Review: BYS custom colours eyeshadows.

 I've seen these little pans and palettes around for years, and I've always loved them. In my early "getting serious about makeup" days, I had several of these palettes with similar colours in them, or colours that went well together. They used to have them with cute art on the outside, but now I can only find the black ones.

Anyway, they are the BYS custom colours palette and pan sets, and basically you buy the palette empty and then fill it with colours of your choice, that fit magnetically into the pan!

They have a cute, but functional sized mirror inside, so they are perfect for beauty on the go.

Over christmas (and even still now, at a heavily reduced price!), I saw these sets with a palette and 10 shadow pans, which are really great value.


The palette I've put together here is perfect for creating a pink-based smoky eye look. My camera hasn't really picked up the colours very well here, but the lighter pink is more of a baby pink, perfect for highlighting under the brow, then there's the deeper pink, which I'd put on the lid and right up into transition, then the light grey I would blend into the crease and transition, and of course the charcoal for the outer corner and crease.

I really love the design, and the available colours are awesome.

What do you think? Would you love to make up your own palettes?

Trendsday: Storage

Looking at my current storage "solution" for nail polish, it's becoming clear that a new solution is needed, and fast. My mother loves my overflowing "Frequent Flyer" overnighter, because every time I can't close the lid, I do a clear out and give her a bunch of polishes.

I'm not as happy with the arrangement. I'd really like to have a proper storage space for my polishes so that I can see what I've got and not have them all clinking around up against each other, upside down and all over the place.

Pic via Pinterest

A lot of beauty people are using storage shelves like you'd see at a nail salon, but I'm not sure that's a great option for me. My kids are awesome, but I feel like they would both get into the polishes if they were left out on display, and I REALLY don't want my lovely new carpet to meet with an unfortunate incident involving nail polish.

Likewise, an open drawer that anyone can look into at any time will be problematic.

However, I do have a double-door cabinet under the bathroom sink that I feel I could install a lock on. There are 2 shelves in there that I usually keep my hair styling tools and  box full of extra things, doubles of makeup, eyelashes I haven't opened/used yet, new packets of sponges, that kind of thing.

I'm sure all of the things that are currently residing in there could be relocated or moved to the bottom shelf, freeing up the top for my nail polishes!

I'll keep you all updated with how it goes, and post pics once it's done. Tell me, how do you store your nail polish collection?

UPDATE: I got motivated and did the under-sink storage immediately after I posted this blog. Here's the result:

Glitter polishes at the back, then nail art stripers, then metallics, top and base coats up one side, and crackle/shatter finishes up the other, then organized by colour.

I'm still not 100% happy with the way it's organized, but it's definitely better than the bag they were all rolling around in.

A girl's best friend: Umberto Giannini Backcomb in a bottle.

Those of you who have been reading my blog for a while, know that I have thin, fine hair, and that usually that's not an issue. I just try to stay away from oily styling products and use things that boost volume.

This is a product that I use regularly to create fuller looking 'dos.

I bought it at my local Woolworths because it looked good, I liked the packaging, and I liked the promises that it made.

I'm going to start by saying that there is not a product in the world that will give you exactly the effect of teased hair If you expect that from this can, you're expecting way too much.

What it does deliver is volume and hold, so I use it for things like beachy waves, or for up-dos like victory rolls, where I lose the teasing brush and the hairspray and use this for both. French rolls are the same concept, just on the back of the head, and this works equally well when I want a really sleek, chic style too.It helps to hold my side-swept bangs in the style, as well as giving me a little bit of volume underneath the sleek hair on top. I have an extraordinarily small head compared to the rest of me, and it's hard to avoid looking like a pea head when I have my hair tied up tight or pinned up.

All in all, I really love this product. It's inexpensive, smells great, and is really versatile. Try it out!

Sneak peek: OPI Great and Powerful Oz collection.

 I have loved all things Oz since I was a little girl, so when OPI released their new Great and Powerful Oz collection, I will admit I did a little happy dance and made  little squee noise.

Even better than the fact that they are Oz inspired, is the fact that every shade in the collection is classy and wearable with pretty much everything.

From white, to nude, to pink, silver, gold and all the sparkle of confetti polishes, it's a really lovely collection.

These are the kind of colours you could make work for any occasion, so for me, they are a must-have collection for any nail polish lover!









 The two confetti polishes feature in silver and gold, and would add just the right amount of sparkle to any party outfit.

The best part is the very last colour you see here, "What wizardry is this?", which is one of OPI's new Liquid Sand polishes, which provides a matte finished, 3D "sand" look on the nail and is a really awesome feature. Stay tuned for some great looks I'll be putting together very soon with OPI's Liquid Sand polishes.

Monday how-to: DIY beauty

I usually show you the awesome products that are available in the beauty section of your local stores, but today I want to share a super-product that has many, many uses and costs next to nothing.

It's Bi-Carb (baking) soda (NOT baking powder)!

Add half a cup of bi-carb soda to your bath for extra soft skin.

Mix a paste of bi-carb soda and apply to sunburn, windburn, prickly heat, acne, coldsores and any allergic reaction to another product.

Use bi-carb soda dry on your toothbrush to whiten your teeth, or a teaspoon in a glass of water as a mouthwash.

Make a poultice of bi-carb soda and water for insect bites and stings.

Use bi-carb soda dry as a deodorant under your arms or in your shoes.

Make a paste of bi-carb and water and use as an exfoliant.

This is such a versatile product, and I'm sure I haven't even scratched the surface of what you can do with it for your beauty needs.

Ban bad hair days with Polished London Dry Shampoo!

This morning, I received a gift in the mail from Polished London, and when I opened it up and had a try of what was inside, I couldn't wait to share it with you guys!

Until very recently, when I tried a different product from a sample box, I was a bit wary of dry shampoos, and I really think it's because I had no idea how to use it properly. I found that the ones I had tried didn't have a lot of pressure behind the product when you spray it out, which seems to be what sets this one (and a couple of others I've tried) apart from the rest.

The one I got was the coconut scented one, Cornwall Coconut. They also have a floral scented one called Bristol Bloom, and both of these names have meaning for me, because I'm from south-west England, very close to Bristol, and we used to holiday in Cornwall when I was little. Regardless of that, I'm not reviewing the name of the product, so I'll move on to what you guys actually want to know.

First of all, I'll talk about the scented one that I tried out, then I'll tell you about a couple of other cool varieties they have,

After I had sprayed the dry shampoo in

The coconut scent is really nice. It's not overpowering, just as if I'd actually washed my hair with a coconut scented shampoo. I just followed the directions, sprayed it into my roots, massaged it around a bit, then brushed it out. I haven't washed my hair since yesterday morning, so it was perfect timing for the package to arrive. I'm going to just show you the before and after and let the results speak for themselves...

After I brushed it out.

My hair is really fine, so I need to keep on top of washing it, because it only takes a tiny bit of excess oil to really make my hair look terrible, lank and gross.
This dry shampoo feels like second day hair, which is awesome to style, without the excess oil, and with a boost of volume to boot. It's absolutely perfect for my hair.

So... on to the other things in this range. I know some of you love dry shampoo, and I also know that you absolutely hate the white powder.
Well, now you have options. Polished London also had the amazing forethought to add "Blighty Brunette", and "Bonny Blonde" to the dry shampoo range. Coloured powders that blend into your hair colour!

Now, for the very best part. They're $4.99 a can! Available from pharmacies nationally, there's a stockist near you! Go try it, the only trouble you'll have is deciding which one to try first!

'Straya Day nails!

Tomorrow is Australia Day! I'm celebrating by doing some awesome  Aussie flag nails.

This was actually really, really simple to do with a blue base and my red and white nail art stripers.

How are you showing your Aussie flair on this Australia day?