Five Playful Pressed Purples by MAC

During my years at Suffolk University I became a creature of habit with my schedule.  On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays you would typically find me in class, studying or reading US Weekly with Diana and MB in an attempt to pass the time whilst we "worked".  Whenever I walked to South Station in lieu of hopping on the T, I tried to make a pit stop at Filene's in order to check out the latest collections at MAC, Benefit and Stila.

I quickly developed a penchant for purple shadows, thus kicking off my addiction to makeup in general. Velvet, frost, satin, veluxe pearl or matte -- you name it, I have it :)

• Plum was the first taste of purple for me.  It was released by MAC somewhere between 2004 and early 2006.  My weekly visits kind of meld together, but I seem to remember Plum being released within a butterfly themed collection.  Plum is a beautiful aubergine hue with the subtlest hint of shimmer.
• Petalescent was purchased as a complimentary base for Plum to mingle and chill with. This particular formula is a satin shadow and makes me think of a purple-y dusty rose shade.
• Creme de Violet is a purple laden with golden shimmer and undertones of magenta.  Yet another playmate of Plum's.
• If a true purple isn't your thing, you can always opt for Trax -- a golden purple with reddish brown undertones.
• Zeal is the big sister to Miss Creme de Violet.  Zeal is a rosy pinkish purple with golden shimmer.

I've totally dated myself by featuring three shades which are no longer available for purchase via MAC's website. Oh and I did a bit more digging, Plum was released with the Madame B collection in 2005.

Which purple shades are your favourite?  Too bad MAC didn't do a much bigger vault release.

Butter London's Gobsmacked - weekly nail review

Tarred, but not quite feathered.  In a nutshell, that's the best way to describe Butter London's Gobsmacked. Gobsmacked is a textural polish with silver micro glitter; the colour hovers somewhere between black and steel grey or as Butter London defined it, "charcoal". Gobsmacked is an English adjective used to describe one's shock, surprise or astonishment.  While I loved this colour, I was gobsmacked by its performance.  Talk about chip city!  The slightly bumpy texture caught on paper and allowed air and water to creep between my nails and the polish, as a result my manicure was hijacked.

If you don't mind minimal wear time (four days tops), then Gobsmacked might be for you.

Jelly Sandwich Manicure featuring Australis' Fairy Bread and Essie Marshmallow

A while back I bought Essie's Marshmallow since I didn't have a white nail polish in my stash. I wanted to use it underneath a glitter polish, but I didn't realise it was a sheer polish which required several coats for full opacity and was a little bit disappointed. I decided to Google the name and see what other people thought and how they were using it -- that's how I discovered Jelly Sandwich Manicures. For those who aren't familiar, it's when you layer a sheer (also known as "jelly") nail polish in between layers of a glitter nail polish, hence the name "jelly sandwich". The end result is pretty cool, as the glitter is suspended in the layers of the jelly polish.

First, I started with two layers of Essie Marshmallow, followed by one layer of Australis' Fairy Bread, then another layer of Marshmallow, a second layer of Fairy Bread and a final layer of Marshmallow. The end result was quite thick so I probably could've gotten away with just one coat of Marshmallow to start with and maybe one thick layer of Fairy Bread. As you can see, by layering the sheer white polish over the glitter polish, it mutes the shine and makes it much more subtle. The glitter particles in Fairy Bread are very bright, colourful and shiny on their own, so layering a sheer on top gives it a different look.

Fairy Bread is a limited edition shade from Australis, if you're interested I would definitely suggest picking it up sooner rather than later. I didn't have trouble finding it at Priceline here in Perth -- it's still available on Priceline's website and is currently out of stock on Australis' website.

I purchased Essie's Marshmallow from CVS in the US, check your local Myer if you live in Australia. For those willing to buy online or wanting to buy multiple polishes, I'd suggest finding a retailer who ships to Australia since Myer sells these for $18.95AUD, however, the US RRP is around $8. I looked online and Trans Design, Inc. seems to be a popular choice for ordering nail polishes; Essie polishes are only $5.95USD! I've never ordered from them before, so I created a basket with five polishes and the cheapest shipping option was $23USD.

Because of the flammable nature of nail polish combined with shipping, I think this option will always be pricey. I haven't ordered Essie online, but I've ordered China Glaze from Head2Toe Beauty and shipping was $17USD for five bottles (the combined price was still cheaper than any other website I found). My total order cost from Head2Toe Beauty was $34USD and it took about two weeks for delivery.

Whatever Wednesdays: The Scream

For the past month and a half I've felt like this...

Well, not 100 % emotionally, physically -- more specifically, my face.  Since mid-August I've been suffering from the worst rosacea flare-up ever!  In the past, it was a spot here or there, but now I have huge patches on my cheeks.  They're scaly, severely parched and red.  Pyschologically it's created a horrible feedback loop; I stress from the severity of the itching and burning, I scratch in my sleep and grow scared whenever I enter the gym.  I constantly wonder... Will the sweat burn my skin beyond belief?  Will the sweat expose the redness and can anyone see what I've been feeling?

I went to the doctor a few weeks ago and he prescribed me antibiotics, yet lo and behold they haven't worked!  Thus continuing the suffering.  I've avoided the sun at all cost, I cut out red wine and spicy food from my diet and try to apply a cold compress after each gym session.  Still, here I sit, red-faced and wondering when this bout of rosacea will end.

Please tell me it gets better.

That there is light at the end of this tunnel.

Romina, my brow gal, has been super supportive by doing research about rosacea in an effort to help hydrate my skin.  In two weeks time we're trying out a facial she thinks will help.  *Fingers Crossed*

To Scott: thank you for letting me whinge and for looking beyond the constant "blushing".

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