Back! The Month That Was...

The last month or so has been a whirlwind of experience for me! My usual holiday destinations in my life has mainly consisted of camping parks and me trying to enjoy beaches without tanning! I'm back in Australia. Here's a taste of the month that was!

• I spent a whole MONTH overseas enjoying the shivering cold which I envied as I dislike the Aussie summer! The last time I went on a proper holiday was way over 3 years ago!
• I've learnt a thing or two about travelling which got me inspired and will later share some tips on how to best prepare! I'll also be sharing my smallish (tbh, large and repetitious) haul...
• Sale is over but.... I will be fine tuning the shop and bringing in more blushes in a range of awesome colours for the daring!
• The hiccuping posting will continue since that holiday won't pay itself LOL! But as always, I will try my best.
• I lost my pink hair in a crazy chemical straightening (my already very straight hair) incident! I'll talk about chemical straightening in a 'tell all' post!
• Lancome Color Fever Gloss in 125 Aaron's Red became my new best friend! I wore it practically everyday as my go to for an easy splash of colour! It looks like the perfect LIP STAIN. Now I'm in disbelief that I went so long without a few high end products (I used to be a Lancome addict and hoarded this lipgloss for ages >. > not good for the wallet)!
• Learnt to drink tea. I was already trying to drink green tea before I left due to supposed health benefits like antioxidants and appetite suppressant...? I need more water intake anyway! My favourite? Korean green tea with roasted rice tea bags. It's quite different to most of the tea you get out there, the rice makes all the difference!
• I've decided to join Jerry (SilhouetteScreams) on Project 10 Pan. I will attempt to kill 10 lipglosses!

So how was your month? Find any products you are love with?

Love Porcelaine.

Heart of Gold Palette - Garden of Shadows Cosmetics

This was an unexpected occurance! 

I was planning to make a palette for myself to take on my travels including 4 of the 5 colours from the Heart of Gold Collection. 

I didn't originally intend to sell it but thought it over and decided to make a few of these palettes to share with everyone!

They are SOOO CHEAP right now!

Since there's 30% off storewide you get 4 colours for just $9.76!

It's in handy packaging, they're pigmented and the colours complement each other beautifully.

How great is that?!

Love Porcelaine.

Review: Eyes Lips Face (E.L.F/ELF) Part 1 Shimmer Eyeliner Pencils in All colours

ELF is widely known in the USA and it's only been recently that ELF has come over the Australia (for the second time in fact!). I made this complex (joking!) purchase through an overseas friend of a friend who made the order online on the US website then (ahem) shipped it to my friend who passed it on to me a whole year ago, yeah, complex... Here's part one of the GIGANTIC purchase and long overdue review!

What I bought, and what is it?

Let's start with the good stuff.
I bought the Shimmer Eyeliner pencils in EVERY COLOUR =P costing $1USD each on the US based website. This included the following colours (all have an underlying slight silver shimmer):

•  Iconic Ivory - White shimmer/sparkle
• Precious Pink - Light neutral Pink shimmer with slight silver shimmer
• Blissful Blush - Medium Taupe brown shimmer/metallic
• Boldly Bronze - Bronze brown metallic with slight silver shimmer (more brown than the website's orange tone)
• Grassy Green - Slightly blue mid green metallic with slight silver shimmer (more blue than website's swatch)
• Twinkle Teal - Teal metallic with slight silver shimmer (not really green duochrome on website)
• Plum Passion - Grape plum shimmer with slight silver shimmer
• Gunmetal - Grey shimmer/metallic with slight silver shimmer
• Black Bandit - Black base with slight silver shimmer

 They are standard pencil eyeliners including a sharpening lid.

Left to right as listed above.

Here's the online description:

"Instantly brighten eyes with e.l.f. Cosmetics shimmering metallic liners that put the spotlight on eyes. The smooth formulation glides on effortlessly without tugging at the delicate eye area. Choose from an assortment of 9 vibrant shades designed to add depth, definition and a special sparkle to create a very glamorous look! Pencil includes a convenient sharpener cap for easy use!"

The Results?

These eyeliners are so soft, blendable and smooth to apply. They don't crumble when blunted but crumble when sharpened to a point. Lining your eyes are extremely easy with these as they are soft enough to transfer to the lid. Blend them out and you have a metallic and shimmer eyeshadow where the silver shimmer comes out more.

Taken with flash and blended down

When you use them as an eyeliner they last all day; I've never had a problem with transfer when doing a thin line at the lash line. As an eyeshadow it doesn't have the same staying power and can crease especially on oily lids, which is understandable.

Taken without flash and blended down.

The colours are slightly over saturated on the website but they contain a punch of shimmer! They are highly pigmented and the range of colours are adequate containing a few neutrals, a few brights and a few darker colours. They are handily packaged to resemble the pencil colour, even with a shimmery finish making it easy to recognise and the sharpening lid is a surprising bonus for something that costs $1.

There are few downsides but if it had to be said there are no added 'extras' in the eyeliner. It's not claimed to be smudgeproof, waterproof, etc. In that respect it doesn't claim to do anything other than what is said which is great. The lighter shades do help brighten the eye.

In these ELF reviews I can't comment on the outer packaging simply because there wasn't any! I don't think that was the case in the first place; it seems that the person who sent this over took away most of the packaging to reduce shipping costs as I've seen other people receiving their items in their packaging...

Would I Buy this Again?

OH YES, finally one I can absolutely shout about! It's has most of the important things needed in an eyeliner and it's quite a unique and flamboyant example of interesting eyeliners at an extremely affordable price.

What's your experience of ELF? Has anyone ordered from the new Aussie website?

Love Porcelaine.

Just Before I Go....!

A reminder about what will happen in the coming month:

1. 30% OFF STOREWIDE (to compensate for being away!)
   
2. I will be 'away' from now until 14th February. The shop will remain open and will be accepting orders but won't be made or shipped until I get back. I'll be unable to attend to emails or blogging as I will have limited internet connection (if any).
3. You might be wondering what will be happening with the blushes. I completed one pressed blush called Lotus! I will be working on making 2 more *bright* blushes when I'm back!
4. Here's is a link in case of boredom! My gothable Tumblr will be on queue and hopefully last till I'm back! My twitter will probably be quiet while I'm away. My Facebook has just been overhauled to reflect what's currently happening and I'll try and revive it to become more informative and streamlined (it will be a little quiet in the meantime).
5. There will be at least one more review to be posted and that will be on ELF Shimmer Pencil Eyeliners!
6. I'll try to take as many EOTDs. This is the first time in a long time of having continue excuses to do my makeup (except for being restricted in what I bring) as I'll be going out enjoying a different scenery.
7. Charity eyeshadows, hmmm. I've chosen to broaden my area of interest as it seems too obscure to find a particular charity to donate to. There will be 2 eyeshadows with ALL PROFITS going to a charitable cause. Who I'll choose is yet to be decided and details will be posted when I'm back. I don't only aim to raise money but to inform! If you haven't noticed I like putting facts on my product pages (though don't quote me on someone's life! =P!). I fully believe that knowledge and being educated are the foundations of life, should also be a joy and easy to access!
8. Hopefully when I'm back I'll be happy, healthy, refreshed, ready to roll on and bursting with more to come!

With love, Porcelaine.

Lotus Multiuse Pressed Blush Compact - Garden Of Shadows

Turning the tables: A blush at last! 

Although blushes have been on the agenda but have been late the fruit there's double the offering here with my first PRESSED product!

And yes, stunningly it can be used just about anywhere! Think of the possibilities!

The various releases planned have been a bit topsy turvy due to the upcoming hiatus but it's been decided that Lotus will be the first blush available to order Now and shipped around mid to late February!

Here's the lovely description!

"The Lotus plant is delicate, elegant and often pictured shrouded within an oriental scene.

Like the Lotus this Multiuse Pressed Blush Compact is a delicate cool frosty pink with a very subtle light green overlay and slight peach undertone.

This feminine and flirty colour can also be used as an eyeshadow and lip colour. Just use a small stiff brush, pack colour on and apply. Add a little lipgloss or lipbalm to lips as desired!

Every Lotus compact also comes with a free Lipstick Feminist eyeshadow*!"

 

I hope you enjoy this rare offering as much as I do!

Love Porcelaine.

Review on the Run: BYS Scented Nail Polish...

I thought it be time to get some things out there and straight. I've never been a huge fan of BYS. Actually I dislike a lot of their stuff which has been hit and miss, mostly miss. Take in mind I've been buying from this brand for several years now so I've come to know its past and its present. Most of you know BYS as the famous Crackle nail polish brand. I haven't tried it yet...though I do plan to in the future.

It seems that BYS is improving. Well I personally can't say for sure that it has been improving overall. Yes, they have brought exciting and innovative products for an absolutely affordable price especially considering Aussie standards (we Aussie know too well that our cost of living is ridiculous and product prices highly inflated to international counterparts) but among the treasure trove of successes are some predictable and true failures.

So what can I say about BYS Scented nail polish? 

Scented nail polishes in (I think) Navy Blue/Blueberry, Peacock/Tropical (excuse the horrible photo)

I tested these new BYS nail polishes with a quick coat at a store to see if they worked. I smelt the bottle and couldn't smell anything apart from the usual chemical scent. Then I applied it. Unfortunately the same old applies. It was thin to apply and when it dried I couldn't smell anything, not even the slightest! I tried scratching it a bit like you do with some stickers (the wear in the photo actually was naturally done) and nothing. So it was a complete fail, in fact a rather misleading claim of being a scented nail polish...

To be honest this is disappointing considering that other nail products have been hits. But on the other hand I'm relieved that this didn't work as I don't recommend snuffing chemical scents or any nail polish residue especially to the natural appeal to children. What's your view on BYS? Would you buy a new product by BYS if you couldn't try them first?

Love Porcelaine.

Review / NOTD: Hello Kitty Violet Salome Multichrome? & Priceline Range

Hello Kitty is a much loved brand but it suffers from a certain ambiguity. I went to investigate Priceline's range! Here's a NOTD and mini review.

I bought one nail polish called Violet Salome which by the bottle looked like a multichrome costing $10. It's a grape nail polish with the particles sometimes reflecting pink glittery particles but isn't glitter, instead being a great alternative for glitter. It fully covers in 3 coats but you can get away with 2. Unfortunately once it starts chipping it chips fast especially which just 2 coats.

It isn't a multichrome. It can tend to reflect the colour of your surroundings but that doesn't really add any effect. You can see here the bottle looks very much like a multichrome but on the nails it's more a darkness on the sides of the nails instead of being a different colour. Despite this it's a stunning nail polish to add to your collection.

I did have a look at the other products which ranged from face powders to eyeshadows as well as the nail polishes. The eyeshadows were highly pigmented, beautifully bold colours, a little predictable. The other nail polishes were surprisingly bland and generic compared to Violet Salome.

Flash

What I dislike about Hello Kitty and similar brands is that the product ranges are usually licenced ones. There are many Hello Kitty brands out there, the most famous being MAC's collection and there are a lot in Asia (among its fakes), making it difficult to figure out or predict what kind of quality to expect from the particular brand you are looking for. As this range was from Priceline there is about no information out there (though I was pointed this way from Jerry @ SilhouetteScreams). The most I could gather was it came under a company called Heritage Brands (seeming like a wholesaler or something along those lines) including brands like Australis, Innoxa, Revlon Nails, Nailene and more. I'm not sure how long they will be in Priceline but I have a feeling it won't last long...

Would I buy this again? Probably would! It's a unique finish, eyecatching and almost worth it. The downside is that in the bottle the colour is misleading and the quality wasn't as expected for the money's worth.

What do you think of licensed brands? Does it have the same heart as other brands when considering the control of the products often comes under a separate entity?

Love Porcelaine.