IndieAna- In Search of the HolyGrail

Recently I was due to have my blonde highlights redone. I decided that I'd go for some extra colour, and instead of having the cropped fringe, I'd try having a side fringe for something different. I'm loving my side fringe, it's easier to maintain than the cropped one, and I think the colour gives it definite "oomph" :)  (Uh, excuse the lack of foundation here :/) While I'm posting, I wanted to add a couple of pics of my awesome Christmas presents. Starting with my Bluesky Kit. This is a cheap version of Shellac. I became obsessed with Shellac after a mani I had. I loved just how shiny and how long it lasted without any chips. I decided that I wanted to try applying the soak-off-gel mani myself, but because the actual Shellac brand is so pricey, I went for a cheaper brand. The kit came with UV lamp, top/base coats and nail polishes. I have used it, but it's only been a couple of days of wear, so a review will follow after a trial period. S...

Wow, I feel not only honoured, but totally humbled by a fellow blogger for nominating me for the Liebster Award. This blog award is fantastic for supporting and showcasing bloggers who have less than 200 followers..I totally fit this criteria, lol. I haven't been doing this for for long, and am still trying to find my way in the blogging world, but I am enjoying this journey that gives me a way to write about my passions in life. This nomination has given me such a boost of encouragement..I am so grateful! When a nomination has been received, the criteria is as follows: Thank your nominator/s and link back their blog/s. Select & reveal your five chosen blogs with fewer than 200 followers. Advise your chosen blogs of their nomination via a comment on their blog. Copy and paste the award onto your own blog. Request that your award nominees then forward it on to their own chosen bloggers. I would like to express my genuine thanks to the gorgeous Mel, ta...

After a pretty rough week, I decided to cheer myself up with some bright lips and nails.  Bright nails are nothing new to me, but I really don't wear bright lipstick. I decided to give one of  my OCC lip tars some love. I wore Trollop, which is a hot pink colour. I have 5 in total, and really need to play with them more, I tend to apply too much when only a little is needed for pigmented opaque colour. It applies like a gloss, but looks more like a lipstick..it's great stuff!! The nail polish I used is just a random I bought from some cheap store, but surprisingly is quite a good polish. I just love coral shades on the nails, especially in summer. I must say, after applying these colours, it improved my mood..how could they not brighten my day! :)

Some time ago, mineral makeup seller Sweet Libertine offered 2 eye shadows for the cost of postage. Of course, how could I pass up an offer like that??? I threw a sample pack in the shopping cart also, because I can't receive a parcel that only contains 2 pots of shadow ;) It took quite a long time for the Sweet Libertine goodies to arrive, however, that was due to such a huge response, not surprisingly, to free eye shadows. The 2 full size shadows I received: CAFE AU LAIT : * A light brown eyeshadow with a gorgeous peach shimmer .    Lovely neutral colour with shimmer. When applied dry it is lighter, but there is visible red glitter throughout, which doesn't seem to appear when wet. DISCO BUTTERFLY : * This mineral eyeshadow looks gray but actually reflects light to look purple, blue, or pink. Would make a great smokey eye. A very shimmery silvery lilac, such a pretty colour.   Baggie samples: STARDUST MEMORIES : * A very pale gray mineral ...

If I could on l y buy perfumes from one seller (as devastating as that sounds :/) it would be The Morbid The Merrier . So far, although I haven't felt the need to purchase full sizes of all samples that I've tried, there hasn't been one that I don't like. My last purchase over a month ago, came with some yummy extras to celebrate Halloween. One of the vials was totally crushed during transit. I know I could have had it replaced, but I was much happier with the freebie sample. I bought full sizes of: DELINA : *It's black garters and blood red lips, sweet and sinister simultaneously. Lotus gives it innocence, amber grounds, and red wine gives it just enough naughty! I think it's something Miss Delina herself would have liked.     Delina is sweet, she draws you in with her intoxicating florals. She is mesmerizing and heady, very sultry.. I so love this beautiful, feminine perfume. FUN HOUSE : * Fresh milk spun with black amber, ripe berries, and...

Just a quick post to showcase etsy seller Tree and Sapling . Once again I was tempted with a too-good-to-refuse Heartsy voucher. I only purchased a few things, as my pile of natural soaps is getting a little out of control, lol. As pictured, along with the soaps, I purchased a jar of whipped soap and received the cute flower soap as a freebie. I've gotten as far as having a sniff of these goodies, and they do smell good! I am impressed by the packaging, it looks so classy. I believe that Tree and Sapling products would make great gifts, especially for those that appreciate natural soaps, lotions and products for men also. In my order, I also received a card, which is a nice personal touch. This card included a coupon code to receive 25% off, which I'll be sure to use in the near future!

Foundation hadn't come near my face for some time, initially the reason purely being that I wanted to have a break. Because my skin has been better than normal, meaning less blemishes, the "break" from foundation lasted quite some time. When I recently decided to wear some, I decided to post my blog's 1st FOTD :) What I used: Foundation- Everyday Minerals Intensive Formula mineral foundation in Beige Neutral. This mineral powder has lasted me for so long, and I've barely made a dent in the jar. The foundation is full coverage. It lasts the day on me without touch-ups, and using a kabuki brush makes for easy application, without caking. The base, crease and highlighter shadows I used from my "NARS" palette. For a few dollars, I bought this on a cheap shopping site (can't remember which) obviously at that price, I knew it was a fake, but I thought it would be fun. Little did I know just how much I would use this p...

Being a fan of Sweet Anthem perfumes, I had to take advantage of the sample set of  6 Holiday perfume oils for $12. I am surprised that I stopped at the samples, but I know that there's at least 2 that I want full sizes of. Meredith also sent solid perfume samples of Nell and Tara.  AYN: * Just a dab prepares you for any philosophical discussion. An objective perfume for him or her featuring deep herbs, fruits, and spices. • Top Notes: Blackberry, Rosemary • Heart Notes: Hollyberry • Base Notes: Sage Sharp, spicy and fruity sweetness. It seems to have a rich boozy quality, when first applied. I find Ayn an uplifting blend, yet dark enough for wear in cooler months. It dries down to a woodsy. sweet scent with just enough spice. For a perfume with such strong components, it has quite a mild throw, unless I sniff my wrists. I get wafts that remind me of a sweet menthol, almost like the cough lollies, "Butter Menthols". I like it! SYLVIA: * How frail the human hear...

A few weeks ago, having a Hen's night to attend, I thought it would be a great excuse to visit my local BT for an eye brow wax AND Shellac mani. The brow wax was first, always good to get that one over and done with, lol. Then came the mani. Being my first Shellac-ing, I was very excited to see how these soak-off gels would be like. Regular polish has no lasting power on me, I would say this has a lot to do with the fact that I'm not very gentle on my nails. At a cost of $40, I was quite impressed with the results. Applied just like gels, nice and thick, super shiny, and best of all, not damaging to the nails. It was hard to decide what colour to go for, but I eventually chose a dark purple. Seeing that I like to change my nail colour often, the only con I can think of, is that after almost 2 weeks of the same colour, I had gotten bored with the purple, as nice as it is. In hindsight, I would have gone for a lighter colour, and applied various polishes over top, whenever I ...

When I first heard about Etsy seller Opulent Alchemy , I was a little meh about it all, thinking that I really wasn't interested in dupes of various store bought perfumes. I finally decided that for my blog, I'd buy them for reviewing purposes, any excuse is a good excuse, right?? ;) The hardest part of this purchase was trawling through the incredible list of perfume oil dupes listed in Opulent Alchemy's blog . My order arrived in a cute little box. The fragrances, including postage cost a total of $25, very reasonable for 7 perfume oils. The packaging includes roller-ball application. The labels are very cute. Perfumes ordered as follows: JLo- Love at first Glow: *The original version has bergamot, neroli, Georgia peach, pink jasmine, wild rose, osmanthus, freesia, sheer musk, blond woods and vanilla absolute. I've read some pretty scathing reviews about the original, I have no idea what it smells like, but I'm liking Opulent Alchemy's version. It st...

Not really needing more bath and beauty products, I still had to buy the Heartsy voucher for The Dapper Owl , $10 for a $32 voucher, sounded pretty good to me. The owner is Alexandra and she is a full time college student. In her words "I love making soaps and other bath products in my spare time. My favorite things to include in my shop are bright, fun colors for kids and old fashioned recipes that are good for everyone and vegan friendly!" My order was packaged well, and I appreciated the personal touch of a hand written card offering me a discount on my next order. I purchased the following; Tangerine soap: " This layered soap smells wonderful! Tangerine and orange come together to make a beautiful, citrus filled soap. I've added orange peel to the mixture to give it a little bit of extra scrubbing power. Orange peel is a natural exfoliant and is gentle, yet effective when used on the face." Solid perfume in Bee's Knees: "This...