Cosmetic Cupcake

Hi ladies! About a fortnight ago I attended the Sydney International Spa & Beauty Expo with 2 of my awesome friends Anita and Angela. I'd heard such fantastic things about the expo but being a trade only event I didn't think I'd get the chance to ever go but I was very fortunate and received a media pass to attend! *happy dance* I was good and only hauled a few things ;)


The expo was held at the Exhibition Centre at Darling Harbour and it was massive - 3 huge halls filled with beauty goodness! It was so awesome discovering lots of new brands.


What I got!


nails inc. Sprinkles!!! I've been wanting these for sooooooo long and I succumbed. The deal was just too good to pass up! I got sweets way, topping lane and pudding lane.


I can never go past glitter so I had to pick up Nicole by OPI Let's Get Star-ted! and Honey-Dew You Love Me?.


Some nail art supplies! A 3D acrylic mold, dappen dish, dropper, tweezers and different shaped dazzlings.


I've wanted a nail polish display for ages and I finally got one! I'm using it to display polishes I need to swatch and it looks great on my desk ;) This one is supposed to hold 24 bottles but because some of the bottles are smaller it holds more.


I was hoping Dermalogica would be selling more stuff but alas they only sold a few items. I still managed to pick up one of my HG products the Daily Microfoliant. I love the stuff! It makes my skin as smooth as a baby's bottom LOL.


I'm nearing 30 (OMG!) so I'm getting into anti-ageing products. I came across these Cupron wrinkle reducing products and thought I'd give it a try. I picked up the Clinical Value pack which contains the Clinical Cosmetic Pillow Case, Eye Shades and Gloves.

I hope you've all been well! Posting will continue to be a bit sporadic unfortunately. Thanks for looking as always!

I attended the expo as a guest of the PR company.

Today I have some swatches for you from the Nicole by OPI Kardashian Kolors collection for Holiday 2011. I haven't seen all that many episodes of the Kardashians but I was pretty excited for this collection because it contains glitters!!! GLITTER!! Plus I just love holiday collections. There are 14 polishes in the collection and I have swatches of four for you - Kendall on the Katwalk, Kim-pletely in Love, Disco Dolls and All Kendall-ed Up today. All swatches are without topcoat.


What they say:

"Nicole by OPI joins the Kardashian family in announcing the launch of the Kardashian Kolor range; 14 effervescent shades inspired by each six members of this TV family.

Kim, Kourtney, Khloe, Kylie, Kendall and Kris, each recognised for their fashion forward style, have chosen their favourite colour shade which best reflect their personalities. If these girls are not featuring in the social pages, twittering or staring their reality TV show, they are getting their nails done.

Kardashian Kolor offers a diverse collection of shades, ranging from high-shine and sparkly hues; from frosty white to dark chocolate brown, from a blue-green shimmer to a lipstick red, to neutral taupe to a pinkish coral. The names alone are enough to make your spell-check spontaneously combust."


Kendall on the Katwalk is a stunning blue, purple and green glitter. I adore blue glitters and this one is so unique as it has blue and purple in it too. It is just so gorgeous I didn't want to take it off! Definitely my favourite. It's on the sheer side and 3 coats was needed for opacity which is pictured.


Close up:




Kim-pletely in Love is a sheer light pink with subtle blue microglitter through it. It is SOOOOOO pretty! It looks like a boring pink but the microglitter makes it special. It would be a perfect wedding colour! Unfortunately my camera wouldn't pick up the microglitter properly. I found application a little difficult as the formula is a little on the thin side - I experienced some cuticle flooding and I also had some major dragging but a few coats did the trick. 3 coats is pictured.


Close up:




Disco Dolls is a gold glitter with silver, purple and bronze hex glitter in a bronzey gold base. It's a very unique glitter and is very holiday inspired which I love. It's super opaque and 1 thick coat would be enough however I used 2 coats which is pictured.


Close up:




All Kendall-ed Up is a super bright pink creme. It's slightly darker in real life than my pics but you get the picture. It's not the most unique colour but it's bright and fun and perfect for summer. I'm currently wearing it as my pedi colour with some Nicole by OPI Love Your Life glitter hearts ;) I experienced some dragging so I needed 3 coats which is pictured. It dries super glossy!


Close up:




Overall: I really enjoyed the polishes! Kendall on the Katwalk and Disco Dolls are obviously my favourites as I can't go past glitter! I love that they're unique glitter colours and the formula is excellent and dried very smooth.

I had some dragging issues with Kim-pletely in Love and All Kendall-ed Up but all in all they applied reasonably. I find with sheer pinks and certain cremes there is always some degree of dragging sadly. Dry time for the lacquers was good and the brush was easy to use. I REALLY dislike the "Perfect Stroke" brush they had for some polishes - it nearly gave me a stroke using it!!

I'm not sure how holiday some colours are for example All Kendall-ed Up but the pretty glitters make the collection. I would have loved an entire collection of glitters!

Details: Kardashian Kolor collection will be available soon at selected pharmacies and Terry White Chemists and The Nail File Shop for $14.95. For stockists contact 1800 358 999 or visit www.nicolebyopi.com.

Do you like holiday collections as much as I do? Will you be purchasing any of these colours? Thanks for looking as always!

The products featured in this post were sent 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.

Hi ladies! Just a very quick post for you today. I'm sick once AGAIN hence the lack of posts over the last week. Being sick is CRAP. I'm overdoing things at the moment so blogging will have to be put on the back burner until I'm 100% recovered. Blogging takes a heck of a lot of time, preparation and energy that I just don't have at the moment unfortunately.

Here's a quick pink manicure I did sometime last week. I've been feeling a bit nail art uninspired lately so Moni suggested I do just do something pink seeing as I haven't done any this month yet. I had to add glitter of course ;)


I used 2 coats of Nicole by OPI Reach Out first which is a medium pink jelly. It's kind of sheer so I'd recommend 3 coats to get rid of VNL. I then sponged Visee RO 602 which is a very pretty pink and silver glitter suspended in a red jelly base onto the tips.




Thanks for looking! Don't forget to enter my Pink for October giveaway here!

Hi ladies!! A super quick NOTD for you today using one of the Nicole by OPI lacquers I picked up in HK. My Lifesaver is from the Justin Beiber One Less Lonely Girl collection and although I'm not a Beiber fan, darn some of the colours in the collection are pretty!!

My Lifesaver is a gorgeous turquoise cream that reminds me of China Glaze For Audrey. I ADORE colours like this but my camera just hates them ARGH! My camera made the colour look way too blue and I had to tweak the colours to make them even close to accurate. I don't want to show swatches that aren't correct.


It applied relatively well - I don't think I waited long enough between coats so I had some dragging. I must say I am not a fan of the Nicole by OPI brushes and I had some difficulty using it. It's curved and just strange to me! I guess I'll have to get some more polishes so I can practise using the brush ;) 3 coats is pictured and I added a nail sticker for some quick nail art!


Do you love these turquoise colours as much as I do? Thanks for looking as always!!