19 September 2010

Your daily dose of pretty: Closet pink cowl neck dress from Dorothy Perkins

I'm a bit wary of peplums on dresses. Partly because I wore them to death in the 80's and partly because putting a peplum on my figure is a bit like wearing a big sign saying "Check out my Child Bearing Hips, y'all".

The peplum on this dress, however, is nicely understated and possibly even curve friendly and I love the cowl neckline.


It's funny that I love this shade of pink in a dress, but would never wear it as a nail polish.

The Closet Pink Cowl Neck Dress is £30.00 from Dorothy Perkins.

18 September 2010

Today's nails: Color Club Poptastic

Poptastic is the final colour in the seven piece Poptastic Collection.



Poptastic is a neon Barbie pink. Good application in two coats and again it has the vinyl-like finish of neons (shown in the pictures however with a topcoat). For me this colour isn't a thriller, but I'm not a pink lover, and where Warhol won me over because of its depth of colour and its unusual orange tinge Poptastic is a fairly standard neon pink. That said, if you're a pink lover I think you'll like this one.

So that wraps up the Poptastic Collection.  All in all a great collection. Formula-wise, with the exception of Almost Famous the polishes had great application, far exceeding what I would expect from a neon. Color Club have done a great job in improving the formula over the old neon collection which Poptastic replaced.

Aside from Poptastic I loved all the colours. If you're a neon lover, or looking to add a pop of bright colour to your summer mani/pedi you should definitely check this collection out.

Thank you once again to Color Club NZ for providing me with this collection for review.

Your daily dose of pretty: Paul & Joe Sparkle Collection Lipsticks

Paul & Joe always do beautiful packaging, and the lipsticks from their latest Sparkle Collection don't disappoint:


Beautiful packaging and lipsticks shaped like cats! Total win!

And also completely pointless. After a couple of uses those cats are going to look like an accident in a nuclear power facility. Never mind how difficult the pointy ears are going to make actual application of the lipstick.

Still, practical aspects aside that is some seriously cute lipstick. A list of Paul & Joe Beaute stockists is on their website, or Zuneta ship them internationally.

17 September 2010

Your daily dose of pretty: The Babes Crazy Kiwi Eau de Toilette

Quick lesson for you all.

This:

is a Kiwi.

This:

(That's me!)
is also a Kiwi.

This:


is a KiwiFRUIT.

Outside of Australasia people tend to refer to the 'Kiwifruit' as a 'Kiwi'. As in "I'm going to eat a Kiwi". Which is actually kinda scary, both for the endangered bird (don't eat it, it's endangered) and the person (don't eat me, I need to buy more shoes).

Likewise, Kiwi-scented products. Seriously, it smells like a Kiwi? The person or the bird? Either way, eewwwwwww. I've met a few kiwis who I wouldn't want to smell like*. And the bird, well it feeds by grubbing around in the dirt. I don't know about you, but earthworm and damp leaf mold doesn't appeal as a fragrance.

Which brings me to today's pretty, which apparently smells like Kiwi. Crazy Kiwi even.



The website is in one of those foreign languages which has way too many K's and G's so I can't read the description, but the packaging is adorable.  And I'm pretty sure it doesn't smell like sweaty Kiwi blokes or earthworms and leaf mold. No guarantees though.

The Babes Crazy Kiwi Eau de Toilette is available here, and costs 149,00kr. I think.

* Disclamer: I've only met a few Kiwis who smell bad. Don't be thinking we're all stinky!

16 September 2010

Your daily dose of pretty: Tweety Bird Earrings by Little Shop Of

These little dudes look like they're just testing out their wings for the first time:


Flit ... flit ... crash ... flit ... flit ... fly!

The Tweety Bird Earrings are AU$12.95 from Australian site Little Shop Of, who ship internationally.

Today's nails: Color Club Wham! Pow!

Wham! Pow! (from Color Club's Poptastic Collection) is possibly the most aptly-named polish ever - it's a total assault on the retinas!



My camera took one look at this colour and started quaking at the knees - it just couldn't capture it accurately! The bottle colour in the first photo is probably closest to what it actually looks like on the nail - glowing and neon and BRIGHT! Seriously, this colour is SO bright I swear if I touch my nails they'll be burning hot!

The formula on Wham! Pow! is lovely, thinnish and easy to apply. I used three coats because I thought I could see a little visible nail line, but I think two would probably have been ok. The finish is your typical neon satin, it's shown here with a top coat.

Revlon release new scented polishes for summer

I love Revlon's scented polishes - they really do smell delicious when they dry. Although from experience I can tell you that waving your hand under people's noses and exclaiming "smell my nails" can result in some awkward situations!

I'm thrilled to see that there is a new collection out for Summer 2010 (with apologies to those of you in the Northern Hemisphere heading into winter - sucks to be you!).


Colour-wise I'm liking Grape Icy, Beach, Gum Drop and Ocean Breeze; and I want Orange Pop and Cotton Candy just for the scent!

Last year the scented polishes were released in packs of three which retailed at NZ$28.00 per pack. No news on whether these are being released singly or in packs but you know I'll be heading to the shops to find out. And of course buy!

EDIT: I checked these out in Farmers today and they're selling them singly for NZ$17.00 each, which isn't as good a deal as last year's NZ$28.00 for a pack of three I have to say.

15 September 2010

Your daily dose of pretty: Teal Plume clutch bag on Etsy

Yep, I'm looking at bags again:


But this is a clutch bag, rather than a handbag. So that's different, right? Because I'd be able to fit even less of the Mountain of Stuff I Carry Around in it.

Dammit, as a justification that totally didn't work. Still, I love the art nouveau style of the fabric, maybe I can justify it based simply on its prettiness?

The Teal Plume silklined clutch bag is US$75.00 from redrubyrose on Etsy.

14 September 2010

Today's nails: Color Club Almost Famous

Today's colour from the Color Club Poptastic Collection is Almost Famous.

I really like yellow polishes, but they don't often like me - yellow's just not a great colour for my skintone. I really like the banana yellow of Almost Famous on me though.



Look at that - bright and cheerful and banana-y!

This was, however, a total pain in the patootie to apply. The formula is quite thick and it pooled at the sides, dragged, and refused to settle into a flat finish. Even after three coats and a top coat of Seche Vite, which normally smooths out an uneven polish, it still looks lumpy and uneven to me, athough it's not so obvious in the photos.

Still, an easy-to-apply yellow is a rarity in my experience, and Almost Famous is a keeper because of it's gorgeous colour.

(My nails haven't suddenly grown longer overnight, by the way. I glued on some acrylic nails last night because my natural nails were so soft and kept breaking off right at the quick. Which explains the state of my cuticles - I may have used a wee smidge too much glue!)

Your daily dose of pretty: Keiko Secret Compartment ring on Etsy

Two words people: Secret. Compartment!






Wearing this I could pretend I was a femme fatale from a Poirot mystery. But shorter. And, umm, wobblier. With a Kiwi accent.

I'm pretty sure none of the Poirot femme fatales were short and wobbly with Kiwi accents...

Did I mention the secret compartment?

The Keiko Secret Compartment ring is US$16.00 from FleurAvenue on Etsy.

13 September 2010

Today's nails: Color Club Chelsea Girl and Warhol

Today I have two more colours from the Color Club Poptastic Collection for you. First up Chelsea Girl:

Brighter and darker than this photo shows (ain't that always the way), this is a vibrant jellyish royal blue. The formula on this was thinner than the others from this collection that I've tried so far and had a tendency to either pool at the sides or go on quite sheer. By the second coat, however, coverage was good and the thinness of the formula didn't make application particularly difficult. (I wore this a few days ago now, and I can't for the life of me remember whether it was two or three coats in the end - I think it was only two though.) This was another colour that I got heaps of compliments on.

Warhol:


Now I make no secret of my dislike for pink nail polishes, but dammit if I don't love this one. Warhol is a bright, hot pink that has an amazing orange glow to it which is not evident in the photo. A true neon (blindingly so), application on this was absolutely lovely.

Both colours are shown with top coat, without they again have the satiny finish of neons.  To give you a bit more of an idea of how it looks on, and also so you can fall about laughing, here I am rocking Warhol on my nails dressed as Madonna circa Desperately Seeking Susan for 15 Year Old Daughter's birthday party in the weekend:


The theme of the party was 'Backstage Pass' and 15 Year Old Daughter insisted that I had to dress up too. I suspect she ended up regretting that. 11 Year Old Son's reaction was to yell "NOOOOOOOOOOOO" and run away. But the highlight of the evening was forgetting I was in costume when I opened the door to the pizza man. To say he looked startled would be the understatement of the year!

12 September 2010

Your daily dose of pretty: Winnie the Pooh blotting papers

I love oil blotting papers - they're a staple in my handbag for a quick fix when I don't want to have to re-apply makeup. And life is always so much better when the stuff you carry around in your handbag is this cute:

Winnie the Pooh oil blotting papers. In a choice of pink or blue. Beyond awesome! Because there is absolutely nothing weird about wiping your greasy face on a beloved children's book character. Nope, nothing weird at all.

Winnie the Pooh blotting papers are HK$19.00 (which is NZ$3.36, US$2.45 or GBP1.59 apparently) from adambeauty.com.

11 September 2010

Your daily dose of pretty: Velvet Bow Court from New Look

I loved the shoes at New Look when we were in England. Fortuitously they were kind enough to time their sale to coincide with our trip (now that's what I call service) so 15 Year Old Daughter and I bought a couple of pairs. And by a couple of pairs I mean The Whole Shop!

Now New Look are tempting me with even more gorgeous shoes on sale. Look:


A gorgeous shoe with a vertiginously high heel, and in such a beautiful colour. Pale pink is not a colour you see very often in shoes.  However if you don't like the pink they're also available in purple.

Which is equally gorgeous. I'm pretty sure I have to have both of these. I mean there's simply no way I could choose between the two colours. Eccentric English Boyfriend will understand. Probably.

The Velvet Bow Court is on sale for £15.00 at New Look. Oh and it comes in black too. But it's ok, I don't have to have the black. I mean I'd like it, but I don't have to have it.

10 September 2010

Your daily dose of pretty: Bunny Trail Necklace by Alice Wears Gold

BUNNIES!!!!!

That is all.

Well not quite all. The Bunny Trail necklace by Alice Wears Gold is available on Australian website Frock You (who ship internationally) for AU$34.00, although it is currently sold out. Other stockists can be found on the Alice Wears Gold website.

Hippity-hop, hippity hop ...

08 September 2010

Today's nails: Color Club Pucci-licious and Twiggie

Color Club's Poptastic range was released into New Zealand stores at the start of September, and Color Club New Zealand very kindly sent me out a seven piece pack for review.

Left to right: Almost Famous, Wham! Pow!, Poptastic, Warhol, Pucci-licious, Twiggie and Chelsea Girl.

The Poptastic Collection replaces the Flower Power Neon range and contains 20 shades in all. Some favourite shades from the Neons have been kept and renamed, and several new shades have been introduced.

The first two shades I swatched were Pucci-licious and Twiggie and both colours surprised me with their fabulous application - I generally expect neons to be trouble to apply but not these two. Both are highly pigmented and the formula on Pucci-licious was lovely and smooth, going on evenly and only requiring two coats. In fact I suspect if I applied it again I could make it a one coat application. Twiggie was a little thicker in consistency so required slightly more careful application but went on in one coat, something I've never had before with a neon.

First up Pucci-licious, which being a purple was beyond impossible to capture, photographing more dusky and with more blue than it has in real life.


This picture was taken before I applied top coat, and you can see the semi-matte satin finish common to many neons.

Because that picture is so completely inaccurate in representing the colour, check it out y'all - my mad Paint skills:


Makes me look like I have the world's worst fake tan! Still not particularly representive, you'll just have to trust me that Pucci-licious is a gorgeous bright grape purple which I got heaps of compliments on.

Twiggie is bright, summery green somewhere between mint green and pea green.


A real stand-out colour that you can't help noticing - love it.



Your daily dose of pretty: Life's a Beach heels from Hannahs

If somebody tried to describe these shoes to me, my immediate reaction would be "bleuch":


A high heeled canvas shoe in red, pink, green, orange and purple stripes? It sounds like something vomitted up by a deck chair.

But actually, I love this shoe. I even went into Hannahs yesterday to fondle it in person, and confirmed its gorgeousness. I didn't try it on though, because you know what happens once I try it on don't you? Yup, the credit card comes out and Eccentric English Boyfriend gets to repeat what seems to be his favourite phrase: "how many pairs of shoes do you actually need?". I may well get that printed on a tshirt for him. In fact I could probably do a whole collection of EEB tshirts, with phrases like "you bought more nail polish - what a surprise"; "I don't have any cash on me, you took it all"; and the perennial favourite "yes, dear".

The Life's A Beach shoe is available in Hannahs stores New Zealand-wide for NZ$69.95.

05 September 2010

Your daily dose of pretty: Dream dress in purple by Bettie Page Clothing

I may be carrying a few more kilos than I'm happy with, and parts of me may wobble more than I'd like, but one thing I do like about myself is that I have curves. Womanly, albeit wobbly, curves. And I'd quite like to squeeze my curves into this dress:


Such a gorgeous, classic shape, and the fan detail at the neckline and waist takes this into Killer Curves territory. Do want!

The Dream dress in Purple is US$114.00 from Bettie Page Clothing.

Today's nail: a polish from England - Barry M Grey

I already had several Barry M polishes in my stash prior to our trip to England, and of course I added to their number. Barry M almost never disappoint me with their application, and the creatively named 'Grey' is no exception.

(I've a feeling they don't pay their polish naming person enough!)



Grey leans slightly warmer in real life than the pictures show, and to my eye would be wearable on most skin tones. I'm a huge fan of grey nail polish and this one makes my heart go pitter patter.

Application-wise the only way this polish could have been more perfect was if it went on in one coat. This is two coats of smooth, buttery, creme goodness. Barry M have yet again knocked it out of the park for me.