Woodland Green FOTD and Gradient Nails

So I've been wanting to do a look somewhat inspired by the new Robin Hood movie by using greens and bronzes and this is what I came up with:

(Sorry the lighting and colours aren't very good in these shots)

 

Step-by-step process:

1. Prime eyes using Two Faced Shadow Insurance (a dot size cover entire lid)
2. Apply a light shimmery/metalic green eyeshadow on the inner half of the lid. Here I used "Sea Green" loose eyeshadow by Savvy (You can buy this at Priceline for about $7 it think; it's one of my favourites ^.^)
3. Use a bronze shadow on outer half of the lid and blend the two colours together. Here I used NYX "Golden".
4. Using a crease brush, take that bronze colour into and above your crease, keeping a sharp edge at the outer eye corner (at this stage you can cheat by applying some tape to get those perfect lines)
5. Bring the light green up to meet the crease colour and blend
6. Take a darker green and, using a flat brush, apply to the bottom outer half of your lash line. At the outer corner, blend this with the bronze colour. I'm using NYX "Kiwi".
6. Use a fine brush and gel eyeliner to tightly line your top lash line and flick the liner out following the sharp edge you created in step 4. I'm using Inglot's gel eyeliner in black.
7. With the remaining liner on your brush, lightly go over the bottom lash line, stopping half way.
8. To brighten your eyes, add a dot of white shadow in the inner corner and blend. Line your bottom waterline with a white eye pencil.
9. Curl you lashes and apply a generous coat of mascara

You're Done!

For the rest of my face, I just used NYX "Natural" blush applied with a stippling brush and NYX "Rose" Lipstick.

I personally love green eyeshadow and it saddens me just a little every time someone says blue eyes don't match :( But I think this is a nice subtle green look anyone can pull off.

Onto another recent nail art experimentation of mine: gradient nails! Some colour combinations can look stunning when done right. I went for a pink combo and this is what I came up with:

You might not be able to tell, but I've used three colours: OPI "Princesses Rule!" as the base and top coat, OPI "Lunch at the Dehli" in the middle and OPI "Koala Berry" at the tip.

It's super easy to do - I just used a makeup sponge to apply the layers of polish and voila!

And I got my Cherry Culture goodies I bought during the NYX sale today. I haven't forgotten about my original CC haul, don't worry. After exams, I'll pull out all my NYX treasures and swatch and review them all as promised :)

First exam tomorrow :S

jenni&ying xo

summer flutter opi 2010 summer collection

Hey girls,

Just wanted to show you the latest OPI collection out now. It's not so summery here, but I love the look of these bright colours (especially the blue one!)

From left to right, we have: "Flower to Flower" - a hot pink, "Flit a Bit" - bright orange, "Wing It" - a shimmery fuchsia and "Catch Me in Your Net" - a shimmery teal.

I don't think it is available in stores in Australia right now, but you can pick these babies up for a really good price on ebay (visit beautyzone2007)!


love,

jenni&ying xo

purple comparison

Afternoon!

After seeing Ying's post, i decided to pull out my purple OPI "Do You Lilac It?" and try it on to compare. Purple honestly hasn't been one of my favourite colours but every now and then, I get purple fever. So here is my swatch (2 coats, base & top):

This photo shows up quite light, but it is a lot deeper/darker than OPI Lucky Lucky Lavender and less pink. It has a very creamy consistency and if you aren't careful with you application, it can tend to streak. I'd recommend waiting a few minutes between each coat to avoid this.

It's not a colour I enjoy wearing all the time as I'm more of a pink person and so I prefer LLL > DYLI. Let me know which one you like better!

Exams are coming very soon so apologies if Ying and I are MIA in the coming weeks.

jenni&ying xo

jenni's mini opi haul & swatches

Hello girls,

I recently purchased OPI "Isn't that Precious?" for my sister's birthday and decided to pick up a couple of others (as you do).

To the left is OPI "Suzi & the Lifeguard" and to the right is OPI "Princesses Rule!" These are both gorgeous shades, particularly if you LOVE pink!!

 

First off, I tried Suzi & the Lifeguard. It is a very sweet creamy pink. Below I'm wearing two coats and, with a base and top coat, it didn't chip once during the 7 days I wore it!

Next is Princesses Rule! This polish has a lot of depth. Under certain lights, it can look like a very Barbie pink while other times, it reflects a very subtle light champagne pink. No matter what lighting though, it reflects light amazingly! Very sparkly (and I love it!). It is a sheer polish. Below is two coats and is still a bit sheer. I'd love to try one coat of this polish over a light creamy beige or pink.

That's it for now! Next time I see my sis I'll have to swatch the "Isn't that Precious?" for you!

Exams are pending...  back to the books

<3

jenni&ying xo

nail art update

Jenni here and uni is all stress stress stress! Solution? Time out and nail art obviously.

Nothing brightens me up more (well, almost nothing) than to look down at sparkling pretty nails :) Here is a few NOTDs I've done in the past couple of weeks.

I wore this to the Smashbox event. It is a simple pink french using OPI A Dozen Rosas as the base and OPI Pink Flemenco on the tip. No guides needed for this one: just start from the side of the nail and sweep a curve to the middle of the nail tip. Finish with a line of glitter to mask those wonky lines!

Here is the plain swatch for A Dozen Rosas. Its a creamy dusty pink.

Flowers! Never tried this before, but they are surprisingly easy to pull off. Just dot five white dots in a circle without them touching. Drag a toothpick or dotting tool from the middle of a dot to the centre of the circle. Finish by adding a pink dimonte to the middle of the flower. Here I've used OPI Cozu Melted In The Sun as the base.

Marble art has always fascinated me and this is my very first try. It's a little more difficult than it looks and takes a lot of patience. 

♥ To do, get a cup of water (preferably a disposable one, or an old glass jar) and drip a drop of polish of a desired colour into the cup. It should spread out to the size of the cup. 

♥ Drip a second colour into the cup and repeat this process until you get what looks like a bulls eye. 

♥ Drag a toothpick or dotting tool through the polish to make a pretty pattern. 

♥ Use sticky tape to cover the bare skin around your nail. 

♥ Dip nail into the cup and keep it emersed in water while gathering excess polish up with a stick. 

♥ Lift nail up, remove tape and clean edges with nail polish remover. 

♥ Finish by adding glitter lines to the design and use a top coat.

This is something that you can't touch up so it's nice for a special event (or to show of to fellow bloggers :P)

The colours I used are OPI Koala Berry, OPI Do You Lilac It? and OPI No Room For The Blues:

Well hope you liked that :) 

Hope everyone had a lovely mothers' day!

Till next time,

jenni&ying xo

attn: smashbox has landed!

To all you Australian ladies: it is now official! Smashbox has landed on our shores (and in our stores)! Ying and I are very excited to bring you back all the latest Smashbox hype next week after the launch event at Kit Cosmetics. We will be meeting Smashbox's global makup artist, Robin Flanagan, to steal all those beauty tips & tricks! So lookout for that one!

Moooree OPI swatches! Here is I'm Not Really a Waitress.

The photo above seemed a bit bright so here's a few more shots that capture the true colour (no flash & flash):

  

I don't own many red nail polishes as I've always opted for pink, but this is really stunning on. It's a very deep red - kinda reminds me of eating raspberries and blueberries :) I can see this becoming one of my winter favourites!

To other news, I hope everyone had a thoughtful ANZAC day. To see all those involved in the war marching our streets (including my dad, whom I'm very proud of) was incredibly moving. 

Awards: 


We would like like to thank littomokaa  giving us this award ^.^

Rules are: 

1. Post the logo on your Blog

2. Pass it to 12 bloggers that inspire you!

3. Link the bloggers and let them know!!

So many inspirations so we will post nominations soon!




And finally, we are so excited to get our Cherry Culture order arrive today! Definitely have more to come on that one :D

Stay tuned beautyholics ;)

jenni&ying xo

mish-mash

Hi Ladies,

So just wanted to do a quick update on a few random things that I've been doing. First of all, here's a swatch from one of the OPIs that I got -

Ind-ia Mood for Love

I really love this colour and this bright pink shade is always my go-to colour when I'm going out because it works well with my skin tone and adds a bit of colour to my usually black or nude outfits. Also I find that a lot of people tend to tone down their nail polish colour during winter (which seems appropriate because obviously everything tends to be that much bleaker) but for me I love to have some bright summery colours on my nails because it adds a little beauty to my day :)

Also, just wanted to show everyone what I got for my mum for Mother's Day (on the second sunday of every May for the slackers out there :P) It's a Treader Drum Pouch in Ivory and a Treader Mini Purse also in Ivory. I am absolutely in love with the drum pouch - love the style, the colour and the fact that it's Mimco! The strap is adjustable and sits just above the hips.

And lastly, I recently bought some contacts online and they just arrived. They are Impressions contacts in Blue and from afar, I think they're quite subtle. I usually wear clear contacts so it's nice change having a different eye colour. Why not fake what genetics couldn't give me ... hehehe. Just be careful where you buy your contacts from ladies. I buy mine from Clearly Contacts which is a Canadian based Contacts/Glasses e-tailer and they have a very good reputation.

So that's all for my little post, and I'll be back soon with a vlog - possibly on curling hair or quick beauty tips.

jenni&ying xo

a modern touch

Hello guys,

Just a quick post today on a tutorial I did last night on a modern version of the french nail. I've gone for a darker colour, Russian Navy (one of my favourites!) but you can use any colour you like. 

I'm pretty hopeless when it comes to french nails so I'm a big fan of guides. Instead of a straight line french, I've gone for a pointed tip using DIY guides I made from some self-adhesive ring-file-binder labels (you know those ones that stop your pages from ripping out of the file?).  This a really easy way to get perfect lines, and its a lot cheaper too!

So here is my very first YouTube vid! Apologies for the bad quality (my mac camera isn't the best).

A few tips:
• If you happen to smudge the polish, just clean up the area with a cotton tip and polish remover. 
• I find it best not to use a base coat as the stickers tend to peel off any nail polish underneath, and it also is easier to remove mistakes
• Wonky lines? Don't worry, you can always cover it up with the glitter line
• Want a more natural look? Try going for a white tip and coat full nail with a transparent pink for a traditional french look
• Want more drama? Add more rhinestones to nails or go for a brighter colour!


Surprisingly, touch ups are really easy. Just start your brush above the silver line and sweep towards the top and apply a fresh topcoat.


The photo above doesn't give this colour justice - its a lovely dark purply royal blue in the light :) very stunning


Speaking of nice coloured nail polish, OPI has now released their soft shades for 2010 and they are incredibly cute and ALL PINK!

♥ Isn't that Precious? ♥ Pink-a-Doodle ♥ I Think in Pink ♥ It’s a Girl ♥

I have my eyes on Pink-a-Doodle, but I also need to keep reminding myself that I just bought a lot of OPI. 




Hope you guys like the vid :) More to come soon!


Talk to you all soon




jenni&ying xo

lip primer review, opi swatch & ootd

Good afternoon :) 

Jenni here; I have a lovely 6 hour uni break today so I thought I'd like to make an update.

Today I've got a few things I'd like to share. Firstly I've been really excited about my new opi so here is another swatch for you: Lunch at the Delhi. It is a bright coral and I LOVE it :) Its one of those colours that make you feel happy when you just look at it. Perfect for the Autumn months! Apologies for my fingers - must go buy some hand cream to stop my cuticles from drying out.

and closer up...

Last week I was browsing in Kit Cosmetics and I walked out with a lip primer from Pop Beauty. I have a few lipsticks but most don't last on me very long so I was really looking forward to trying this out. Here's the packaging:

So cute!

Pop Beauty describe it as:

 "Perfect your pout before applying your favorite gloss or lipstick. Lip Magnet Primer creates a plumped up, smooth canvas to “hang onto” any lip product and stay true to colour. Stop signs of aging by filling in fine lines and preventing colour feathering. It’s your perfect primer and treatment in one – Vitamins A and E will nourish your lips and provide antioxidants while Omega oils act as a natural plumper to add volume for luscious lips."

INGREDIENTS: Vinyl Dimethicone / Methicone Silsesquioxane Crosspolymer, C12-15 Alkyl Ethylhexanoate, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Myristyl Lactate, Ceresin, Polyglyceryl-2 Triisostearate, Euphorbia Cerifera (Candelilla) Wax, Ozokerite, Polyethylene, Hydrogenated Polyisobutene, Octyldodecanol, Microcrystalline Wax, VP/Hexadecene Copolymer, Tocopheryl Acetate, Quaternium-90 Bentonite, Methyl Nicotinate, Fragrance, Caprylyl Glycol, Zingiber Officinale (Ginger) Root Oil, Capsicum Frutescens Fruit Extract, Caffeine, Glycine Soja (Soybean) Oil, Propylene Carbonate, Phenoxyethanol, Niacin, Hexylene Glycol, Yellow 5 Lake, Red 6. 

So it works as a plumper as well as a primer. 

Here's how it went:

Did it work? Not really. I had the idea that it'd work similar to long lasting lipstick creating a "tattoo effect" but it felt like it did the opposite. My lipliner, that would normally last ages, felt like it would come off. With my lipstick, I'd say it stayed on a little longer than normal, but only a little. And after a coffee? Lipstick was on my cup, not my lips :(


Downside? Aside from that, when you open it, it is very fragrant, I was told it was chilli and capsicum, and not very nice. I can't smell it while I'm wearing it, so that's okay. The plumper ingredient is also known to cause a stinging effect on some people, as it is designed to "irritate" the lip in order to "plump" it. I personally haven't found this a big issue. Every now-and-then I can feel a tingling sensation, but even that is not very noticeable.


Upside? Packaging is five stars, which probably made me buy it. When applied on the lips, it is quite light, so lipstick colour tends to show up more vibrantly which is good. It is also makes a good base for a nude lip as it fills in small cracks quite well.


Overall? Not too enthusiastic about this one and I probably won't buy it again,  not for AU $29 anyway. 2/5

♥♥♥♥♥ 

And lastly, here's my OOTD:

 

I'm wearing a beaded owl shirt by Blue Juice that I bought from Live, new Sportsgirl jeans in grey and new Wittner "sin city" boots in black (which are sooo comfy!)


Break's almost over - back to uni.



Till next time,


jenni&ying xo