IndieAna- In Search of the HolyGrail

I don't have anything planned to celebrate NYE, but I was sure going to at least create a celebration on my nails. To create my nail look, I began with the dark blue colour of Models Inc "Midnite Blue" as my base colour. This was to represent the night sky. I then used Ulta3 "Honolulu" and Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear "White On" to paint on designs to represent fireworks.  Being New Year's Eve, I needed some sparkle, so two coats of LA Colors "Sassy Sparkle" finished my look. Well, I might not be doing anything exciting, but at least my nails look like they are having a party! What are your plans for NYE? Whatever you do, I hope you have a good one! xx

We all know how important wearing sunscreen is. Are you aware of the physical vs chemical debate? When sunscreen became a vital product in my skincare routine, I didn't look at the ingredients list, I just wanted to see that there was a high SPF available.  Only recently I've decided that I will only use physical sunscreen. There's been a lot of discussion about chemical sunscreen could be a carcinogenic, and that the chemicals can also be absorbed into the bloodstream. This is part of the reason, but, to be honest, a physical sunscreen appeals more to my vanity. Chemical sunscreen can actually cause pigmentation, which is what I aim to prevent when protecting my skin from the harsh effects of the sun. During another riveting supermarket shop, I was in need of some sunscreen. I come across own Woolworths brand Select Clear Zinc Sunscreen.  Just like the brand, there's no frills. No huge claims, this is a zinc based sunscreen. That's all I was after, so into m

Kris Kringles are so much fun, aren't they? I love getting a little surprise, as well as getting something a little special for someone else. Some lovely beauty bloggers, Jasmine of Sweetaholic Beauty , Melody of Melludee  and Jennifer of QuestJen  had a call out for anyone interested in participating in a Kris Kringle. I was undecided to begin with because it's harder to buy a gift for someone you have never met.  I did end up sending an email to join in, and am so glad I did. It was a lot of fun! I received my parcel in the mail in plenty of time before Christmas. I got as far as reading the lovely note included from the gorgeous Ash from The Beauty Collection . It was hard, but I put the parcel under the tree, determined to wait until Christmas Day. The wait was so worth it! I actually nearly cried when I had received the Sleek Lagoon palette and Sugarpill eye shadow, both from my wishlist! And those tiger (my fave animal!) decals are so cute! Ash, thank you f

Perfume description- "opens with sparkling notes of Sicilian bergamot, black currant, red apples and orange blossom. The heart includes sweet wild strawberries combined with jasmine, rose tea, toffee accords, and patchouli, resting on the soft, warm tones of sandalwood, benzoin from Siam, white cedar and vanilla." With a description like that I couldn't wait to try at least a sample of this Hanae Mori perfume. Sweet, fruity, floral and rich woody notes really appeal to me. This perfume was all of these, but very understated and close to the skin. Too close to the skin. I don't like being bombarded with a fragrance, but I like to get wafts throughout wear. I mean, there's no point owning a perfume, no matter how nice it is, if you must sniff your wrists to catch the scent. I guess the upside is that I won't be needing to buy a full size.

Well, I couldn't let Christmas pass me by without creating some festive nails. Because it's a crazy busy time, it will just be a quick post. Short and sweet, I hope. My aim here was to create nails that looked like tinsel on a tree. I missed the mark, it was not as simple as I'd assumed, but hey, it turned out glittery. lol.  Guess what this nail art is meant to represent? If you can't tell, these are holly leaves. Can you see it now?? :) A golden holo background was my choice of base colour.  Red and gold are rather Christmas-y colours. Some gold stamping over a metallic red.  Lastly I have my favourite nail look to show you.  Some Christmas lights on trees. Some colour, green and fun! I hope you liked my attempts at Christmas themed nails. Have a wonderful Christmas and safe New Year! xx

The lovely Hailey from The Beauty in Life blog chose a rather fitting theme for this installment of Come Play With Me. I just love her romantic, yet festive makeup look she created for " Under The Mistletoe ". Face Revlon Colorstay Whipped Foundation MAC Mineralize Concealer Dr LeWinn's Illuminizer Silk Naturals HD Concealer Mirenesse "Carrara Coral" Marble Blush YBF Yellow Neutralizing Powder Eyes Elf "Pearl" Eyelid Primer Prestige My Blackest Lashes mascara Mirenesse "Cleo" Inside Out Eye Kohl liner YBF Brow Pencil Sleek "Gold" Dip-It Eyeliner Mirenesse "Black" Superlong Wear Gel Lips Mirenesse Coco Lipliner Duet Mirenesse Lip Bomb I love sharing these themed looks with like-minded beauties. If you decide to join in on the fun, please link your post in the comments. I'd love to see your Christmas-y creation :) Merry Christmas! xx Also check out Kat of kats c

Yep, another Ciencia8 product review for you. This one targets my biggest skincare concern, pigmentation. Sun damage and scarring from breakouts, some products have faded the marks, but most just haven't cut it. When TVSN was selling a Ciencia8 value pack, with Vitamin8 included, I jumped at the chance to try this cream.  Vitamin8 contains 30% vitamin C, an effective concentrate to work on skin discolouration. Can be used on any area of the body. The 15 ml packaging is airless, designed to maintain the efficacy of the active ingredients, especially the vitamin C. As this potent anti-ageing ingredient oxidises if exposed to air, making it unstable and ineffective. The bottle has a pump top dispenser. The cream appears thick, but actually has quite a light texture.  I don't notice a scent. This cream can either be used to spot treat, or all over the face. Spot treating would take me a very long time, so I opt for an all over application. 1 pump delivers a s

Wow, yet another light colour on my nails! "Blue Paradise" is a gorgeous pale lilac with a gold reflect.  I used 3 coats of polish for this mani, because it is so sheer. Totally worth the extra "effort", though. It is such a delicate, pretty colour. I believe it would be a perfect polish for a bride-to-be. 

Alkemia " Aphrodesia"  is described as "An intoxicating blend of deep eastern spices, warmed with creamy vanilla and a few drops of golden frankincense." Upon application, this perfume is very incensey, headshop strong. Heading towards being pungent. I'm not a fan of this stage. I like the drydown. It becomes soft, powdery, with the vanilla offering a sweet, syrup-y quality. There's also a metallic, zestiness. It is rather nice.  Feminine and exotic with the eastern spices.  Personally, I don't find Aphrodesia to be a heavily sexy perfume, as I was expecting, but it does have its own appeal. Not enough for me to warrant a full size oil, but I will enjoy the sample.  In the past, being on the fence about a perfume meant a purchase, but now it has to be love before I add to my existing perfume collection.

I have another FOTD post for you. This one features a beauty of an eye shadow from Mon Ennui. Face Mirenesse Whipped Moisture Fill primer Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation MAC Mineralize Concealer ORM Photo Finish Powder Savvy "Silky Pink" Classic Blush Eyes Mirenesse Brow Mascara Prestige My Blackest Lashes Mascara Mon Ennui "Half Jack" Eye shadow 88 Warm palette MAC 6 pan palette Elf "Pearl" Eyelid Primer Urban Decay Midnight Cowboy and Bourbon 24/7 Liners Lips Mirenesse "Coco" Auto Lipliner Duet NYX "Lala" lipstick Smashbox "Sand" Lip Enhancing Gloss ...and this is a closer look at the lovely "Half Jack", a golden green. Have you heard of, or tried Mon Ennui? If not, do have a look at Vivienne's website, she has some truly unique shades :)

I love water marbling manis. Done right they can look stunning. I haven't even come close to mastering this style, but after trying a few times(and a lot of frustration), I have managed a mani that I'm willing to share. With a base colour of gold shimmer, OPI "Glitzerland", I then used China Glaze "Blue Iguana", Sally Hansen Extreme Wear "Pacific Blue" and Models Inc "Mink" to marble. Ok, so maybe not to the caliber of marbling that I dream of being able to create, but  it's not the murky mess that I generally end up with, lol.  The clean up isn't fun, so I can't see myself hurrying to try again in the near future. Have you tried water marbling? 

Ciencia8 pride themselves in groundbreaking skincare products. Cleanse8 gel being one of them. This gel has been formulated to be used in the shower, as it has a gentle foaming agent.  Foaming gels can often strip the skin and alter the natural PH level, this cleanser does none of these. The skin is cleansed, yet hydrated with Lipomoist which is a molecular film having a high moisturizing content that also has a firming effect on the skin. The cleanser comes in a large 120 ml bottle. A pump dispenser delivery system is what is used to administer product. The consistency is common of  many gel cleansers. I'll begin with what I don't like about this product. Basically, the bottle is too heavy for the lid, pick it up by the top, and you're left with the lid in your hand and the bottle on the floor, with a fairly loud thud. Thankfully, the bottle hasn't cracked. I appreciate the amount of product, just not the sometimes cumbersome packaging.

You've probably noticed that when it comes to nail polish, I normally gravitate towards bright or deep colours. Well, today I have something that's a quite muted shade. "First Rose" is a pale shell pink, in a creme finish.  My nails aren't in the best condition, which is even more obvious when using an unforgiving creme polish.  I found this polish to be a little streaky. I used 2 coats for this mani, and probably could have used another for a more even result.  I must say that I rather like this shade.  It's nice to have a change from the norm sometimes, isn't it? :)

Incanto Bliss has been on my wish list for some time. Being available on website, My Perfume Samples , was the perfect opportunity to sample this fragrance. Described as "...a joyful and sparkling floral-fruity addition introducing yuzu, cumquat, apple, freesia, lotus, rose, musk and woody accords." This fragrance is so light and fresh, a perfect Summer perfume. It is tangy with the right mix of floral to give an elegant touch.  After drydown, I notice an aquatic note emerge, which just adds to the Summery feel. Think flowers in the hair, sipping on a fruity cocktail, while walking along the beach, enjoying a soft Summer breeze.  Now, come back to me. This is a lovely perfume, unfortunately the silage is poor on my skin. I just wish it would last longer, because the gorgeous blue ocean themed bottle would be a nice addition to my perfume collection. I hope you are having a wonderful weekend :)

I was in need of some Lash Serum from Silk Naturals . I'd been lusting after their creme foundation and concealer for some time, so took the opportunity to order some samples. I normally wear either a liquid or powder foundation, I don't think I've ever used a creme foundation, so I was interested in trying these different textured face products My order included a free shadow sample and full sized shadow, because I had met the minimum spend requirement, which is a great incentive. Not that I need much a of a push, especially when it comes to Silk Naturals! As you can see the sample creme face products come in small plastic clam shells, with enough product for a few uses. I used the included shadows, Vivid and Good Show. I will be reviewing the concealers and foundation in separate posts, but I will say that so far, I'm quite happy with them! I really love the dewy finish. What do you prefer, liquid, creme or powder foundation?

Last year, I went on a glitter buying frenzy. Collecting a rainbow of sparkly products that I thought would work on my nails. I've always got so many mani ideas running through my head that creating a glittery mani was put on the back burner, that and the fact that I knew removal was going to be a b*tch! I wanted to create a gradient on some of my nails, with glitter on the remaining nails. For this look I used a blue glitter bought from a bargain store, the pink glitter I bough on ebay, it's a Martha Stewart craft glitter called "Bubblegum", I bought it in a set. As for the nail polishes I used a pink Modelista polish (can't seem to find a shade label) and Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear "Blizzard Blue" to create a gradient. I used a clear Ulta3 polish and then the glitter sprinkled over top to ensure that the glitter would stick to my nails. (You'll have to take my word for products used, because stupid here accidentally deleted the photos!)