Tuesday, November 30, 2010

no love

Super sorry, this is coming off a computer at the internet cafe because my laptop got a virus and it is taking the repair man forever to fix it. Just saying that I'm not leaving you all and there will be more back to basics and summer posts coming for sure. I love you all.

Saturday, November 20, 2010

lotsa reviews all rolled into one.

Feel free to call me a slacker, because that is pretty much what I've been doing, slacking off. Exams are well and truly over which means two weeks until end of school and then summer holidays plus christmas (!!!) but the part I'm most looking forward to is new years. Last year I was out of the country during new years so I missed out on all the fun but this year I'm staying put and partying it up, sort of. There are a lot of products I've been meaning to review for a long long long long time and they've all built up so I have decided to review two of them here but not really go into detail, more like brush on my opinion and things like that.

big shampoo.
Big is THE shampoo of lush, my lush lady even told me there is a cult that follow it. Imagine, a shampoo with it's own cult. So I went along to the lush store, slapped my money on the counter and said 'I need something for my hair'. The lady smiled as she took me through the little pot of wonders also referred to as big shampoo, as she told me more I slowly fell in love. The consistency is not the common shampoo consistancy and although I love it, it caused my best friend the shrivel up her nose and say 'I don't think that's shampoo..'. It is very gel like with heaps of big sea salt bits in it but don't be alarmed because that is what it's supposed to be like. I personally love the smell, it's hard to explain but to me it smells fresh and like the ocean if that makes sense. On the first wash your hair is silky and smooth but for the volume you have to wash twice. What I do with it is do the first wash working the shampoo all over my hair and the second just in the roots and then finally putting in conditioner just at the bottom of my hair. Since I love volume in my hair as well as it being silky smooth, big shampoo is a must. I don't use it everyday, just twice a week. can purchase it from lush stores

scarlett and greene skincare.
Do not worry, I will be doing another review in about a months time telling you my overall liking of this product, who I recommend it to yada yada yada but for now I've only been using it for two weeks and so far I'm in love. There is no toner which I found rather odd about it so I researched it and found that toner is not always needed in skincare. It comes with a cleanser/make-up remover which removes make-up and dirt and then a break out control wash and finally an oil free moisturiser. Scarlett and greene market themselves on their products being 'free from nasties' meaning no harmful ingredients to cause irritation to your skin. This means if you have sensitive skin I would look into it because natural products are good for you. Also if you have clear skin then you don't need the acne wash, just the cleanser and moisturiser. The only problem is that so far I'm pretty sure it is only available in New Zealand but I'm planning on having a giveaway later in life and the scarlett and greene products will definately be thrown in there. can purchase from scarlett and greene website or in check stockists to see if there's a store near you that sells it


Wednesday, November 17, 2010

joined the tumblr club.

yes, yes and yes, I have joined in on the tumblr craze. I wasn't going to but looking at people's tumblr accounts and it looks like so much fun posting photos and quotes that inspire you. So I jumped on the tumblr band wagon and created this little ray of sunshine which by this point is pretty patheitic but tell me what you think and also send me your tumblrs is you want and I'll check them out.
fix my broken machine is the name which is pretty much a song by a new zealand singer zowie or bionic pixie which was the song stuck in my head so that's what I called it.  

Sunday, November 14, 2010

back to basics: finding your foundation.

Finding your right foundation takes patience but is well worth it once the right one is found. Foundation is where it all starts off so in order for your make-up to look fantastic your base has to be fantastic as well. There are a tone of different foundations out there but you have to find the one that suits you.
- Generally higher end brands (especially mac and bobbi brown) have many colour varieties so if you really struggle with finding the right colour in drugstore brands or you like your colour to be dead on your natural skin colour then I would reccommend investing.
- The lighting in shops may be very different to 'natural' lighting which you will mostly be seen in so once the make-up girl applies it to your face tell her you will come back later and step into natural light outside and look at it in a compact mirror to see is you like it.
- The general rule is that you go foundation shopping bare faced to ensure the colour is right
- always test the foudation on your face (on the jaw line) and not on your hand and when you find one you want to try apply it all over
- Some girls make the mistake of wanting to look tanner so they buy foundation in a few shades darker than their skin tone, do NOT do this. If you want to look tanner use bronzer
- if there's a foundation you want to try out search for reviews on it, then you can see what other people did or didn't like about it
- decide on the way you want to apply it: either using fingers, brush or sponge
- when starting out with make-up or teenage skin try using a tinted moisturiser so that it's lighter and move on to foundation when your skin needs it. If you have clear skin there is no point in piling on layers of foundation
- The majority of peopl have different shades of foundation for summer and winter because of the skin colour difference during the seasons.
- Some foundations can cause skin irritation so if you have sensitive skin you may want to look into that or use foundations that are natural
- If you have acne or pimples then you may want to lean towards a mineral or oil-free formula
- Finally foundation is a overall choice of what you like, the finish of your skin, the coverage, the formula

that is pretty much it but I hoped that helped a few of you, if you have any reccomendations

Monday, November 8, 2010

scarlett & greene.

Just a quick little post as I have maths and science exams tomorrow. Exam week is so hectic it gets to a point where you want to give up but you can't do that. I think the only thing that kept me going through the english exam today was that afterwards, I got to go home. So anyway I just wanted to tell you guys a little about a skincare company I will be trying soon. I was running terribly low on my clinique 3 step anti-blemish solutions and I thought for almost $200 for the whole set and it only last me almost two months it really wasn't worth it. So I heard about this company called scarlett & greene which is New Zealand based but it's an all natural skincare system which is almost half the price of my former one. I tried the samples I got from my school and then decided to go and purchase them. I have to go study now but I will have a review on first thoughts soon, promise.

Saturday, November 6, 2010

keep your head held high dollface and they'll kill to see you fall.

Again having thoughts on how to dye my hair yet again.
tell me what you think

I want to go like a caramel kind of light brown with blondish highlights

first four are from polyvore and last is off google

Friday, November 5, 2010

back to basics: eyebrows

'If the eyes are the windows to the soul, then the eyebrows should be the curtains that frame and compliment them'
eyebrows are the worst, nobody notices them until they're gone. A lesson after being in a class when I was 7 with a funny looking boy and, on the last day of school found out why he was so funny looking, he had no eyebrows, have learnt that eyebrows are pretty important. Some girls are born with naturally trimmed and pretty eyebrows while other are less fortunate. Remember not everyones eyebrows are the same, try and determine your natural arch and where your eyebrows should stop and if you have eyebrows and not just one. I reccomend going to a professional first to get the right shape and then trying out these methods.

waxing.
I would never ever wax my eyebrows myself, most of all because I would stuff it up and because I am terrible with pain (that being the understatement of the century). I've had my eyebrows waxed professionally before and I like it better than plucking because the pain is over faster. I have however heard rumours about waxing that sensitive area can cause premature wrinkles near the eyes.  I'm not a beautician (yet!) so I have no idea.

plucking.
again wimp wimp wimp, this hurts so bad. I pluck maybe when I'm in a rush and theres a few stray hairs but I have had a few experiences of my best friend holding me down on the couch icing my eyebrows before plucking proceeding to pluck them. Most people go for this option but plucking makes me cry and although worth the pain I can't put myself through it. I do however have a few tips for plucking. Put some bonjela (its for mouth ulsars) on the eyebrows to numb the pain and when plucking stand a few feet away from the mirror because if you have you nose pressed against it you will most likely keep plucking until the whole eyebrow is gone. Once done smooth aloe vera gel over.

threading.
I learnt to do this off the youtube where you just type in 'how to thread eyebrows' and search. I've done it myself a couple times and it does hurt but not as bad as plucking. I once did get it done professionally but that lady was savage, she must've been having a bad day as she angrily threaded my eyebrows while grunting and finally slapping some aloe vera gel so gloopy that it dripped down into my eyes and I had to fight a smile as my eyeballs slowly caught fire (metaphor. Atleast I think it is, going to fail english). Then ran to the car where my mother was waiting for me. After all of that, she did a pretty good job on the eyebrows. Definately look into threading.

shaving/trimming.
sounds scary, I know but really it isn't. Personally this is what I do and it works because I fear pain. I got my eyebrows waxed to a shape I liked and went and bought an eyebrow trimmer which is by the brand kupis which I'm pretty sure is a New Zealand brand but if your interested in it then tell me and I when I have a giveaway or contest I will definately throw one of those in. So now I just trim my eyebrow hairs when they start growing back. It is so easy and painless, I can do it before school as I'm running out the door. Do not use a regular razor to shave eyebrows as I have learnt from experience.

grooming.
As for grooming I don't do much, I brush my eyebrows. One way is to use a toothbrush (not one you use on your teeth) or an old mascara wand that you have washed. Another way is to buy one or buy a disposable pack or take a few disposable ones when the clinique or the mac lady aren't looking.. I mainly brush the hairs upwards (which makes me look like a crazy woman) and then to the side.

Finished!

back to basics. make-up storage

As my first 'back to basics' post this will be a suggestion on how to store your make-up. It's just a guide so you can twist it into how you like. This is just how I do it but if you have another way of storing it comment below because I would love to see how other people store their things.

first option.
draws
Pick up some little draws that can be found at kmart and places like that, they can range from cheap to expensive but they are mostly pretty cheap. The ones I have are clear and plastic, I got them at a salvation army. Then seperate your make-up. There are two ways you can do this: first is the most common which I do which is seperate prep items (correcting creams, moisturiser, primer), base make-up (concealer, foundation), face products (blush, bronzer, illuminator), eye products (mascara, eyeshadow, liner), lip products (gloss, lipstick, lipstains) and optional pallettes. The second way is where you have a draw for occasions, like everyday use, colourful make-up and night make-up which is less common but I've heard of it being done. It just depends how many draws you have. You can label the draws as well if you want to. I tend to put the 'prettier' like new make-up in the front then the old almost run out make-up which I keep at the back of the draws. On top of the draws you can put your skin and hair products or a mirror from the dollar store.

second option
vases
I personally use the draw option but the vase I think would be a really cool display. Go to a vintage store and pick up a few clear vases in different sizes. Again seperate your make-up and then put them in the vases. This looks really cool but the thing is it might be hard to find things in a rush so try keep the make-up you use the most at the top. Again you can label the vases or decorate them by tying ribbon around.

extra
I just store my brushes in a little vase but I have a friend who stores hers in a vintage tea cup which I think is adorable.

not sure if that helped anyone but thanks for reading (:

back to basics

Just a little introduction to my new, kind of collection of posts called 'back to basics' which are just going to be posts with basic info in them, mostly if your staring out with make-up. I will also still be posting other things in between for the other people who aren't into that sort of stuff. I will be posting some days go by, outfit of the days, little updates and hauls. I am supposed to be studying but my brain is so like tired, if that is even possible but wish me luck because exams are next week. That also means four more weeks until summer holidays.

Thursday, November 4, 2010

quick tag.

Guess who's back with another tag? Yes, I was tagged on my last blog post about halloween. I said I was going to do an outfit of the night but I didn't have time because I was in a rush and it was boring anyway. I didn't dress up which was good because hardly anyone was. I have another one coming up soon as well so I will do an outfit of the night for that I promise. Anyway I have a few dilemmas before I get into the tag. So I'm thinking about getting blackberry. I've heard a lot of people talking about them and how they bbm. Not a lot of people I know have blackberrys but I think I'm old enough to have a more expensive phone but tell me what you think and if you've had one. Also early next year usher and katy perry are coming to New Zealand and I really want to go to both but I won't be able to. I'm not sure which one to go to because I've been told katy sucks live but from her performances at award shows she seems pretty good so idk. But yea, anyway enough blabbering and here is the tag.
who are a few of my new followers and anyone else who wants to do it, link it in the comments and I'll read it.

your name
maria
whats your favorite color?
mostly pink but I also like blue and orange and green
what are your favorites stores to shop at?
boardertown, amazon, mooks, lippy, wildpair, dotti and opshops
what is your favorite clothing item to shop for?
this is hard, probably dresses and jeans
when opshopping mostly like vintage jumpers
What are your obsessions?
i kinda have alot.
photography, skincare products, hair products, titanic (the movie), pretty little liars (tv show and books)
What do you collect?
skin products, make-up and hair products
mostly hairspray, mascara, spot treatments
Who inspires you and why.
my mum probably, shes a lovely creative person
and that sounds so cheesy and cliche but it's true
What do you want to become?
job wise? a journalist, something like working in a magazine
What is your favorite thing to shop for?
make-up and hair stuff and clothes
What is your favorite perfume?
dkny be delicious, midnight fantasy, viva la juicy and happy by clinique
I have a lot
Heels or sneakers?
uh, heels for night
but for day I love my converses which are kinda sneakers..
your favorite magazine?
cleo for sure and remix
do you have any hobbies? list them
not really ay?
blogging?
say 1 thing what not a lot of people know about.
I kind of have a phobia of bald people
like they intimidate me a little
What is your style?
hmm, like classic teenage style but with like opshop clothes thrown in
> you can add your favorite photos.. it doesn't matter what it is.
at this point in time I don't really gave any, sorry

done!