictures on the right.

Once this mascara is dry my lashes are still flexible and the mascara does not flake when you touch them. I also do not notice any of the mascara transfer to my lid throughout the day like I often find with other mascaras.

I apply two coats to my lashes, one to each eye and then go back to apply another coat. You can add more if you want even more dramatic lashes. I don't think my lashes look clumpy but you can judge that for yourself in the photos.

I also think it has quite a good price, especially when you can get it on sale. It is on sale now until the end of February. I have had mine for about three months, I should probably be replacing it soon, but it still works perfectly well.

I sometimes find it a little difficult to remove this mascara with my Simple Eye Make Up Remover but once I wet my face it does come off a lot easier. I don't have to scrub at my eyes to remove the mascara once it is wet.

You can find it in the Nutrimetics February Special E-Brochure on the third page and in the 2014 E-Catalogue on page 11. Regular price is $33, current sale price is $22.90.

What is your favourite mascara?

Day 16 - Still stuck!

I still have nothing to post about. I had ideas of doing a mascara review or a face of the day or even an outfit of the day. But I literally spent the whole day in my pajamas with no make up on.

But I am not going to give up this February challenge, so I set to looking through my phone to find something I could share with you. The first thing I found is a picture of my cat so here she is.

This is my beautiful Tilly having a stretch. Tomorrows post should be more beauty related, at the least a face of the day.

Day 15 - I'm stuck!

I'm running out of ideas to post about. Someone give me some ideas please.

 So here are two sets of Christmas I did a while ago. I am posting these at the completely wrong time of year but I'm not going to go into how I did them. Maybe closer to Christmas I will do another post on these designs.

Both of these designs were inspired by photos of peoples work, the Santa hat was a pin I saw floating around Pinterest for a long time.



The Christmas tree was inspired by a set of nails with triangles and all nails and they had used a dotting tool for the baubles and a star shaped stud for the topper.
I can't find the photos that inspired these designs as it was a little while ago, just letting everyone know I am not taking any credit for coming up with the design. I just recreated them in my own way.

Please, if you have any ideas for posts for the rest of February please let me know in the comments section.

Day 14 - Pink, Purple and Black Nails

Happy Valentines Day everyone! Today's post is going to be a really quick one because I have been working all day and I haven't had a lot of time to sit down and think of a good idea for a post.

Here are a set of nails I did the other day. My client brought in a picture of this design in different colours and asked me to recreate it. I do not know who did the original design so I can't link to it.

She chose pink, purple and black and also asked me to add the purple hearts and pink stars to the design. We reversed the colours on the thumbs.

This design is done with gel nail polish.

Day 13 - 50 Facts About Me Tag

Here are 50 facts you probably don't know about me.

1. My favourite colour is orange, note the orange top and orange lipstick in the photo of me. I also quite like yellow.

2. I was born in this house.

3. I am so painfully shy and socially awkward, I give the impression that I hate people.

4. I am addicted to YouTube, I watch at least an hour worth of videos, generally a lot more.

5. I have only had one boyfriend, we have been together 7 years and 6 months.

6. I have never had a proper full time job.

7. I have two accents, one for my family and one for the rest of the country.

8. My middle name is Elizabeth.

9. I don't drive, not because I'm scared of driving, I've just never felt the need to learn.

10. I have only lived in three different cities.

11. I have one brother and one sister.

12. I have never been to a wedding.

13. I have not played a team sport since primary school.

14. I have no tattoos.

15. I have had three cats, but I only have one at the moment. This is Tilly.

16. I am the middle child.

17. I run my own business.

18. I haven't cut my hair in over a year.

19. I have three piercings in my left ear and two in my right.

20. I hate waxing my own legs.

21. I always seem to end up liking most of Miley Cyrus's songs. I am currently always listening to Adore You.

22. I had a curry for lunch today. I go to this restaurant at least once a week.

23. I have never had my own passport.

24. I have my nose pierced.

25. I have studied at the University of Otago, Otago Polytechnic and Wintec.

26. I worked at Mc Donalds for one year, it was delicious.

27. I love Dr Pepper.

28. I hate washing my hair.

29. I have very blonde eyebrows and eyelashes.

30. I had braces. Check out the before and afters.

31. I have my belly button pierced.

32. I worked at New World for about two years.

33. I met my boyfriend working at New World.

34. I like playing Rock Band.

35. I lack motivation and I am a master procrastinator.

36. I have never bought a new phone.

37. I love Walkers Cheese and Onion Crisps.

38. My favourite food is mashed potato and gravy.

39. I haven't left the country since I was 13.

40. I am terrible at making decisions.

41. I don't drink coffee.

42. My eyes are blue.

43. I didn't get my first pet until I was 18, not counting goldfish.

44. I used to be terrible at painting nails.

45. I was born in 1990.

46. I have both regular brown freckles as well as white freckles.

47. I love looking at old photos.

48. I am scared of dogs.

49. I am a Libra.

50. I always break technology.

That was so difficult. I started struggling to think of things at 10. Hope this was interesting.

Day 12 - Valentines Day Nails

Here are my Valentines Day inspired nails. They didn't turn out exactly as I pictured them in my head but I thought I'd share them anyway. I ended up just doing a custom blended pink and accent glitter nail on my right hand.

I started with applying to coats of base colour, pink on the pointer and pinky, white on the middle finger. I then made a gradient. White to pink on the middle finger and reverse on the pointer and pinky.

On the ring finger I mixed some gold glitter with some pink glitter to make it fit in with the theme a little better.

I painted one heart on the pointer, middle and pinky fingers in the original base pink.

I painted some roses using the colours I used in the gradient on my ring finger.

On my thumb I did three coats of white and then painted on a heart on the original pink.

If you have any questions on this design or would like a more in depth tutorial let me know.

Day 11 - 2013 in Facebook Profile Pictures

I did a post like this last year for my 2013 profile pictures, this year I have a few more pictures and it seems I took almost half of them in March.

I know this is a little bit late to do a post like this but better late than never.

I think I need to smile more I look a little grumpy in a few of these pictures.

Day 10 - Eye Make Up

Yay I made it to double digits, I thought I would quit after a week. I even managed to get all the posts up while I was away. Anyway onto today's post, this post is a follow on from this post.

This is the makeup I apply after my go to face make up when I have a little extra time on my hands.

I fill in my brows with the Rimmel Eyebrow pencil in Hazel.

I lined my upper lash line with NC Defining Waterproof Eye pencil in Mahogany making the line slightly thicker in the outer corner. If I had little time time this is where I would stop but on this particular day I continued and smudged the line a little with the NC Colour Impact Eyeshadow in Forest, I also placed this into the crease in a similar shape to the liner that Lorde wears in her Royals video only less dramatic and defined. I also added NC Colour Impact Eye shadow in Copper to my lower lash line to bring out the blue in my eyes. I finished off my eyes with a few coats of the Rimmel Lash Accelerator Endless mascara, which has a lash growth complex and also micro fibres.

On my cheeks I used NC Pure Touch Blush in Sienna.

And finally on my lips I am wearing NC Hydra Brilliance Lipstick in Flamingo.

Products Used:
Rimmel Eyebrow Pencil  in Hazel $9.99
NC Defining Eye Pencil in Mahogany $20
NC Colour Impact Eyeshadow in Forest $22
NC Colour Impact Eyeshadow in Copper $22
Rimmel Lash Accelerator Endless mascara
NC Pure Touch Blush in Sienna $26
NC Hydra Brilliance Lipstick in Flamingo $26

You can purchase the Nutrimetics Products individually by browsing the catalogue here. Also check out the monthly specials for some good deals.

Day 9 - Triangle Nails

Another set of 21st birthday nails, this time my client brought in four photos of Orly Nail Girls work and we decided to try and recreate this look.

I started by mixing together two gel colours to create the base colour and then painted on the triangle in three different colours. Adding glitter on top of a bronze gel polish to give a little sparkle.

I know it is not identical to the original, we only did one finger and used different colours but I really like the way this design turned out.

It is a fairly simple design but straight lines and shapes are always time consuming.

What do you think of this design?

Day 8 - My go to Face MakeUp

Today's post is all about my go to every day face make up. This is the base for my daytime looks, I start with this base and then add my other makeup depending on how much time I have available.

This base takes me no longer than 5 minutes and looks great finished off with just mascara and lipgloss, maybe some eyebrows if you have fair brows like me.

Lets get into what I do. I start with my morning skincare routine, then I apply Nutrimetics Liquid Cover concealer on to any redness, blemishes or under eye circles and I blend this out very well because the shade I have is a fraction too dark for me at the moment. Next I buff on a layer of Nutrimetics Velvet Finish Mineral Foundation to even out the rest of my skin tone, you may notice in the first photo I have a lot of redness in my skin, I use a yellow toned powder to counter act this. If you have good skin, you may be able to skip the concealer step and just use the powder. And that is all. Simple and easy, two products and one brush is all you need. I used the real techniques buffing brush but you can use your favourite.

From here I add mascara, brows and lip gloss if I am in a rush, or I add more if I have the time. Today I had quite a lot of spare time so I chose to do a little extra, which you can look forward to seeing in a future post.

You can buy the two products I used here in a kit with a kabuki brush. I have tried the kabuki brush and it is not my favourite, it is not as soft as I would like. You can also buy these products separately but I can't find a link.
Edited to add you can purchase Nutrimetics products separately by browsing the online catalogue here.