NOTD - Australis Aqua

A friend of mine was wearing this shade recently and it immediately caught my attention. This nail colour from Australis is called 'Aqua' (funnily enough). I think this is such a great unique and bold color. I didn't have anything like it and wanted to try something new so for just $3.99 I snapped up this little bargain.

The bottle says 'streak-free' and when I tested this, comparing it to the application of some of my other nail colours, I found that it doesn't look streaky at all! It seems to spread out evenly on my nail when I 'glob' it on. The colour is a tiny bit transparent on the first coat but as you can see it is bright, matte and solid with two even coats.

I have been getting so many compliments on my nails since wearing this colour as it is such a standout! I am so glad my friend was wearing this that day I spotted it because this is a colour I probably never would have even looked at on the shelf otherwise. Just goes to show you should always try new things (especially if they are cheap!). 

I was looking around and found a lot of minty green colours that I liked but I think this one is slightly more unique being more on the blue side. I think I might look for a nice pastel violet/lavender colour next!


What do you think of Australis Aqua? What is your favourite nail colour at the moment?

Lush Sugar Lip Scrub in Bubblegum

My most recent trip to Lush had me leaving with a some lovely smelly things that I really didn't need but snapped up either way. I thought I would share this bubblegum flavoured lip scrub!

This comes in a cute little 25g tub for AUD$9.95. It smells and tastes delicious and has the Lush Vegan stamp of approval. I rub it over my lips as part of my skin care regime because it leaves my lips feeling soft and smooth after (but not moisturised). 

It is a bit of a silly buy, as i'm sure you could make something very similar at home using some granulated sugar mixed with a bit of oil, (the ingredients on the package list: Castor sugar, Organic Jojoba Oil, flavour and colour) but I thought it was cute and it wasn't particularly expensive so I went for it. I might try making some as a DIY project in the future after looking to some different kinds of oils I might use.

The other flavours available are 'Mint Julips' and 'Sweet Lips'. You can find them at any lush store or online in Australia here. 

My lips getting a scrub!

What are some of your favourite Lush products? 

The Face Shop Power Perfection BB Cream

I was shopping in the city a while back and stumbled across this small Korean cosmetics store called 'The Face Shop' in Piccadilly Arcade (Perth). I was starting to get into the craze of BB creams and had a few samples from Mecca and Kit cosmetics waiting to be tested. In this shop I found a huge range of different BB creams with different qualities and levels of cover. I tried out the Miracle Cover and Power Perfection BB creams as they were the two creams with the highest level of cover. I was inclined to go for the Miracle Cover just because it was the absolute thickest but the girl informed me the Power Perfection one was the most popular and still had good coverage so I tried it as well. I was so impressed I nearly bought it right there and then but held my impulses and went home with the sample pack.

This BB cream comes in two shades, light beige and natural beige: natural beige being slightly darker. They only had samples in the darker shade and I was worried that it would be too dark for me as I am pretty much as pale as pale can be and always seem to match the very lightest shades of foundations in most ranges however the natural beige in this BB cream matched me perfectly! I think that if you are worried about it being too dark you can always use a slightly lighter powder over the top or vice versa. 

As long as I can get my hands on this stuff I AM NEVER USING FOUNDATION AGAIN!! I love how I can just whack this on my face and rub it in like a moisturiser instead of having to meticulously blend foundation. It is so convenient for someone lazy like me. It leaves a slightly dewey effect on my skin but I just dab on some powder to complete my full cover, matte face look. 

It is a little bit on the pricey side at around $50 a pop, but you get a very decent amount in this 40g bottle and you only need a very small amount to cover your entire face perfectly. It comes with a pump to make sure you don't use too much. I use one pump each time and it is more than enough. I think a reason that this one is more popular than the Miracle Cover one is because this one has an SPF37 and supposed anti-wrinkle effects included as well as a high level of coverage.

I didn't want to do this post until I had a better camera and could take photos of my face before and after using this amazing BB cream but I know that is going to be a while away still and I couldn't wait any longer to share this great product! It lasts all day on me without smudging or fading. I have read that some people with particularly oily skin find that oil control is average and diminishes slightly after a few hours depending on the weather. I don't think you can go wrong with this in winter though. 

Have you tried any other products from The Face Shop? What is your favourite BB Cream?

My Mascaras

As I mentioned in my previous post, I recently cleaned out my makeup bags. I had a lot of old and terribly crusty items in there, but here are the mascaras that made the cut and remain in my collection. There won't be anything too in-depth here, just a quick over-view...

Left to Right: Maybelline Volum Express Mascara: $10-20 priceline, MAC Opulash Optimum Black: $33 Myer, TOO FACED Lash Injection Mascara: $10.99 ACW, Lancome Hypnose Mascara: not sure where or when I got this one...  

Firstly, I will mention that my eyelashes are very long and thick naturally (don't hate me) but I still like super-lengthening mascaras because I like the look of over-the-top lashes in any occasion. I think lashes are really pretty and feminine (can anyone argue?) and shouldn't be forgotten when creating a look.

I have had the Maybelline one for a very long time and it is a staple for me as it is cheap, easy to apply and effective. This is what I put on whenever I am in a hurry or can't be bothered crafting dramatic lashes. If I ever feel like some eyeshadows and eyeliners look a bit incomplete, I throw this on at the end and it solves the problem. 

I bought the MAC one when I had a gift card and was looking for something a little more 'upper-end'. I asked the assistant in the shop and she said this one would be the best one for me to use, already having thick lashes. I really like how I can 'just keep going' with this one, adding layers and layers depending on how much of a dramatic look I want. I can put heaps on without it clumping (unless I wait too long and then go for another coat). The brush is really big, which I find makes it a little bit tricky to get the inner lashes of my eye, but this doesn't bother me too much. It is super black. The assistant mentioned something about it having 'extra carbons' in it but I didn't take too much notice until I tried it on and agreed it was indeed very black haha!

I recently bought the Too Faced mascara from ACW as it is a lot more expensive in Australia and had been wanting to try it for a while. I was surprised to find it had a 'citrus-y' scent that I found quite pleasant and interesting. I found it very clumpy but I highly suspect this is because it has probably because of where I got it from. I have read some stories of people receiving products that are old or even out-of-date from allcosmeticswholesale. Still, it was very cheap and worth a try, I will be more aware next time I order from this site. 

I kept the Lancome one because it is so small and I thought I might be able to use it whenever I need to travel light like when I go overseas or friends places overnight etc. 

Diablo 3 - Love's, Latency's, Lost

I first played Diablo 1 at my friend’s house on her big brother’s super-duper new computery-thing somewhere between 1996-1997. We were little babies back then, and this was less than an appropriate game for us however, fate was involved….


I still remember the screams and running to hide underneath the bed at the sound of the butcher “ahhh, fresh meat!” (Funnily enough, nothing in the game before this point had scared us.) As the years went on, I continued to play, and I welcomed Diablo 2 into my list of favourite games.

oh, the memories... (google images)

So yes, I was looking forward to the release of Diablo3 to say the least. I was one of those people who had a 'bitch fit' when I couldn’t play the game the moment of launch#error37. But I had been patient; I scorned those on the forums who claimed the release was ‘rushed’. I’m sorry, but I cannot consider a game 11 years or so in-the-making ‘rushed’. With the wanting-to-drive-soul-stone-usb-drive-into-head aside, I felt much like this impassioned young fellow...

After the initial rage, I then resigned myself to join masses of others to complain about the online-only status of the game. I do not want to continue the debate here, I have read and considered the reasoning from both sides of the discussion on the forums: I am still not a fan of this aspect of the game. My game was slow, I had an average latency of 600-800 milliseconds (quite bad), enemies kept appearing right in front of me (not teleporting), and people were unashamedly (and ignorantly) blaming my computer specs/internet connection. I was angry like many others and had every right to be.

I'm writing a letter! (google images)

I am quite hooked on roaming the maps, killing things, collecting loot, deciding which items to use and which to sell. I first chose the Demon Hunter as my character, mainly because she seemed the closest thing to ‘rogue’ (my favourite in Diablo 1). I have also played a bit as the Witch Doctor and Wizard characters and am enjoying them thoroughly. I love the game; I just wish money wasn’t such an issue in this world and the game could be offline too so the RMAH (real money auction house) for buying and selling equipment didn’t have to generate funds to support the game severs…. lets not go into that.

My demon hunter with ferrets banner, squee! (screenshot)

I was going to make a little list of things I’d like to see added to the game, but right now I can only think of one, and that is some sort of potion-switching thing. Firstly, I am not a fan of the 30-second lockout on using potions. I can live with it, but I would definitely like to see some sort of mechanism that, when supplies are depleted, automatically switches to other health potions in my inventory other than the one I have set to the hotkey ‘Q’.

I really, really love the 'companion' demon hunter skill. Especially since I can summon a pair of funky little ferrets to follow me around and give me more gold. I have a pet ferret named 'Ace' and he is wonderful and I love ferrets! 

Can you think of any little ‘doo-whackeys’ or adjustments you would like made? Comment here if you do, or if you just want to make any notes about the game in general. Also, my battle tag is Violla#6541 if you want to play!