Farewell Google Reader!

As you've probably heard by now, Google Reader will no longer be available from Monday July 1st. Farewell Reader you've served us well! But not to worry there are other ways to keep up with my ramblings!

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Source

You can follow Cosmetic Cupcake with Blog Lovin' here. It's really easy to use and I like that it gives a summary of new posts. They have an iPhone, iPad and Android app too so you can read on the go as well! It's easy to import your blogs from Google Reader too.

You can also Cosmetic Cupcake using Feedly here. The hubby likes to keep up with his sites using Feedly but I personally prefer Bloglovin'! Again it's super easy to import your blogs from Reader and they have apps for on the go too.

You can also follow me on the usual Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest.

I hope you continue to read my blog! The blog will be getting a much needed makeover so it might look a bit strange over the next few days - just bear with me! Thanks for looking as always =)

OPI Langham Pink swatches and degustation at Galileo Restaurant, The Langham Sydney

A few months back I went for a fab dinner with Jade and A at Galileo Restaurant at The Langham. After dinner we checked out the gift shop and lo and behold came across an OPI nail polish created especially for Langham Hotels! I didn't even know it existed! Being a sucker lover for limited edition products and pink polishes of course I had to pick up a bottle of Langham Pink. We each bought a bottle bottle actually!

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Langham Pink was created in 2011 to celebrate the 5th anniversary of the Langham Groups signature pink which is used throughout their hotels worldwide. It's a gorgeous cherry blossom pink creme and just the sort of shade I love! Application wasn't pretty good and it was opaque in 3 coats which is pictured.

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Close up:

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Details: OPI Langham Pink is available exclusively at Langham Hotels for $16.95Aus.

The restaurant! Galileo Restaurant is located in the Langham Hotel (formerly the Observatory Hotel) in the city and the decor is just gorgeous.

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We had the degustation with all the trimmings (yes we got the cheese platter and also tea and petit fours!!) for a fantastic price because A got us a great deal!

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The food was excellent and service was fantastic too. We literally had to roll ourselves out of there afterwards lol. I'd definitely recommend going there!

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I love discovering new polishes when I least expect too!! Hope you enjoyed this post! Thanks for looking as always =)

Review: Scandal Cosmetics Rose Scented Nail Remover and Cleanser

Happy Monday ladies! A quick review of a Scandal Cosmetics nail polish remover for you today.

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The remover comes in a very handy pump dispenser which is a must for me! I always transfer remover to a pump dispenser so it helps that this one comes with one already. It makes it soooooo much easier when swatching when you don’t have to battle lids and potential for spillage!

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The polish remover is acetone free which I’m normally not keen on as I find it takes too long to remove polish so I was pleasantly surprised with it. It contains natural rose hip oil extract and leaves an oily film after you remove your polish – almost as though you’ve applied cuticle oil which I wasn’t expecting at all. Now you’d think it would smell like roses but it actually smells like lychees! Definitely better than the overpowering acetone smell.

I found it didn’t take too much longer to remove non-glitter polish than with normal acetone removers but definitely still had to scrub more. I wouldn’t recommend using it to remove glitters though, definitely stick to acetone for that!

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Details: The Scandal Cosmetics Rose Scented nail remover & cleanser is available from the Scandal Cosmetics online store for $9.50.

Don’t forget to use my code “cosmeticcupcake” to receive 25% off your order! Free shipping for all orders over $100 too!

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Thanks for looking as always!

The product featured in this post was provided to me for consideration but this in no way influenced my review in any way. As always, my reviews are my 100% honest opinion. My Disclosure Policy can be viewed here.

piCture pOlish Frosting by Cosmetic Cupcake

I am so so unbelievably excited to bring you this post today!! A while back piCture pOlish contacted me to create a collaboration shade with them and OF COURSE I said yes. I had to re-read the email to make sure I wasn't dreaming! XD Keeping it a secret for such a long time was unbelievably hard to do let me tell you as I was bursting to let everyone know! Frosting was created together and I'm so delighted to finally be able to share the polish with you guys today.

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I was a bit undecided at first what to create as I love so many different types of polishes (flakies, glitters and jellies being my faves!) but I knew I had to go for what I loved to wear myself so something cute, pink and glittery. My inspiration was something that reflected my blog - cupcakes of course!

I had a bright carnation pink shade in mind with pastel glitters and a hint of shimmer through it but unfortunately pastel glitter wasn't available. Instead we went for a pastel pink sprinkles look with some cute hearts thrown in! It wasn't my first pick but I think it turned out soooooo well and I love it =)

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What they say:

Frosting is a pastel milky pink crème shade full of silver, magenta and violet glitters plus with a little shake you will find a wonderful surprise – beautiful silver hearts - just magic! And yes these sprinkles really take the cake!"

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Frosting as the description says is a milky cupcake pink creme filled with small silver, violet and magenta hex glitters and in the mix are some silver hearts. It is absolutely adorable and so very "me". Heart glitter is a first for piCture pOlish shades so how lucky am I that my collaboration shade gets that honour!!!

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For a pastel glitter shade it applies extremely well!! I experienced a tiny bit of balding when I didn't wait long enough in between coats but dry time is quick so it's no issue. There's minimal streaking and I'd recommend 3 thinnish coats for opacity. You could do just 2 coats for a softer look so the pink base looks milkier but I like the look of 3 coats for more glitter.

The smaller glitters apply evenly on the nail and the heart glitters surprisingly well - no need to fish any glitters out of the bottle! The silver hearts and hex glitters take on the milky pink base giving it a muted pink silver look which I really like.

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Close up:

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Some picture spam for you now!

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Details: piCture pOlish Frosting by Cosmetic Cupcake is available from 9am today from the piCture pOlish online store and Network members for $12. Frosting is a limited edition shade so get it while it's hot!! If it does well though piCture pOlish may make it permanent!!

Thank you SO much to the lovely ladies from piCture pOlish for being so fantastic and giving me this absolutely AMAZING opportunity to collaborate on a shade. It is an absolute dream come true to have a polish with my blog name on it!!!!!!

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I hope you all like Frosting as much as I do and I hope you purchase it! Thanks for looking as always =)

The product featured in this post was provided to me for consideration but this in no way influenced my review in any way. As always, my reviews are my 100% honest opinion. My Disclosure Policy can be viewed here.

In the mood for teal manicure

Hi ladies!! Happy Monday =) I hope you’re all having a fab start to the week! I’ve been in the mood for greens/blue so I decided to try out this gorgeous metallic teal from the Scandal Silverline collection called 601 Moody Sky. Of course I had to bling it up a bit though!

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I used 2 coats of Scandal Silverline lacquer in 601 Moody Sky*. It's an opaque teal metallic that applied beautifully and reminds me of the sea actually - it'd be perfect for an underwater mani! For my accent finger I used teal dazzling glitters* in a polka dot design.

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I topped my other nails off with Scandal Heart Lacquer in 47 Silver Holic* which is a sparse silver glitter with holographic pieces.

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Details: Scandal Silverline nail lacquers are available from Scandal Cosmetics online store for $5.50, Scandal Heart nail lacquers are $4 and dazzling glitters are $5.

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Don't forget to use my coupon code “cosmeticcupcake” to receive a huge 25% off your purchase from Scandal Cosmetics online store! Don’t forget that there’s free shipping for purchases over $100 ;)

The products featured in this post were provided to me for consideration but this in no way influenced my review in any way. As always, my reviews are my 100% honest opinion. My Disclosure Policy can be viewed here.

Illamasqua Omen

Some quick swatches for you today of Illamasqua Omen from their Paranormal collection! The polishes from this collection are UV but unfortunately I don't have black light to show you the effect =(

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What they say:

"Take your nails into the next dimensions with limited edition UV Nail Varnish form the Paranormal collection. Alone, each shade delivers bold, high-impact colour with a distinctive shimmer finish. But when worn under UV light they take on a life of their own, emitting a standout glow that cannot be ignored."


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Omen is a gorgeous bright in your face green with shimmer. I FREAKING LOVE IT!!! I don't have enough greens in my collection so I am so crazy happy to add this to my stash. It's bright, bold and fun. Application was beautiful like other Illamasqua polishes and 2 coats is pictured with no top coat.

Close up:

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Details: Illamsqua Paranormal polishes are available in four shades from Illamasqua counters in Myer or the Myer online store for $22.50.

I love my Illamasqua polishes and I think Omen is definitely one of my faves now! What do you think? Do you wear green polishes? I know it's not for everyone!

Thanks for looking as always! =)

The product featured in this post was provided to me for consideration but this in no way influenced my review in any way. As always, my reviews are my 100% honest opinion. My Disclosure Policy can be viewed here.

Review: Essence Hot Winter Drinks hand creams

I've been waiting for these Essence Winter Edition hand creams to be released here for ages after Moni mentioned them and they are FINALLY out!! Squeeeeeeeeee. They come in 3 different scents and they are super yummy - Caramel Hot Chocolate, Gingerbread Chai Latte and Apple Cinnamon Punch. And the best part? They are an absolute steal at only $2!!

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What they say:

"Do you prefer hot chocolate, chai latte or punch? With the new essence trend edition “24h hand protection balm –hot winter drinks”, the cold winter months are sure to turn into a real pampering experience.. softly fragranced combinations of aromatic hot drinks and wintertime delicacies such as caramel, gingerbread and cinnamon create the flair of cozy coffee shop visits with your best friend – you’ll soon forget the cold, wet weather outside!"

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Caramel Hot Chocolate smells divine and just like a warm hot chocolate. I love sweet scented body lotions because you get the amazing smell without all the calories HAHA.

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Apple Cinnamon Punch puts me in the mood for hot apple cider! The cinnammon isn't too strong once you apply it but in the tube smells quite strong.

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Gingerbread Chai Latte is a mix of spices and does remind me of a chai latte. I can smell more cinnamon in this than the Apple Cinnamon Punch!

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Overall: These are an absolute steal and they smell so heavenly!! Good enough to eat!! They smell sweet but not too overpowering or sickly - except for Gingerbread Chai Latte which is my least favourite as I found it a bit too much after a little while. They absorb really quickly and don't leave any sticky residue. They aren't the most moisturising hand creams out there though so these are for on the go and definitely just for the lovely scents. But for $2 I ain't complaining!

They are the perfect handbag size which is fantastic because I can't go anywhere without hand cream. Plus you know I love LE Essence stuff so I just may have bought a few backup tubes and some for swaps Xp My favourite is Caramel Hot Chocolate.

Details: The Essence Winter Edition hand creams are available from Priceline and Target for $1.95.  They haven't sold very quickly so I've seen lots of near full displays!!

Do you like yummy smelling hand creams as much as I do? Thanks for looking as always!!

Golden fruit salad manicure

There is something about fruit manicures! I haven't done one in AGES so I thought I'd go all out this long weekend and break out the fruit fimo since I don't have to work ;) I redid one of my first fruit manicures and went with a golden fruit salad manicure!

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I used 1 coat of Eyeko Petite Polish as my base and sponged Scandal Cosmetics Heart Lacquer in 05 Gold Beam* onto the tips. Then I added cute pre-cut fruit fimo* just below the gold tips and some gold, blue, green and pink dazzling glitters* (aka gleequins). Topped it off with Scandal Heart Lacquer top coat* to seal it all in!

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Having fimo pre-cut is sooooooo much easier! I love that there's a good selection of fruits in this pack.

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Details: Scandal Heart nail lacquers are available from Scandal Cosmetics online store for $4, nail art slices are $6 and dazzling glitters are $5.

Scandal Cosmetics have very kindly extended coupon code “cosmeticcupcake” to receive a huge 25% off your purchase! Don’t forget that there’s free shipping for purchases over $100 ;)

Happy shopping!

* Product(s) provided to me for consideration but this in no way influenced my review in any way. As always, my reviews are my 100% honest opinion. My Disclosure Policy can be viewed here.

Barry M Textured Nail Paint Station Road + a care package!

Happy Sunday all! Last week I received a wonderful surprise package from gorgeous Aysh. This girl knows exactly how to make my week!! ♥ One of the pretty polishes she sent me was Barry M Textured Nail Paint in Station Road and I have some quick swatches for you today.

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Station Road is a bright yellow textured polish with a grainy matte textured finish. It has a gorgeous shimmer through it which isn't that noticeable on the nail. I've been really undecided about the whole textured/liquid sand finish but I'm really liking the Barry M ones! The texture is really fine unlike the OPI ones and doesn't feel gritty on the nail. I couldn't stop touching my nails all day actually haha, it's a very unusual texture. It applied a tiny bit thick but dried very quickly. 2 coats is pictured with no top coat.

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Close up:

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The package! A sweet card, polishes and mini eggs which were sooooooo delish xD I wish we got them in Aus!

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The gorgeous polishes! I love Barry M polishes and I'm excited to try the Bad Apple duochrome.

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From L-R: Barry M Textured Nail Paints in Station Road and Atlantic Road, Bad Apple Cosmetics Arkansas and Collection 2000 Bedazzled Nail Effects Love Jewel

Thank you so much lovely Aysh for my surprise package! I love everything =) What do you guys think of the textured trend?

Thanks for looking as always!!

Glam Corner online designer dress hire review

Back in March, D and I went to Bali for a week for his friend's wedding (you can peep my post about it here!) and besides organising the usual things like accommodation and flights etc the biggest dilemma was what to wear!  It's not often one gets invited to a destination wedding so I wanted something a bit special and out of my usual colour palette of dark shades.

I looked for ages but I couldn't find anything in my budget of $100-150 that I liked. I'd heard of online dress hire and as a last resort looked into it as our holiday was only a week away and I still didn't have a dress! There are quite a few Sydney based ones and the one I liked the look of the most was Glam Corner. I had a really great experience with them so I thought I would do a review!

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Glam Corner is an online designer dress hire site based in east Sydney and they stock gorgeous dresses from Aussie designers like George, Alex Perry, Camilla, Nicola Finetti and Wayne Cooper. I found their prices very reasonable and the dresses were my style!

So how does it all actually work?

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1. RENT - you can choose up to 3 dresses from their range to be delivered free of charge (standard delivery) to you on the date you choose. If the dress doesn't fit, you can send it back in the included pre-paid return bag within 24hrs for a new size or for a full refund if you don't like the dress.

You can also utilise their "Try On" option where you arrange with them to try 3 dresses for $30 which is then offset once you decide on a dress and they charge you the remainder of the rental fee.

2. WEAR - You keep the dress for 7 days! Included in the price is $100 accidental damage insurance which is SUPER important as I'll explain later!

3. RETURN - just pop your dress into the pre-paid return bag and drop off at your local post office after 7 days. No need to dry clean the dress beforehand as they do it all for you!

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I had a few questions before I went through with the order and the customer service from the word go was just fantastic! I emailed through my questions and they were answered promptly and very friendly. The dresses arrived quickly (and just in time before I flew out!) in this MASSIVE box at my work prompting lots of curious questions from my workmates lol. I opted for their "Try On" option as I was unsure of sizes and also style so inside were the 3 dresses in a garment bag, a pre-paid return bag, 3 large clear plastic bags and a note with care instructions for the dress. They also very kindly included a perfume sample and Glam Eyes false eyelashes for me too!! It was like Christmas opening the box up and seeing the beautiful dresses for me to choose.

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The dresses come dry cleaned, pressed and ready to wear wrapped in plastic in a garment bag. The included garment bag was fantastic to transport the dress in my suitcase!

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I ended up going with the beautiful George Darly gown which has an orange skirt and a stunning shell coloured beaded bodice with a racer style back. It was absolutely stunning and I felt so glamorous wearing it! I don't often wear such bright colours or maxi dresses! I teamed the dress with nude pink Miss Rosie heels from Peeptoe Shoes and a stack of plain gold bangles. I stuck to bangles as my wrist jewellery as I didn't want to snag the delicate netting-like outer layer.

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Photo courtesy of Glam Corner

Me in the dress and D! (reposted pic oops!) Now, remember how I told you the accidental damage insurance was super important? WELL. Not long after this pic was snapped I accidentally stepped on the delicate outer layer of the dress and TORE A HEEL SIZED HOLE IN IT. OMG I absolutely freaked out!! Maxi dress, grass and heels DO NOT GO let me tell you.

Straight after the wedding, I emailed Glam Corner to let them know what had happened and they reassured me about the $100 insurance and that they would send the dress off for repairs after I returned it. If the dress cost less than $100 to fix I wouldn't be charged but if it cost more I'd just pay the difference. After I came home I simply popped the dresses into the return envelopes they had provided and let them know I had sent them back. They kept me up to date with the repairs and lucky for me the insurance covered the damage!! Phew =D

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Overall: My experience with Glam Corner was absolutely fantastic and I am SUPER happy that I decided to hire from them! The customer service was wonderful and the whole process was easy as pie. I cannot recommend them enough!!!!! The dresses arrived on time and packaged wonderfully. The dresses themselves were just beautiful and I loved that there are no hidden costs and that delivery and returns are free. There are so many dresses to choose from as well!

When I first heard of dress hire I thought it was a bit pricey to hire a dress for just one week but there was no way I'd be able to buy something as gorgeous as the Darly gown for only $109. Alternatively if I had bought the dress from George it would have set me back $400+ since it was new season and for a statement dress like that I'd really only get 1 or 2 wears out of it max. So hiring a dress was the best option and worth every penny!! Plus there was no dry cleaning or repair costs (since I damaged it!) and it was delivered right to my door! I know that I'll be using them again next time I have a fancy do to go to.

I hope this has been helpful if you live in Sydney and need a dress for your next event!

Thanks for looking as always =)

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