Cosmetic Cupcake

The hubby and I aren't much for Valentines Day celebrations beyond a nice lunch or dinner however I am ALL for spoiling yourself or for your other half to spoil you with some new beauty products! Here are my top picks for Valentines Day this year with a mix of new and old products I'm loving:


Glasshouse Fragrances Verona - A dozen roses candle ($42.95 here):
I love the smell of roses and I absolutely adore the Glasshouse Fragrances candles so this limited edition is a match made in candle heaven for me. With the pretty glass packaging and delicate scent of Spicy Rose, Strawberry Leaf and Pink Amber it is the perfect candle to get you in the mood this Valentine's Day.

Stella McCartney - Stella Sheer:
I only realised after I was halfway through preparing this post that this perfume is no longer available sadly! I adore her range of rose scents and this version is light, feminine and perfect for the warmer weather at this time of year.

The Body Shop Smoky Poppy collection bodylotion ($16.95)* and body scrub ($23.95)*:
The limited edition Smoky Poppy collection is infused with real handpicked poppy flowers from the Ankara region of Turkey and consists of 7 indulgent products. I'm not great at describing scents but it's a somewhat musky yet sweet smell and different to what I normally use. The body scrub is filled with poppy seeds for a really intense exfoliation leaving your skin silky smooth while the hand lotion absorbs quickly to get your hands desirably soft.

Physicians Formula Nude Wear Glowing Nude Blush* ($21.95 here):
This palette alone is worth purchasing just for the pretty packaging! I use a soft blush brush to blend the colours together for a very natural glow. It's definitely one for fairer skin tones as it would need a very heavy hand for it show on darker skin tones.

Face of Australia Lip Paint in Fired up Fuschia* ($6.95 here):
The Face of Australia Lip Paints are a hybrid between a gloss and a liquid lipstick and give a super pigmented finish for a sexy pout. They wear well like a liquid lipstick but still give a glossy finish which I love. They come in 6 gorgeous shades but Fired up Fuschia is my favourite!

Face of Australia Lumi-tint in Hydra Heaven* ($12.95 here):
These Illuminating Sticks are a fantastic alternative to the popular (yet pricey) NARS Multiple and double as cream blush or as a face highlighter. They contain mineral oil and jojoba oil to lock in moisture and the formulas are creamy and very easy to blend to give your face a dewy glow without the hard work.

Help Me Ronda Hydration Balm in Sweet Rose ($9 here):
The new Sweet Rose scent is a new addition to Ronda's Hydration Balm range (which I reviewed last month) and it was released as part of the limited edition Vintage Love Package. I purchased the package during the pre-sale however there are still some packs available which include limited edition Emily De Molly Valentines Day lacquer and Loki's Nail Vinyls but the Sweet Rose balm should be for sale individually soon.

Chanel Dragon ($39 here):
There's nothing like a classic red creme and Chanel Dragon (fully swatched here) is a timeless and dramatic red lacquer that pairs well with any skin tone. It helps that the formula is amazing so if you're like me and leave things until the last minute you can apply just one flawless coat right before you rush out the door.

Have you tried any of these products? What will you be wearing this Valentines Day? Thanks for looking as always!

* Product(s) provided to me for consideration but this in no way influenced my review in any way. As always, my reviews are my 100% honest opinion. My Disclosure Policy can be viewed here.

GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED!

Thank you for entering!

Winner will be announced shortly
The last week of my belated 4th blogiversary giveaways is late unfortunately as I've been unwell but better late than never!! This week has been absolutely crazy at work which hasn't left much time for anything and as usual I'm so unorganised haha. This last giveaway is a little random but it consists of some of my favourite products!!


One lucky person will win:

Chanel Peridot
OPI Damone Roberts 1968
Face of Australia Screen Siren collection
Face of Australia Glossy Lip Crayon collection - Apple crumble, Raspberry Coulis, Berry Brulee, Peach Parfait and Pie A La Mode
essence color & go polishes - hello marshmallow!, here's my number, crazy fancy love, me & my lover, date in the moonlight, misty rusty and absolutely blue and essence studio caring nail oil
Chapstick All Things Sweet lipkit
Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter in Sorbet
Revlon Girly
A huge thank you to Face of Australia for providing the Screen Siren and lip crayon collections for the giveaway!

How to enter:
- simply enter via the Rafflecopter widget thingy below!

Ts & Cs apply:
- open internationally
- must be 18 years and over to enter
- ends 24th August 2014
- winner must respond to notification email within 48 hours

GOOD LUCK!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Just a quick post to announce the winners of my Face of Australia Dark Side collection giveaway. Thank you to everyone that entered! The winnters are:


Jessi in Wonderland & Samthebear!


Congratulations ladies! I've just sent you both emails requesting your details - if you could please respond in the next 48 hours or I'll have to redraw the winners..

A huge thank you to Face of Australia for the awesome prizes! If you didn't win this time don't worry, I'll have more giveaways coming soon.

Thanks for looking as always!

GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED!

Thank you for entering!

Winner will be announced shortly

Happy Friday ladies! It's winter here in Aus which means a new limited edition Face of Australia polish collection woohoo!! This season, it's all about evil villains with the release of the Dark Side collection that is inspired by yep - you guessed it - the most evil movie villains of all time. I had the pleasure of swatching the shades and guest posting again on their blog and I hope you'll all love the shades as much as I do.


The collection contains 5 gorgeous cremes, a duochrome and 2 awesome glitters. You can check out my swatches and review of the collection on the Face of Australia blog here but a sneak peek below for you too ;)


To celebrate the launch, Face of Australia have very kindly given me TWO sets to give away to two of my lucky readers!! To enter, simply head on over to my guest post on the Face of Australia blog to check out the shades and then let me know which is your favourite villian that's inspired one of the shades and why. I love Star Wars and Harry Potter so it's a tough choice but mine has to be Lord Voldemort! Leave me a comment below with your answer, the state you live in and email address for your chance to win!! (I'd really appreciate if you followed me on my Instagram and twitter and liked my Facebook page too!). The giveaway is open to Australian residents only and ends at 8pm AEST on July 5th 2014.

Good luck and I hope you all have a fab weekend!

Soooooo I am officially another year older! Not sure if I'm really wiser though haha. I got spoiled by the hubby this weekend and had a lovely lunch in the mountains and basically spent most of the time eating! I did a simple birthday mani because I had no idea what I wanted but had to have some gold glitter in the mix!


What I used:

Pinky: 2 coats of Cult Nails Tempest and added bunting using Bundle Monster BM-H19 using China Glaze Passion.

Ring finger: I used 2 coats of Kester Black Fairy Floss* and created the chevrons using Nail Vinyls and Face of Australia Midnight Fireworks*.

Middle finger: I used 1 coat of Face of Australia Calypso Gold* and 2 coats of Models Own Gold Finger.

Index finger: I used 2 coats of Cult Nails Tempest and sponged Kester Black Fairy Floss* to the tip for a subtle fade.


Thumb: I used 2 coats of Kester Black Fairy Floss* and stamped balloon design from Bundle Monster BM-H20 using China Glaze Passion.




I have a love hate relationship with birthdays - I love the fun aspect of them but the whole growing older thing not so much haha. What do you guys get up to on your birthdays?

I hope you all had a lovely weekend! Thanks for looking as always =)

* Product(s) provided to me for consideration but this in no way influenced my review in any way. As always, my reviews are my 100% honest opinion. My Disclosure Policy can be viewed here.

HELLOOOOOOO ladies! Just a quick post today to let you know that I've had the pleasure of guest posting again on the Face of Australia blog! I had the wonderful opportunity to try out their latest limited edition Screen Siren nail enamels and to create some nail art with the shades =D The collection is inspired by Marilyn Monroe and consists of 4 gorgeous nudes, 3 brights and a matte topcoat.



Head over to their blog now to see my swatches and the nail art I created using the gorgeous polishes from the collection! I had soooooo much fun creating the manis and I hope you'll enjoy the shades as much as I do!

Hi ladies!! Whoa it's been a while between posts =S My Face of Australia Carnivale Collection giveaway ended last week and it's about time I announced the winner!

And the winner is........


anastasiastarz!

CONGRATULATIONS! I've just sent you an email requesting your address details =)

Thank you to everyone who entered and a huge thank you to Face of Australia for giving me the opportunity to hold this giveaway! If you didn't win not to worry - you can still purchase the collection from Kmart, Big W, Priceline and online from fashionaddict.com.au.

Hi ladies!! I am back from Hong Kong (sadly!) and am ready to get back into things! I meant to post while I was away but of course life got in the way which it tends to do when one is on holiday xp Better late than never I say! I got the chance to try out the latest Face of Australia Limited Edition nail collection and I guest posted on the Face of Australia blog sharing my swatches and review of the gorgeous new Carnivale collection - 8 textured polishes that I hope you'll love as much as I do! Head over to their blog to check it out! Here's a quick peek at the shades ;)


Face of Australia are also very kindly offering one of my readers the chance to win the ENTIRE Carnivale collection!! Head on over to the Face of Australia blog to check out the shades and then let me know what your favourite shade is and why. Leave me a comment below with your answer, state you live in and email address for your chance to win!! The giveaway is open to Australian residents only and ends at 8pm AEST on December 1st 2013.

Good luck!

Hi ladies!! I can't believe it's taken me so terribly long to get my act together to post this but last month I had the pleasure of teaching a beginners nail art class at Work-Shop in Sydney. Work- Shop are based in Broadway, Sydney and run affordable fun short courses in arts and crafts and life skills. They run courses like tea appreciation, yoga, magic and street art! I was so nervous beforehand but once I got into the swing of things it was all good! Seriously I love talking nails ;)


The setup for each person! The nail polishes and remover were very kindly provided by Face of Australia which everyone was so appreciative of! It's always fun playing with someone else's polishes haha. A huge thank you to Camilla for helping me set up beforehand!!


I taught 3 basic nail art techniques on the night - dots, glitter gradient and sponged ombre - and then showed how easy it was to adapt them for more complicated designs.


I don't think I make the best teacher but everyone tried it all out and seemed like they were having loads of fun!


Ladies showing off their fab nail art at the end of the class!! Thank you to everyone that came!


I'm teaching another beginner's nail art class next Monday 23rd September and tickets are still available! If you fancy learing some nail art with me, head to the Work-Shop site for full details and to book.

Hope to see you there! =)

This post is sponsored by Nuffnang.

When I was in Hong Kong recently, there were promo posters everywhere for Taylor Swift’s upcoming Red album. I’ve always been a fan of her makeup looks – her skin is always glowing and she looks so polished and fresh faced. In this particular pic she’s rocking a cherry red lip, winged liner and paired it with a cute black and white retro top and I loved the look so much I had to recreate it as soon as I got home! She’s been sporting a similar look while out and about on her promo tour for the new album this month and I love seeing the pics as it gives me great beauty inspiration. Her flawless skin and red pout look fantastic and is a look that would suit everyone.


You too can get flawless red carpet ready skin at home with the Clearasil PerfectaWash which I’ve introduced to you previously. Celebrities may have their makeup artists to help them look picture perfect but makeup can only hide so much. It’s important to start off with good basics like cleansing and moisturising twice daily and making sure to remove all traces of makeup at the end of the night to help achieve a healthy and glowing complexion.


While trialling the Clearasil PerfectaWash I must say my skin has been behaving itself and I haven’t experienced as many breakouts as usual. I’ve been rocking the natural look as much as I can so I started off with a sheer base by using Make Up For Ever Face and Body foundation in 20. I skipped powder and just used MAC Select Moisture Cover concealer in NW20 to conceal my dark circles (lack of sleep!). Taylor only has a hint of colour on her cheeks as the lip colour is so strong so I contoured my cheeks using Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess and skipped the blush.


I applied a wash of Illamasqua Cream Pigment in Hollow and winged out my Face of Australia liquid liner for a small cat eye. On the lower lash line I smudged Make Up For Ever Aqua Eyes liner in black on the outer third of my eye and I finished with Dolly Wink Long mascara.

For my bright red lips I lined my lips using Shisheido The Makeup Lip Liner & Pencil in Red Rouge and applied Tom Ford Lip Color in Cherry Lush!


I have another Clearasil PerfectaWash Dispenser & Refill to give away to ONE luck reader! If you didn't win last time here's another chance to get your hands on one. All you have to do is answer the following question:

Have you tried the new Clearasil PerfectaWash, what were your thoughts?
Leave me a comment with your answer below for your chance to win! Easy! The competition is open to Australian residents only and ends at 5pm AEST on November 22nd 2012. The winner will be chosen by Nuffnang. See Terms & Conditions here.

GOOD LUCK!!

The winner of my last Clearasil PerfectaWash giveaway was Crepe and her prize is on it's way to her now!

This post is sponsored by Nuffnang and Clearasil.

It’s finally spring here in Australia! I LOVE this time of year as it means I can break out the pretty colours I put away for winter, dewy skin and enjoy a fresh-faced look. One of the biggest beauty trends this spring is the no-makeup look and a twist is the barely there makeup look as I prefer a bit of colour in Spring. To achieve this look it doesn’t actually mean one doesn’t wear makeup though! For me it’s about enhancing your features for a fresh faced look by working with colours that suit your skintone. We want to enhance rather than conceal our natural beauty! Because I’m quite fair I love using peach and pink tones and this look is often my go to for spring.


Great skin is always the perfect canvas to start any makeup look but especially for the barely there makeup look! It’s a huge confidence boost when you can leave the house wearing minimal makeup or having only used just a few products. The Clearasil PerfectaWash can help you put your best face forward every day without makeup with the Super Fruit Extract and Soothing Plant Extract formulas to help soothe and protect against blemishes for visibly clearer skin. Something I think all of us ladies covet! The Clearasil PerfectaWash dispenses just the right amount of cleanser using the unique automated face wash dispenser that delivers exactly 1.5mls of product each time.


The automated dosage system prevents drying out the skin using too much product and active ingredients can irritate the skin and cause further problems. My skin is still a little on the dry side from winter and the formulas contain Vitamin E and antioxidants which are known for their soothing properties so are gentle enough for daily use. They’re dermatologist tested and with the combination of pimple fighting and beneficial ingredients it’s perfect for all young adult skin types to help attain clear skin.



I love a dewy finish in spring so I used the Clinique Even Better Foundation in 01 for a slightly heavier coverage than I would normally use as I find can get away with not having to use concealer when my skin is behaving well. It evens out my skintone and covers any blemishes or acne scarring well. I set it with Face of Australia Translucent Powder and I lightly swept MAC powder blush in Hipness on the apples of my cheeks for a just pinched look. I couldn’t resist a bit of highlighter so I used Benefit Watts Up highlighter on my cheekbones!

For the eyes, I primed my lids using Too Faced Shadow Insurance and applied a very soft wash of pink using MAC eyeshadow in Ego and highlighted my brow bone using MAC eyeshadow in Shroom. I used a teeny bit of the dark brown shade from the Stila eyeshadow trio in gold glow in my outer corner and added Illamasqua Powder eye shadow in Synth to the centre of my lid. I lined my eyes lightly using Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Shadow Pencil in Juju and 2 coats of Dolly Wink Volume mascara and one coat of Clinique Bottom Lash mascara in black.


For the lips I used Chanel Rouge Coco Shine in Flirt for a sheer peach lip. I prefer using these lipstick-balm hybrids in the warmer months for a more natural look.


Fancy trying out the Clearasil PerfectaWash yourself? I'm giving away a Clearasil PerfectaWash Automatic Facewash Dispenser & Refill to ONE lucky reader! All you have to do is answer the following question:

Have you tried the new Clearasil PerfectaWash, what were your thoughts?
Leave me a comment with your answer below for your chance to win! The competition is open to Australian residents only and ends at 5pm AEST on October 28th 2012. The winner will be chosen by Nuffnang. See Terms & Conditions here.

Good luck!

Hi ladies! Face of Australia recently released their Pretty Pastels collection which consists of 8 gorgeous pastel shades that are PERFECT for spring! I had the absolute pleasure of collaborating once again with Face of Australia for their blog (peep the Christmas manicure I did last year here!) to do some fun nail art and this time I also did some tutorials too. Nail art is sooooooooo much fun and easy to do and you don't need fancy tools to create it!


Here's a preview of some of the manis I created using the Pretty in Pastels collection and other Face of Australia polishes!





Head on over to the Face of Australia blog to see the other manis I created and also the easy peasy tutorials! I really hope you guys will try the manis out! If you do, be sure to tweet @FOAcosmetics and myself (@cosmeticcupcake) a photo. I'd love to see what you create using the polishes! =)

Thanks for looking as always!

On Saturday morning Anita, her fiance S and I headed to The Star for Zumbaron Day. It was the first Zumbaron Day for both of us so we were both very very excited of course haha. Zumbaron Day (previously Macaron Day) is held once a year to celebrate Adriano Zumbo's birthday and when 60 something unique and wonderful macaron flavours are available. S very kindly drove us which meant we got there at about 7:30am and thankfully we were one of the first there yay! We were expecting a crazy line but even by the time they opened the doors after 8am the line still wasn't too crazy . Adriano Zumbo tweeted a pic of the line at The Star - can you spot Anita and I in the pic??!! (hint we're on our phones LOL)

For my international ladies, Adriano Zumbo is a patisser extraordinaire and comes up with some AH-MAZING creations with macarons being one of his most famous. His cakes and macarons are definitely out there with macaron flavours that have included pigs blood, beetroot and raspberry and mango and sweet corn. All his creations are like works of art! You can peep a post I did a few years back here.


Before I show you my macaron haul I thought I'd show you the mani I've had on over the weekend. Of course I had to do a mani for Zumbaron day so I went with a macaron accent!


What I used:


Pinky: I used 2 coats of Hello Darling Hopelessly Devoted* and used Kiss nail art paint striper in white to draw vertical lines.

Ring finger: MACARONS!!! I used 2 coats of OPI Alpine Snow as my base and freehanded the macarons using a small nail art brush. For the chocolate macaron I used Canmake Colorful Nails 54 (Chocolate Syrup) for the cookies and Ulta 3 chocolate cake for the filling; raspberry macaron I used BYS Pink with a Punch for the cookies and Hello Darling Hopelessly Devoted* for the filling; pistachio macaron I used Hello Darling Mint Slice* for the cookies and Essence Lime Up! for the filling and blueberry macaron I used Hello Darling The First Corsage* for the cookies and China Glaze Grape Pop for the filling. PHEW!


Middle finger: I used 3 coats of Nails Inc. Sweets Way.

Index finger: I used 2 coats of Face of Australia Once in a Blue Moon*.

Thumb: I used 2 coats of Hello Darling Hopelessly Devoted* and stamped full polka dot image from Konad plate m79 using Konad Special polish in white.




Onto Zumbaron Day! Below is the order form with the list of flavours available this year. 62 awesome flavours!! It was so hard to choose which ones to get because obviously I would have loved to try them all but I had to limit myself.

My haul!! Obviously it wasn't all for me though lol. I got 24 macarons in total which included 4 of the made to order Zumbarons only available at the Star and also a slice of the infamous V8 cake. Cola is my favourite flavour of all time and I enjoyed the fried donut, fried chicken, redskin and palm sugar & coconut ones the most. Kimchi was sooooo weird and vegemite tasted a bit odd too!

The made to order ones I hauled (clockwise from top left): custard fritter, pork belly, fried donut and fried chicken. These were amazing! They were double the price of the other macarons though which they didn't advertise but considering how cool they were it was all good haha.

I'll leave you with some macaron porn from the day xp

All in all it was fantastic morning and I am all macaron-ed out now haha. It certainly won't be my last Zumbaron Day!! I hope you all had a great weekend! Are you a fan of macarons too?

* Product(s) provided to me for consideration but this in no way influenced my review in any way. As always, my reviews are my 100% honest opinion. My Disclosure Policy can be viewed here.

Today I I have another Easter manicure for you! Hopefully you guys aren't sick of them yet! Just a really simple yellow mani with a little chick as an accent. Although my chick looks a tad wonky haha - I think it's the eyes Xp


I used 3 coats of Essence Sundancer as my base which is a gorgeous amber yellow creme. I was going to do nail art on each nail but it's SUCH a lovely yellow I left it as is!


For the chick, I used a small nail art brush* from Born Pretty Store and OPI Alpine Snow for the egg. For the beak I used the same nail art brush and Sinful Colors Big Daddy. For the eyes I used Kiss nail art paint striper in black and OPI Alpine Snow and 2 different sized dotting tools. Lastly I outlined the egg with Face of Australia Titanium.




What are you rocking on your nails this Easter? I hope you're all having a lovely Easter! Thanks for looking as always =)

* Product(s) provided to me for consideration but this in no way influenced my review in any way. As always, my reviews are my 100% honest opinion. My Disclosure Policy can be viewed here.