Cosmetic Cupcake

GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED!

Thank you for entering!

Winner will be announced shortly


October marks the start of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Breast cancer research and awareness is something close to my heart as breast cancer has affected my family significantly like it has many others. My mum's younger sister (my AWESOME aunty) is a breast cancer survivor and is an inspiration to me.

One in 9 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer by the age of 85*.
Being breast aware is very important as breast cancer does not acknowledge age, race and even gender. All women – including young women like myself – should examine their breasts regularly to check for any changes. This isn't a public service announcement or anything, it's just one of the causes I'm passionate about and I urge you all to please get behind it. Here are some great charities:

National Breast Cancer Foundation - promotes and supports breast cancer research
McGrath Foundation - raises money to place breast care nurses in communities across Australia.
Breast Cancer Australia - supports ongoing national breast cancer research and to raise awareness of early detection
Cancer Council of Australia

Please donate generously =) Now, on to the giveaway! To help spread the word, I am holding a “Polished Pink for October” giveaway to celebrate Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Most of the items in the giveaway are pink (obviously!) and I do know that many people don’t like pink so I’ve tried to add some red and coral into the mix too.

One winner will receive the following items:


From L – R:
Rimmel London I love Lasting Finish in Hot Shot
Ulta 3 Silver Pink
Ulta 3 Pink Supreme
Ulta 3 Plum Violet
Ulta 3 Bo Peep


From L – R:
MNY mini Colorama Baby Doll
MNY mini Colorama Fruit Roll Up
BYS Cracked polish in Red
TBN Raspberries & Cream
TBN Coral Coast


From L – R:
Essie Apricot Cuticle Oil
National Breast Cancer Foundation lipgloss
National Breast Cancer Foundation bracelet
Manicare nail dryer – the one in the 1st picture is my personal nail dryer shown for photographic purposes only. One lucky winner will receive the brand new one pictured here that’s still sealed in box. Please note I will not be sending it in the box as it’s just too bulky!

Here's how to enter:
1. You must be a public follower via Google Friends Connect. If you are already very kindly following me, THANK YOU! Please ensure you leave your Google Friends Connect name so that I can easily identify you. Unfortunately I cannot enter you if I cannot find you. Please also leave your email address so I can contact you if you win! (Mandatory - 1 entry)

For additional entries:
2. Post about my “Polished Pink for October” giveaway on your blog – either in a separate post or on a sidebar with the first photo from this post. (2 entries)

3. Follow me on Twitter - @cosmeticcupcake - and tweet about my giveaway with link to this post. (1 entry)
(I decided ito change this from what I posted earlier in the day, ladies who entered already are not affected!)

Giveaway is open internationally and will close on October 30th 2010 at 8pm Australian Eastern Standard Time.

Please fill out the form below with all your entries once to enter! Please do not submit your details in the comments of this post - I will NOT count these.

Good luck!

*Cancer Council of Australia

Unfortunately my holo NOTD chipped pretty quickly so I decided to change my polish to something bright because Spring is in the air yay! I was in Kinokuniya bookshop on Sunday and I came across the latest edition of Nail Up! (which I'm regretting not buying my 1st copy now as the exchange rate made the price actually reasonable) and the cover girl had a mani with red polish, rhinestones and dazzlings and stripes on other fingers. I can't find a photo of the cover unfortunately but I was totally digging the red with the rhinestones. I haven't done red for a while so here is my version going from what I remember!


I started off with Sally Hansen Salon Nail Lacquer in Cherry Nice . I picked this up for a steal at my local Chemist Warehouse which always seems to have loads more beauty goodies on sale compared to others I check out. I don't have very many Sally Hansen polishes as they are waaaaaaay overpriced down under so I was very happy to stumble across this bargain. I found it right after my workmate lent me Revlon Cherries in the Snow which was perfect because I wanted a cherry red for my collection!

Cherry Nice is a gorgeous cherry red creme. I am very impressed with this polish! It is super duper pigmented - 1 coat would have been enough for full coverage but I did 2 which is pictured below as I wanted the colour to be more vibrant. It applied very smoothly and it dried to a glossy finish. The brush was easy to use but it was kind of small for my liking, I would have preferred it to be wider so I wouldn't have to do so many strokes.


I then applied various rhinestones and dazzlings which I got from various swaps and also from Viva La Nails using clear nail polish. Then topped it off with a thick coat of Seche Vite!


What do you think? I am so thinking of going to the city after work to buy myself Nail Up! but I have a paper due on Monday which I need to do =( Decisions decisions!

I want to quickly thank the lovely Ronnie for mentioning me in her latest video about beauty gurus and bloggers that she wants to bring together. Thank you for the sweet words hun! Check out her Youtube channel here!

Thanks for looking! Off to bed now as I've stayed up WAY past my bedtime =p

Hi ladies! It's been a while between posts this week unfortunately as I've had a lot going on what with prepping for uni, going to uni, work, cleaning, packing and getting sick too..but I'm back again for a quick NOTD! I was desperate to polish my nails as they've been bare since Tuesday or something so I did a quick mani before going out for a girlfriend's birthday dinner after class last night. I went with China Glaze IDK as Christina suggested I do a holo for my mani - I was being particularly indecisive yesterday! Thanks for the fab suggestion =)

China Glaze OMG collection holos need no introduction because they are just AWESOME in my book. IDK is a dusty purple holo and was one of my 1st China Glaze polishes when I was just getting obsessed with nail polish. I had no idea what "holo" even was but I knew I loved this polish! Still do as a matter of fact. Below is 2 smooth coats with no topcoat.


Close up pic of holo-y goodness! Bit blurry oops.

I'm so glad this week is over! I'll be back with longer posts soon hopefully. Thanks for looking as always!

Hi ladies! This post is a little late but earlier this week was the 25th anniversary of the release of Super Mario Bros in Japan. I would have done these nails sooner but I didn't get time unfortunately. The boy absolutely looooooves Super Mario Bros and he converted me when we first started dating many moons ago! I love the characters in Mario Bros but I especially love the mushrooms. I have 3 mushroom plushies and these were the inspiration for todays manicure to celebrate.


I used the tutorials by the talented CutePolish and Nikki from Askmewhats version as a guide. They looked simple enough but my lack of polishing lately has seen my skills slip!


I used Orly French Tip to freehand white tips. I then used the striping brush from Nail Star Two way nail art pen & brush in red to draw a thin line just below the white tip, then I topped the red line with CM Nail Art striping polish in red glitter on all fingers except for accent finger and thumb. On my thumbs and accent finger I used the pen from Nail Star Two way nail art pen & brush in red to draw a half oval shape and drew 5 dots using Nail Star Two way nail art pen & brush in white. I then used Kiss Nail Artist Paint & Stencil Kit in black to draw eyes and topped it all off with a coat of Nailene Acrylic Strong topcoat for a glossy finish!


Hope you like it! I'll leave you with a piccie of my family of Mario mushroom plushies =)

I was lucky enough to be one of the winners in Asami’s giveaway recently and I was able to try the Incoco Dry Nail Appliqué Penny Rose tips which I have been lusting over. I’m sure everybody has heard all about these but if you haven’t they are dry nail polish strips that can last for up to 2 weeks. I used to try and make my nail polish last as long as possible but nowadays I change about every 2 days! My nails had grown out and I didn't have time to do my nails this week so I thought it was the perfect time to try them out.


You get a strip of french tips and double ended clear strips in foil packages to keep them from drying out.


I had a bit of trouble getting the hang of applying them at first but after a while it wasn't too bad just a little time consuming as it was my 1st time. I thought I had big fingers but most of the sizes were actually too big for my fingers! The clear polish strips were REALLY tricky to get on as they're really thin. I also put these on late at night so that may be a factor in why I didn't find them easy to put on compared to other bloggers who say they're a breeze!


After struggling and getting mad at the polish, I decided I didn't like them much as they were such a pain for me to apply. THEN I woke up the next day and saw them in sunlight and just fell in love. I think they look fantastic and are so chic! I love the colour of Penny Rose glitter - does anyone know a glitter polish that is similar?


The glitter is really packed and is totally smooth. I found they actually look better as the days go on! I guess they lose the rubbery sort of look that the clear top coat gives it.


You can see in the pic below that the polish was too big for my fingers on the sides and it overlaps my cuticles. Got rid of it by using my nail polish corrector.


I kept these on for 6 full days until I couldn't stand having my nails long any moment longer but they could easily have lasted for a couple more days. I subjected my nails to all sorts of abuse at work these last couple of days (carrying files, typing, dispensing etc) and not even ONE chip. Not one chip!!! They looked as good as the day I first applied them.

After 6 days of wear:

I'm very impressed with the lasting power of these and I definitely want to try more of the glitter tips! They would be perfect for a holiday where you wouldn't get a chance to change polish much.

Thank you for sending them to me Asami! Thanks for looking =)

Last week I was fortunate enough to be given the opportunity to sample some products from Australian cosmetics brand Ere Perez. I recently discoverd this brand whilst browsing Beautyhaven and love the fact that the cosmetics are all natural. The brand is named after Mexican born founder Ere Perez who was inspired by her family to create her natural makeup range in Australia. Her aim was to create cosmetics that were practical and contain organic natural ingredients for an easy 3 step look to make women glow in a matter of seconds. This reflects my own makeup style as I love the natural look using as few products as possible and in a short amount of time!


“Ere Perez Natural Cosmetics is an Australian owned company, we pride ourselves in supplying healthy natural make up that suits every skin type. We carefully select our ingredients such as oils, plant extracts and minerals and blend them with antioxidants to create a gentle, highly effective, quick and easy natural make up solution.”

I was sent 3 products to sample: Ere Perez Rosehip Oil Lipbar in Hope; Ere Perez Natural Carrot Cheek and Lip balm in Happy and Ere Perez Natural Tinted Rice Powder in My Blush.

Ere Perez Rosehip Oil Lipbar in Hope:


I was most interested and excited to try the Rosehip Oil Lipbars. They’re tinted lipsticks with organic Rosehip oil and also have SPF 15 – a must in sunny Australia. They are also vegan and cruelty free which is fantastic. I received Hope which is a purple tinted lipbar. When I opened the lipstick I thought “Whoa this is bright!” but of course it’s a tint and therefore it gives you a nice tint of colour only. Hope donates funds to Mission Mexico – giving hope to orphan children.


I absolutely love this lipbar!! It comes packaged in a lipstick but it feels like a lip balm in texture. I looooove lipbalms but this takes it one step higher. It was lovely and moisturising but with no oily or sticky effect as you might expect as it’s made from Rosehip oil. It glided on and gave me just the slightest hint of purple colour with a glossy look, perfect for everyday use to achieve the "my lips but better" look. The packaging of Ere Perez products is simple and clean and I wish it was actually packaged in a lipbalm stick as it would be even MORE convenient for me =p

Pros:
* Packaging – lipstick packaging elegant and convient
* Very moisturising
* Lasts for hours
* Gives you a lovely hint of colour

Cons:
* I cannot find fault with this product. Only that it should be available in more mainstream stores!

Will I repurchase?: DEFINITELY. I want to try their most popular colour Nude and also Life next.

Ere Perez Natural Carrot Cheek and Lip balm in Happy:


This is a 2 in 1 balm containing olive oil, candelilla wax, avocado and carrot (daucus carota sativa) oil that can be used as a lip tint or as a cream blush for cheeks. It's packaged in a little compact so is perfect for on the go, but the lid of mine was a little loose and closed rather loosely unfortunately. It's also waterproof and fragrance free, vegan and certified cruelty free too.


I received Happy which is a deep earthy red colour. It's very pigmented so it's best to build up the intensity. I'm still a noob at applying cream blush so please excuse my crappy application in the photo below but even I could apply this on my cheeks very easily! I used my fingers and dotted it onto my cheeks and then blended away. It blended quite easily and gave me a lovely pinkish flushed glow.


Using it as a lip tint is a little difficult. With lip products I like to be able to scoop into the product and grab enough in 1 to 2 goes to cover my whole lip. To apply it on the lips you need to dip back in a number of times to get enough to cover your whole lips. No big deal, but it just takes a little longer to apply it that's all.


I found Happy to be a little dark on me as a lip tint as I'm quite pale so I didn't really like the balm alone on my lips. So I added some clear lipgloss which toned it down and suited me a lot more! Pic above is with clear gloss added. It would look great paired with neutral eyes for a night out.

Pros:
* Easy to blend on the cheeks
* Colour is very pigmented - you can build up the intensity of the colour
* Gives a lovely flushed look without much effort or product
* Waterproof - lasts the day

Cons:
* A little dark for my skintone
* Hard to get the product out to apply on the lips - need to dip back in multiple times
* Lid on the compact was loose

Will I repurchase?: Happy will last me a loooong time so there's no need for me to repurchase for a while. I actually find the colour a little dark to use on my lips so I would love to try the balm in Harmless which is more suited to pale skins.

Ere Perez Natural Tinted Rice Powder in My Blush:


The Natural Tinted Rice Powder is a great all in 1 product with SPF 15 made from rice powder that can be used as a bronzer, eyeshadow, highlighter or blush. It's free from chemicals and is vegan and cruelty free also.


It comes packaged in a compact with a mirror which is very handy and contains 2 shades. I received the rice powder in My Blush which are neutral shades. They are pigmented even though they look quite light in the compact. I prefer pinky/coral/rose colours for blush so I used it as a bronzer and it gave my face a nice healthy glow with. As a blush, the lighter shade didn't show up much on me so you can blend the colours together and it applies smoothly.


Pros:
* Packaging is handy - compact and comes with a mirror
* Pigmented
* Applies smoothly
* Multi-use product - great for travelling!
* Great as a bronzer - gave me a nice healthy glow
* Perfect to create a "natural" health look

Cons:
* Colour is a little subtle as a blush - I needed to blend the colours together

Will I repurchase?: I already have a few bronzers which are similar in colour which I haven't finished yet, so I would not purchase this particular shade again until I finished my others. I would be very interested in trying the Rose Tones shade though as I'm an absolute sucker for those shades.

Overall, I really enjoyed using these products. I love the fact that they are Aussie owned and are fragrance and chemical free. Plus they're certified cruetly free - each product "has not been tested on animals just family and friends"! My favourite without a doubt is the Rosehip Oil Lipbars, they are just awesome! I want to purchase the other colours and also try out their new Natural Beetroot Cheek and Lip Tint.

Thank you to Karla from Ere Perez for providing me with these products to sample! All the products can be purchased from Ere Perez website. For a full list of stockists check out the website.

I was sent these products to sample but this in no way influenced my review in any way. All my reviews are my 100% honest opinion.

Blemishes, pimples, acne.. whatever you call it, it is a pain! I break out in my T-zone often especially around my mouth and chin and this annoys me to no end. I tend to get them especially at that time of the month which does nothing to improve my PMS haha. So I decided to try out The Body Shop Tea Tree Oil after hearing good things about it.

What The Body Shop says:
"A natural, targeted solution to help clear and soothe blemishes quickly without over drying the skin. Our Community Trade organic tea tree oil grows on the foothills of Mount Kenya in mineral-rich volcanic soil. The leaves are handpicked and irrigated with glacial water for effective oil and is renowned for its natural purifying antibacterial properties to help soothe blemished skin."


How to use it:
For blemishes: Apply a small amount directly on to blemishes using a clean cotton wool bud or fingertip.
It can also be used for bathing, in a warm foot bath, for facial steaming and for massage.

Ingredients:
15% Tea Tree Oil, Aqua (Solvent/Diluent), Alcohol Denat. (Solvent/Diluent), Polysorbate 60 (Surfactant), Melaleuca Alternifolia Leaf Oil (Natural Additive), Limonene (Fragrance Ingredient), Calophyllum Inophyllum Seed Oil (Skin Conditioning Agent), t-Butyl Alcohol (Denaturant), Citral (Fragrance Ingredient), Leptospermum Petersonii Oil (Fragrance Ingredient), Denatonium Benzoate (Denaturant), Tocopherol (Antioxidant).


I used the oil as spot treatment when I felt a pimple coming on and applied it as soon as a felt one coming on. I was absolutely amazed as the oil definitely stopped my pimples in their tracks!! I dabbled the oil on with my finger as soon as I felt a pimple using it 1-3 times a day. It soothed the pain as well and the smell isn't too bad after you use it the first few times. My pimples cleared in 2-3 days with minimal scaring and (touch wood) I haven't had any full blown pimples since starting to use this.

The only downside is the packaging of the oil - IT SUCKS. It's a dropper and it is darn near impossible to get the oil out without spilling any. I have to stand there and shake the crap out of the bottle to get anything out, but it's worth this annoying factor for me. I purchased it from The Body Shop for $9.95 which is an OK price and the bottle contains 15mls of oil.


Pros:
* It works for me - worked fast to clear my pimples
* Natural product
* Non drying
* Multi use product

Cons:
* The dropper packaging - VERY difficult to get the product out.
* Some people may not like the smell

Will I repurchase: Yes because it definitely works for me.

You can purchase the tea tree oil in person at The Body Shop stores or online here (for Aussie ladies) from The Body Shop website.

What do you use for spot treatment to clear away those darned blemishes? Let me know what your go to product is in the comments!

Thanks for looking =)

Hello ladies! Just a quick post for you today since I'm meant to be doing readings for class tomorrow. I picked up some Maybelline Mini Coloramas and Rimmel I Love Lasting Finish on sale tonight at Kmart. A BIG thank you to the awesome Shazzii from Polish Infatuated for giving me the heads up on this great $4 off sale for these brands!! =D

I picked up a dozen polishes for the princely sum of only $14.25 however I'm not keeping them all myself! Only 4 are mine while the rest are for a future giveaway and the others are to give to some lovely blogger ladies. I've never tried Maybelline polishes actually so this is the perfect opportunity to try them at a bargain price. I love the Rimmel polishes so what better excuse to stock up on some!


Here are the ones I kept all to meself. From L - R:
Rimmel I Love Lasting Finish in Electric! and Black Cherry and Maybelline Mini Colorama in Icing Sugar and Tutti Frutti. No time to paint my nails unfortunately so I can't show you swatches =( My nails have been bare since SUNDAY!!


You also may have noticed that I got a logo for my blog! I am in love with it as it just sums up my blog so perfectly and in pink too =p I've wanted a logo for ages now but of course I'm not talented enough to make one myself. I saw Ena's lovely logo and wanted one that was in a similar style, so I contacted the graphic designer she recommended - Claude Yiu.

Claude was absolutely fantastic to work with. He looked at my blog and then asked me detailed questions about what I wanted incorporated in it, the colours, the fonts etc. and then created some designs for me to choose from. He was very patient when I wanted changes for this and that and delivered a logo that reflects my blog and "me" perfectly. I can also use the logo as my watermark which I've done above so I don't need to plaster my URL over all my pics! He turned it around for me in barely over a week and I could not be happier with the end result!! I highly recommend his services so if you're after a cute logo definitely give Claude a go. You can contact him via email claudeyiu@yahoo.com.au.

Have a great weekend ladies! I'm going to be stuck in class all day tomorrow so think of me while you have fun! =p

Thanks for looking!

I'm currently in blogging and nail polish withdrawal!! Someone give me some valium STAT lol. I'm trying (not very) hard to do my readings and my assignment for uni which is this weekend but obviously it's not working and here I am procrastinating for a very quick post!

Thank you for the kind messages and stories about your own technology mishaps, it gave me encouragement and made me feel a lot less like a noob =) The boy managed to recover quite a bit of my stuff but alot of my documents and photos are corrupted unfortunately. But of course getting some things back are much better than none. I did get a bit upset at losing my stuff (I'm sensitive what can I say haha) so I decided to do a bright manicure to cheer me up over the weekend. If you follow me on Twitter you would have seen a quick pic of this mani already but of course will much less quality pics. I decided to do a cheerful yellow manicure using China Glaze Lemon Fizz from the Up & Away collection. I absolutely adore this collection! The colours are so bright and are simply gorgeous and so very "me".


Lemon Fizz is a pale pastel yellow creme perfect for Spring or Summer. I don't really like yellows on me that much as my skintone is yellow, but being a pastel it looked decent and I really enjoyed wearing it. It's such a cute yellow and is definitely one to get if you're like me and shy away from the bright yellows. I had no issues with the application - I did a thin 1st coat followed by a thicker 2nd coat and it dried to a glossy finish. Thing to note, is that on the 1st coat the colour on the nail is quite similar to the bottle however it gets darker with subsequent coats. Above is 2 coats without topcoat.

Then I added some nail stickers that my workmate gave me to jazz it up. I can't have a "naked" mani - ie. just plain polish - anymore unless I'm in a HUGE rush nowadays. I just have to add SOME type of nail art or I'm not satisfied! =p


Thanks for looking! Back to the books now =(

Hi ladies. Apologies for being late in replying to comments and the like, this week has been stressful. I got a new (old) Iphone this week from the boy (yay!) and I was trying to get my contacts from my old phone onto my laptop when I suddenly lost everything on my laptop. Photos, documents.. EVERYTHING just disappeared into thin air. I absolutely freaked out!!!! >.< And I had no idea how it happened either, I didn't even do anything! It wouldn't have been a problem if I had backed everything up but of course I stupidly hadn't. I kept meaning to buy an external hard drive but never got around to it and of course I paid the ultimate price.

I was absolutely sh**ing myself so bad because the boy (who is an IT guru) couldn't guarantee he could recover anything let alone everything because he had no idea how it happened. Most devastating was the thought of having lost all my photos, especially the ones of my grandparents and family in HK and also all my uni work. Everything else is replaceable but photos aren't.

Luckily he's managed to recover most of my documents but the photos are incomplete. The boy is still working on recovering my stuff and then he's going to rebuild my laptop. It looks like I'll be without a comp until the weekend at the very least boo! Everything is a mess and it's going to take me ages to sort through all my documents when I do get it back and get my laptop back to the way I like it so I'll be MIA for a little while. Plus I've barely touched my uni work and I have class next Friday and Saturday =(

Moral of the story? Backup your documents ladies!!! Hope you're all having a much better week than I am!

I'll be back to normal blogging very soon hopefully!! =)