A warm embrace from Kiehl's Aromatic Blends Skin Softening Body Lotion in Vanilla & Cedarwood

With winter upon us, although I use winter loosely here because it's really like a brisk fall day strung over several weeks -- a winter filled with puddles to hop over, burnt orange leaves to dodge and warmth to be found within the nooks and crannies of our deep pockets. Snow is saved for the jagged hills of Victoria and thankfully I don't have to tuck my chilly little toes into cumbersome boots. I will however use these months to enjoy copious amounts of hot chocolate, zip my coat up even higher and envelop my limbs with Kiehl's Aromatic Blends Skin Softening Body Lotion in Vanilla & Cedarwood.

Creamy goodness

The scent is soft (thanks to the vanilla) and that softness gives way to the smokiness of the cedarwood. Its femininity is matched by its masculinity and I can't help feeling a bit naughty whenever I wear this particular lotion, because I can't stop sneaking whiffs from my forearm.

Hopefully my co-workers don't think I have a problem ;)

The Bagful breakdown:

Total amount for Kiehl's Aromatic Blends Skin Softening Body Lotion in Vanilla & Cedarwood :

• $26.00 USD / $38.00 AUS

Value for money spent (performance and quality):

•  8 out of 10 bags – love the scent, hate the price tag.

Would another purchase be on the horizon?:

• Nothing's on my radar at the moment.

A glimpse at the lips: Maybelline's Color Sensational Vivids in Shocking Coral

Call it intrigue or another excuse to buy something I really don't need, but justified purchasing because there was a two for one deal a few weeks ago. I'm all for a deal with a relative unknown -- it could go one of two ways: knock my socks off or get chucked in the bin (at least I wouldn't be out of pocket by too much, right?).

Shocking Coral

Shocking Coral

Maybelline's Shocking Coral is an electrified creamy pink which applies evenly over the lips. The concave lipstick tip follows the contour of your lips, while the apex helps with getting into tight corners and lining your lips. The scent is familiar, soft vanilla almost leaning Play-Doh territory -- it's not bothersome, really, because it takes me back to my childhood. Shocking Coral is light on the lips (thanks to the honey nectar) and after five minutes you'll soon forget you ever put anything on. The only bit of information I can't comment on at this point is wear time, but I suspect Shocking Coral will get me to dinner tonight.

What if coral isn't your colour? Well, there are nine other colours to choose between or you could get all up on one of those two for one dealies!

Are you, um, shocked?

Happy weekend!

Random story, but P-Cakes found a Louis Vuitton handbag filled with lots of cash in a Las Vegas hotel where she works. Now she's a pretty, no make that super honest woman and managed to track down the owner. As a thank you she received a tip -- I hope my parents go out for a nice dinner, hint, hint!

If you were in that sort of situation, what would you do?

The Bagful breakdown:

Total amount for Maybelline's Color Sensatioanl Vivids in Shocking Coral:

• $7.49 USD / $16.95 AUS – cheap, cheap!

Value for money spent (performance and quality):

•  10 out of 10 bags – worth every single penny.

Would another purchase be on the horizon?:

• Hello, Maybelline Pure Pigments!

Manicare Glam Express Nail Wraps in Lace Me Up

I was very excited to try out Manicare's Glam Express Nail Wraps since I've seen many brands coming out with lots of different colours and prints. I haven't tried anything like this before so I was eager to see how these performed.

Manicare's Glam Express Nail Wraps are nail stickers which can be repositioned (as opposed to the kind that are made out of real nail polish and adhere to the nails like real polish). They do feel like stickers on the nails, and the design with the gems and flowers are raised so you can feel the bumps when you run your fingers over them. The decals come on a clear strip of plastic as a way to align the best shape for each nail prior to applying them.

Each pack comes with 40 pieces  (2 designs x 20 pieces) in a variety of lengths and widths. It's better to pick one that is too small rather than too big, as I picked some that looked like they fit but were too wide and they didn't sit flat on the nail (which I tried to remedy afterwards with a cuticle clipper). I did use the smallest one for my pinky nails and those were still too wide -- I think those with very narrow nails may have to do some extra trimming.

Instructions

Steps for application 2

The instructions on the back of the package were easy to follow and since my nails are on the shorter side, I snipped off the excess with scissors before filing down the rest close to the tip of my nail. It didn't specify whether or not a base coat of nail polish was necessary so I applied them directly on top of my bare nails. This particular design, Lace Me Up, has some transparency in the design, because of this I think it could work over a coloured polish if you don't want it to be just black & skin coloured. The whole entire process took me about 40 minutes to apply them to all ten fingers; it would probably 30 minutes or less for somebody who's not photographing along the way ;)

Manicare Glam Express in Lace Me Up indirect sunlight

Manicare Glam Express in Lace Me Up under lamp 2

Before and After

I was very impressed by how long these lasted. I did lose some of the gems near the tips of my nails along the way but since it's a pattern, it's not as noticeable as when a solid nail polish chips. I think these would be perfect for traveling (especially if traveling for a special occasion) since they're easy to apply on the go, come in a lot of fun designs, don't take up a lot of space and are disposable. Removal was easy, after a week I noticed the edges that didn't lay flat were starting to lose their stickiness so I peeled them off. There was a tiny bit of glue residue on my nails but a quick swipe of nail polish remover took care of that. The price may be a deterrent for some because they are a single-use item, but I think the unique patterns and the convenience totally make them worth it (these are also priced on the lower end of the spectrum, cheaper than similar products made by Revlon, Rock Beauty and Sally Hansen). They're also great for people like me who spend too much time reading nail polish blogs and are envious of the talented girls who can draw elaborate designs on their nails :)

And because I could - Haiku wrap up:

Manicare Wraps - fun!

Easy, unique prints and shades.

Good for on the go.

Manicare's Glam Express Nail Wraps are available for purchase from Priceline for $9.99

I couldn't find anything on Manicare's website about their animal testing policy, but according to this fabulous post by The Plastic Diaries, Manicare do not test on animals.

*This product was provided for consideration, but everything I've written is my own opinion.

Beauty in a tick: Gorgeous Cosmetics iLine Eyeliner Pen

Swatch of iLine Eyeliner Pen

Wearing iLine Eyeliner Pen

For the rest of my days I'll be on the hunt for the next best felt tip liner. I thought I had it good with Gorgeous Cosmetics iLine Eyeliner Pen, but we had a fallout due to the liners' wandering ways. After a few hours of wear, the liner had managed to make it's way to my crease and lid.

Not ideal.

The goods…

• It's a true black
• Easy to wield
• The tip draws and flicks with ease

The mehs…

• Has a tendency to bleed
• Flaked
• Smudged

The Bagful breakdown:

Total amount for Gorgeous Cosmetics iLine Eyeliner Pen:

• $29.00 USD / $29.00 AUS -- I bought this liner at Salon Melbourne and received 40% off the retail price.

Value for money spent (performance and quality):

•  6 out of 10 bags – there are far better felt tip liners out there.

Would another purchase be on the horizon?:

• I wouldn't be opposed to trying their Cake Eyeliner.

Do you have any eyeliner recommendations?