Stay Red and Racy with Sunsilk!!!

Do you love ‘Red Hair’? I have to admit I do, especially that beautiful soft deep velvet red.  Celebrities have been rocking the Red for some time now with Rihanna and Ariana both sporting the vibrant colour on a regular basis and lately the ‘Red’ is becoming more mainstream with all shades appearing in the streets from ginger strawberry and soft red through to fiery electric!

Public Domain Image

Public Domain Image

Unfortunately for me, my school has very strict guidelines on what is and what is not acceptable :( and I’m thinking the shade I’d go for would fall in the ‘is NOT acceptable’ category!! hehehe  This does not prevent me from admiring others who can wear this colour with style. :D

Anyway, if you’re one of the lucky ones and have dyed your hair any shade of red then you’ll be happy to know that Sunsilk have a two part system especially for red hair, ‘Sunsilk Co-creations Vibrant Colour Protection by RitaHazan’ is here to help you keep your locks looking the way you want. This protector is especially designed to lock the colour in and protect the hair molecule.  ‘Rita Hazan’ is a sought after colourist know for helping to reinvent celebrity looks and has worked with J Lo, Jessica Simpson and Jessica Beal.

Photo property of Sunsilk.com

The ‘Sunsilk Co-creations Vibrant Colour Protection’ range contains both shampoo and conditioner  and is priced from $4.79 - $11.99 each.

Something to remember when dyeing your hair a different colour is that you will probably need to adjust your makeup to compliment it, this may also include adjusting the shade of your eyebrows. Play around with your makeup and find out what looks great both inside and out, get a bff to help with this if you have to, you know the ‘brutally honest’ bff who gives you tuff love!!!! Hahaha :D

Hopefully one day in the future I'll get to go Red and when I do I know there'll be a product to help keep it that way :)

IMATS Sydney 2011 - Show & Tell and Sydney Stay

IMATS (International Makeup Artist Trade Show) was in Sydney over the past weekend (24^th and 25^th September) and it was held at the ‘Sydney Convention Centre’ at DarlingHarbour.

IMATS is brought to this country by ‘MakeupArtist Magazine’ and this is the third year that it’s been held in Sydney, apparently this year there were twice as many tickets sold to IMATS as last year so hopefully next year that figure will double again and IMATS will just keep getting bigger and better!

I had a wonderful time, I was there all day Saturday and a couple of hours on Sunday! I was so happy that I got to meet ‘PurseBuzz’ and some lovely girls from YouTube, some bloggers and some of my subscribers, it was great to meet everyone :) I also saw ‘Pursebuzz’s’ demonstration and caught ‘Napoleon Perdis’’ Keynote Speech at the end of Day1.

I did some shopping and bought a few brands that I haven’t tried before, I don't think I went overboard with my purchases and I tried to focus on brands that I hadn't tried before and weren't over expensive!!!! 

So first up I bought myself a delux brush belt from 'Designermakekuptools.com' for $17, down from the regular $26.95 and a pack of 3 'Beauty Pods' for about $20, down from $30.

I bought a S.I.L.K 'Flat top Kabuki' brush from 'Royal & Langnickel' for $6.00 because I really liked the density of it, I'm not sure of the original price of it as on their site it's sold in a pack.

Next up I visited the 'Temptu Pro' booth and grabbed myself a 'Pro Transfer Delux Workstation' (Temporary Tattoo Kit) and 'Matte Sealer', I can't lay my hands on the receipt for this right now but it was defs cheaper than on the site!

I then headed over to 'Inglot' which is a brand that I've wanted to try for some time. I wasn't disappointed, the pigmentation of their line is wonderful and they had a discount going of 30%, needless to say this was also a very popular booth.

I picked up a 'Highlighting Powder' pallet, 'Pressed Powder', 'Duraline', 'Face and Body Illuminator', 'Eyeliner Gel', 'Body Sparkles' in No 65, a four piece 'Freedom Blush System' and a five piece 'Freedom Eyeshadow System'.  Somehow my eyeshadow system seems to contain a colour I didn't pick out myself, the middle one, could of been a mix up at the booth so that's something to keep your eye on next year.  All this cost me about $200 plus they gave me a 20% off voucher for next time I shop online at their store.

Ben Nye is a brand I've heard a lot about and really wanted to try so I picked up the 'Media Pro HD Sheer Foundation 18 Colour Pallet' which cost $65 and they were also giving out free samples so I got one in 'Fair' and one in 'Bella'.  Unfortunately on my trip home to sunny Queensland the temp must have got too hot for my Ben Nye and a couple of the colours melted a bit :/ but they are all good now :)

Next up was 'Illamasqua' and 'OCC' (Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics).  I bought a 'Cream Foundation' in CF133 for $20 and two Lip Tars in 'Trollop' and 'Stalker', hehehe .... nice names!!! :D The Lip Tars were $14 each.

So all in all I'm happy with my stash of goodies, I would have liked to have seen some better discounts for us Aussie ladies because we really do pay a lot for our cosmetics here but I'm happy with what I got and that I came home with plenty of money too!!  The variety of booths was decent and the Student Competition was really interesting to see progress through the day.  

I didn't go to IMATS with any preconceived ideas on what it would be like, being in Australia IMATS is pretty new here and needs time to develop and grow into something sensational and something that meets our needs downunder.

My Weekend in Sydney .....

I flew out of Queensland on the Friday morning on a gorgeous sunny Spring day and arrived shortly after lunchtime to beautiful sunny Sydney, I was picked up from the Airport by my Uncle who was hosting my friend and I for the weekend.  Later in the day we met Katie at Central Station and settled her into the apartment too.  My Aunt joined us after her work and we all enjoyed getting to know each other a little better.  That night we went out for Thai food and saw some of the sights of Sydney like the Opera House and Harbour Bridge which we didn't climb but there's always next time. The 'Chinatown Night Market' was next on the agenda where we had a great time soaking up the atmosphere before heading back to the apartment for some chatting 'til late.

Up bright and early on Saturday, struggled to look half decent for a full day of IMATS where we met other YouTubers, Bloggers and Subscribers, it was so much fun! :D Watch out for my IMATS #2 video which will be up soon.

Other youtube and blogger girls I met at:

Kate - http://www.youtube.com/user/KatiieKhaos
Lucy -- http://www.youtube.com/MissPixieLulu
Alee -- http://www.youtube.com/user/aleesang
Jen - http://www.youtube.com/user/meejmuse
Dom -- http://www.youtube.com/user/DOMMsmiles
Reese - http://tropicofbeauty.com/
Pearl -- http://www.youtube.com/user/pearlbeauty1020
Rosie -- http://www.youtube.com/user/RJAD07
Shell -- http://www.youtube.com/user/shellbarbie
Sarah - http://www.youtube.com/user/alllldolledup
Samm - http://www.youtube.com/user/simplysamm762 

By the end of IMATS we were exhausted, my feet were 'KILLING' me (flat shoes next year) and it was raining so we caught a bus back instead of walking and spent the rest of the day meeting some of my relatives, going through our goodies, listening to Uncle's exciting stories and resting our feet.

Up again on Sunday which was again grey and raining and we decided we wanted to have a look for a couple more things at IMATS so we went back for a short time.  While waiting for my Aunt and Uncle to meet up with us for lunch we accidently wondered into an 'out of bounds' area (not quite sure how that happened :/) and proceeded to get lost,  I can't believe security had to come and find us in the bowels of the building ....   After our 'rescue' we headed to 'Westfield' for some late lunch after which Katie headed home and I continued the day with some more shopping.  

My Aunt and I came across a little store called 'Blush Cosmetics', I think they were opening a new store and they handed me a little bag with some samples inside which was really sweet and I'm looking forward to trying out.

 Sunday evening was spent relaxing and watching a DVD and listening to funny of stories of when my mum was young o_O

Monday I was up at 5.00am for an 8.00am flight back of sunny Queensland ..... what a wonderful weekend it was in Sydney, all too short and I just can't wait to visit again and see more of this great City.

My goodies from my weekend minus a ring I bought myself :)

September 'BeautyBox' and 'LustHaveIt' packs

Beauty Box

So September brought with it the first ever 'BeautyBox' for Australian girls, I was impressed as soon as I saw the package which was a streamlined black box with 'BeautyBox' embossed on the front and tied in a bow with a real pink ribbon, I ain't throwing this box away!! :) This itself came in a pink box for mailing so overall the packaging was wonderful.

Inside the September box was:

1.  Marc Jacobs 'Oh! Lolo!' perfume samples x 3
2.  Sally Hansen 'Everyday Strength Medium Nail File
3.  Playboy 'Play it Spicy Body Spray'
4.  Shu Uemura 'High Performance Balancing Cleansing Oil' - removes makeup instantly

Bonus Gift - Yves Saint Laurent 'Beauty Sleep' - helps to smooth and plump the skin :D

I really like the perfume samples and the body spray which is good for teens and am still trying out the other products.  I will definitely get the October box and just take it month by month with my subscription.

Lust Have It

This is my second LustHaveIt, in the box for September was:

1.  Lancome 'Hypnose Doll Eyes Mascara'
2.  Pure Fiji 'Coconut Milk Shower Gel'
3.  Kerastase 'Elixir Ultime' - Oil treatment for hair, use it wet or dry to nourish and protect.
4.  Urban Rituelle 'Flourish Organics Hand cream'
5.  Nicole by OPI 'Ultimate Trend Setter's Lacquer in 'Give me the first dance' (silver) and 'Prized Possesion' (purple), these are both mini bottles.

I'm definitely enjoying the mascara in this pack, in fact I LOVE IT!!! :) It makes my lashes all big and beautiful :D and the hand cream is really good too, the other products are still being trialed.  I thought there was great variety in September's box and will sign up again for another month.

And here's a little snapshot of my painted pinky nail using the Nicole by OPI 'Ultimate Trend Setter's Lacquer in 'Give me the first dance' (silver) :) don't laugh at my pinky, honestly it's not this chubby it's just that it's not used to modelling and the nail is pretty short atm ;) hahahahaha

This is with two coats and probably isn't the best photo but the polish is very silvery with almost a 'glittery' appearance but not glittery, if that makes any sense????

Urban Decay Primer Potion - Depotting!

My Urban Decay Primer Potion appeared to be running out, running dry or both which was a little disappointing as it costs about $32.00 in Australia and it can be very hard to find/buy.  I felt I didn't really get a lot of use from it??  Anyway after some googling and searching I found out that you can depot it, YAY!!

So I grabbed a sharp knife and very carefully cut the bottle in two places ..... wow, I was amazed at how much product was actually left in there, and to think I was about to throw it away O_O you see the little applicator that comes in the Urban Decay bottle doesn't reach the sides of the bottle properly so you can't get it out!!!  I had a small glitter jar that I cleaned out thoroughly and put all the potion in and then labelled it. It even looks better now because the Urban Decay label rubs off and looks awful. So if you are having the same problem with your's, this is all you have to do and if you don't trust yourself to cut it open, get someone to help you.

Old Urban Decay Primer Potion

Cut the bottle open in the centre and at the base

Scoop out the potion with a small spoon end or toothpick

Place potion into a clean jar that has a lid

** I also heard that you can also heat the bottle for about 1.5 - 2.0 mins in the microwave and pour the potion out but I'm not sure how good it is to heat the product up?

Dyeing Hair Extensions

I recently dyed my hair 'Dark Chocolate' and then realised I couldn't wear my lovely extensions anymore because they were a completely different colour :( Oh No!!! :/

Because I want to re-dye my hair this colour (LOreal Casting Creme Gloss in Dark Chocolate) again in November for my Formal, I decided that it would be a great idea to dye my extensions as well.

How I did it:

*  Brush through your extensions thoroughly.

*  Prepare hair dye according to instructions (see previous post on dyeing my hair).

*  Layout a large garbage bag and cover with a couple of sheets of aluminium foil.

*  Apply treatment to each extension, making sure to cover all of the hair.

*  Lay out extensions on the aluminium foil sheets and once they are all done, fold the foil over the extensions covering all the hair, fold up the ends of the aluminium package to lock in the heat.

*  Leave the extensions to cure for the allotted time according to the instructions on the hair dye.

*  Rinse with warm water until water runs clear.

*  Apply conditioning treatment and leave on, I actually left the conditioner on for about half an hour (more than recommended) because hair extensions do need more conditioning than normal hair.

*  Rinse out with warm water again and allow to dry.

I was really happy with how my extensions turned out, they still look very natural and are a much better match to my own hair now and as you can see from this photo (I only place one lot of extensions in here just to show you) it's hard to tell the difference in the colours! :)

August loves ...

A little late I know but with QCS, assignments and assessments taking place over the past few weeks it's better later than not at all :/

Just a few things I was loving in August, the first being my BBCream from Skin79, I've mentioned this one in an earlier post but now that I've used it for a few weeks I can honestly say I really do love it.  It's light on the skin and doesn't give too thick coverage which makes it great for school.  I love the packaging and overall I'm just really pleased with it, the only thing I find is that it doesn't last all day.

Another thing I've been grabbing for lately is my Sunsilk Weather Protection and Shine Serum, with the change of seasons seems to come a change in weather and it's been a bit windy lately so this has really helped keep my hair in check and also helps keep it shiny.

I received my first 'Lusthaveit' box in August too, I haven't tried all the products in it yet but the ones I have are great.  I've listed it here because I love getting surprises so that itself is a LOVE for August!!! :))) I've done a separate post on the August 'Lusthaveit' box.

Maybelline 'The Falsies' mascara, I've also mentioned this before but that's ok :) It makes my eyelashes so long and luscious that I can't not mention it :)

I really enjoyed using the 'Clinique makeup remover' over the past couple of months but found that it really wasn't any better than the Neutrogena Oil Free Makeup Remover I've always used so I'm back to using my faithful Neutrogena one, it's much cheaper and does a great job of removing everything easily.

My 28 neutral pallet from Sedona Lace has been a daily got-to for me, it's so easy to use and has a great variety of shades for any natural kind of look, once again perfect for school so I have defs have to list it here :)

August 'Lust Have It' Box

For anyone who hasn't heard yet, there is a new 'sample box' around and it's Australian which is wonderful for all us girls down under.  The 'Lusthaveit' box is pretty much the same as the 'Birchbox' overseas, it's a once a month sample box that costs $14.95 including delivery and contains very generous sized samples of well known products.  What a great way to sample products that you wouldn't normally go out and buy or are just too scared to pay for something you may not end up liking!  In the August box I received five samples which I'll list below.

1. Dermalogica - Daily Microfoliant
2. BioEffect - EGF Serum
3. Burt's Bees - Lemon Butter Cuticle Creme
4. Naked Tan - Goddess Bronze
5. Mirenesse - Velvet Lip Plumper

Bonus - Giorgio Armani - Code Sport fragrance (nice for father's day :))

I think this is pretty good value, if you check online for sample prices you will find on ebay alone samples average around $5-7 each for just a tiny fragrance vial.

I've only had this for a couple of weeks so as I use these products over the next month I'll include them in my favs if I really like them.  Check out the 'Lusthaveit' website if you're interested in receiving one of these sample boxes each month or even if you want to try it for one month.