Thin Lizzy

So as I said, Thin Lizzy probably demands its own post so here it is!

Thin Lizzy is heavily advertised (with the most annoying jingle in existence!) in New Zealand. I believe it is a purely NZ product at this stage. Most people have a Thin Lizzy compact floating around.

A couple of years ago, I bought the kit above. It came with 2 compacts, 2 brushes, 2 double ended eyeliners and 2 clear lip glosses. Good pack, but the focus of the post will be the bronzer compacts.

So it advertises itself as a 6 in 1 product. So what are those 6 uses? Well, they are:

• eyeshadow
• blush
• contour
• bronzer
• lip colour
• body bronzer

I have actually seen someone use it as an eye shadow, blush and bronzer, but the vast majority of my use of it is as a bronzer and contour.

It only comes in 2 shades (if I recall, the website is no help), so I use the light. It is certainly a buildable colour, very rarely do you have to worry you will put too much on. The colour is natural as well, so most people look healthy and radiant if they use it correctly.

 As noted in the last post, it appears to last forever, and then you discover you have a spare one. So for NZ$49.95, it is a pretty good deal!  While it claims to be everything and the kitchen sink, I don't think that is so, but it is a product I am happy to use, and will certainly be getting much use out of in summer.

(I do note they've dropped one of the claims- they used to say it could be a foundation. However they didn't mention that was really only for people with darker complexions. I tried to use it as a foundation, and just looked like I'd stuck my face in an orange. So I'm glad they've dropped that bit of marketing!)

Summer Makeup

So daylight savings kicked in, and it's time to me to dial back on the make up for summer. I don't think full smoky eye for every day year will cut the mustard. It will end up half way down my face by 10am!

So I think all the make up will based around a good light base. My foundation of choice is Revlon Photo Finish. At the moment I'm using 002 (Vanilla), but will switch to 003 (Shell) for summer. It's a light base, but full cover. It never feels cakey. To be honest, I haven't survived a full summer wearing make up every day yet (this is my first summer here and I've been reliably informed I am going to flake with the heat), so will be interesting to see how it survives.

Always crucial- bronzer. What I have, because IT WON'T RUN OUT, AND I HAVE ANOTHER FULL ONE IN THE DRAWER is Thin Lizzy. No, not the band. I think this might be one of the few purely NZ make up products. I will not link to the website because it has autoplay music and no one wants to be inflicted with that.

Thin Lizzy is probably worth its own review, but for now I'll say it is marketed as a 6 in 1, but really it's just a decent bronzer. Cheap, cheerful and lasts forever, while doing what a bronzer should do, but no more. Since I'm Morticia Adams levels of pale, a quick swish with a bronzer livens up my face in summer.

The hell noes for summer will be

• Heavy eyes
• Heavy lips

So the logical assumption is nice, light splashes of colours on the eyes, and light pink lip glosses. I think the Innoxa Mineral Eyeshadow in Copper (as reviewed here) will be fabulous in summer. I need to invest in more pigmented eyeshadows, so colours are intense, and don't have to be heavily applied. I want to invest in a eye primer, so it doesn't slide off! 

So for know, I'll keep to my dramatic cat eyes and smokey eyes while it is still cool enough that they are appropriate. But sooner rather than later it will be summer and I'll have to train myself to be a bit less heavy handed!

Bloom Nailpolish

Ok, so I am obsessed with the deal a day sites, as seen in the ZA haul from earlier in the month (they ran it again! I had to stop myself)

But the most recent one I found was 3 Bloom polishes for $29. I haven't come across the Bloom polish in the shops here yet (but I have to admit I wasn't looking hard).

Bloom is an Australian brand. I used to have a lip balm of theirs, I believe it was a black tea one. It made a horrible mess and appeared to never run out, but I did lose it and it was a long time ago.

So the nail polishes I received were the "brights", so I have:

Daisy 

I didn't have a yellow before, so this was the first one I put on my nails. A definite 3 coater. So far, I'm not impressed with how it's wearing (the right hand I immediately mucked up so we'll discount that, but the left which did dry has done some weird things). However, I will be giving it another shot because it is such a bright happy colour and with summer coming up I think it will be great.

Sunday

They call this a dark melon. In the bottle, it's more a peach, but it will be interesting to see what it is like on the nail.

Adriana

This is an opalescent hot pink. It certainly looks like that in the bottle!  I'd be interested to swatch this and Orly's Oh Cabana Boy, because at the moment I think they're similar, but I have a feeling under sunlight they'd be strikingly different.

So that was my haul! I think I'm going to try and hide my abysmal application of Daisy with a coat of OPI Silver Shatter. I know it is becoming naff, but it hides so many sins (or failures of application!)

Sally Hansen Nail Art Pen

I really enjoy following various nail polish/art blogs*, and so I'm doing a lot of reading, trying to do my own thing with my nails.

I'm nowhere as talented as these many ladies in application of polish, and then turning their nails into pure art, but I like to give it a shot.

So to make it easier on myself, I decided to buy a Sally Hansen Nail Art pen

http://sallyhansen.com/products/nails/nail-color/nail-art-pen

I got the silver one. However, my first application went horribly. Here's how to learn from my mistakes!

First off: Make sure the base colour you are using is totally dry before using the nail pen on it. Mine wasn't so the tip got caught and I ended up gouging the base colour. Never a good look.

 

Then: do it on a solid surface. It is actually rather hard to use if both hands are floating around.

Thirdly, and most importantly: YOU MUST USE A TOP COAT OVER TOP. I failed to do so, as I ran out of time, and the silver all rubbed off! It's more a marker (as a Tumblr friend told me) than a polish, so it just came off! I did it again the next night and sealed it with top coat, and all was well. However, I hadn't followed my own second point, so it was a bit of a rough job (just silver diagonal lines over a deep purple). 

So in short: nail art is fun, but I need steadier hands and a bit more talent to do it any justice!

*Such as:

http://nailstoriesuk.blogspot.com/

http://nailside.blogspot.com/

http://nailjuice.blogspot.com/

http://morenailpolish.blogspot.com/

http://www.alllacqueredup.com/

to name but a few!

Cetaphil Moisturiser with Sunscreen

So to quote myself from a couple of months ago:


"My one love for my skin is the Cetaphil range. It has never put me wrong, and if they put out a moisturiser with a sunscreen in it, I would be beyond stoked."


GUESS WHAT I FOUND A WEEK LATER?

As a pale person who lives in a country that's under a very large hole in the ozone layer, sunscreen is key for me. I'm normally fairly lazy on it, but this stuff is the shit.

I use it instead of my moisturiser in the morning. It does take a bit to rub in, is a bit thick and can leave a white film. But those issues are minor to the positives of this product. It's got a high SPF, is moisturising, hasn't caused me any major issues, and everyone should be using sunscreen every day. I put make up over top of it, and there are no  issues there. I've  had a minor break out issues since using it, but that could be attributed to many reasons, I don't think this product has anything to do with it.

Basically, it's my go to in the morning now. I continue to be a Cetaphil fanatic, and this great product just guarantees my loyalty. If it wasn't so fun to try other products, I really would just use Cetaphil day and night!

ZA, I love you!

So one of those daily deal websites had a deal on ZA products the other day, and I jumped onto it.

I really like ZA. They're a Taiwanese brand, and are actively marketed at the young. The two lines of theirs I'm most interested in are their True White line, and Future Defence.

True White is problematic in a way. It panders to the desire of many to have that lily white skin that many Westerners have. Many of Asian descent try to bleach their skin in varied ways to conform, which isn't loving what you hae.  However, as someone with that lily white skin, that is marred with sun spots and acne scars, it also appeals to me too. I'd like to deal to those sunspots and scars, and this line does deal to them too.

The other one is their Future Defence line, which is aimed at preventing damage now so we're not all wrinkled later. I haven't tried any of that yet, but I am keen to.

So! The grab bag of stuff I got from the deal site below!

Future Defence Moisture Wrap Mask

I haven't used these type of masks before, the paper ones which are infused with the actual mask. This promises to be highly moisturizing and will immediately provide resilience and firmness to the skin. Ok, if you say so!


Deep Hydrating Gel

Can be used as a gel moisturiser, or as a night mask. I'm keen to see how it reacts on my fairly oily skin. To be honest, I don't really need it, but we'll see what happens.

True White Essence 

About 8 months ago, I was using the cleanser and moisturising milk that goes with this product. That stuff did work for me, I noticed an improvement in the texture, and a reduction in pigmentation. This stuff is the big daddy as far as ZA's whitening range goes. To be used with the others in the line, it should reduce pigmentation. You can use it as a moisturiser, or use it directly on places you want it to do its magic, such as pigmentation and scars. I'll add it to my nightly routine to see if it lives up to the hype.

Metavoltage Cream

Photo credit:MakeupbyRonalu

A cream exfoliator, that you leave to dry then rub off. It's a fun product, and actually does work. I used it last night, and felt a good improvement in the tone of my skin. It's a 2-3 times a week product, and you don't actually use much. Not too harsh like other exfoliators, which is good for those of us whose skin can never decide what is up to!

Facial Cleansing Foam

A nice basic creamy cleansing foam. It has Vitamin E granules, which are good for keeping the skin lovely and soft. I've added this product to my shower routine, as an extra cleanser since it isn't harsh at all.

Vitamin Lip Balm

It's got a bad review on MakeupAlley, with complaints of a sour taste and not actually moisturizing, but since we're coming into summer, and it has SPF in it, I'll give a shot and let you know how it goes.


So that's my haul! All that for $40! I haven't found ZA in the normal places it is sold up here yet (the local Farmer's has a fairly minimal make up display, and I was not allowed  a chance to look when I went to visit the next town over!) so this will have to do me for the time being. I'm keen to get more of the True White line, so will let you know the outcome of all these fun products!

Fun vs Skin: Who Wins?

I think the answer is my skin.

I've been fortunate over the last 2 weekends to have friends visit, and then visit friends in Wellington. Both of these weekends have involved lots of wine, lots of good food, and late nights.

As such, my skin has rebelled. It is sallow, there are big rings under my eyes, and *shock horror* I got some big nasty zits as well.

So there really is truth to the idea that treating like body like crap will come out on your skin.

I think the only way to deal with it now is a clay mask, lots of water/green tea and plenty of fruit.

I don't think I want to face any wine for a while... even though wine comes from fruit.....