At home nail necessities (revisited) and tracking down a dupe for Essie's Mint Candy Apple

Recently I've gotten myself in bit of a financial pickle by dropping a small fortune at the dentist. To halt teeth grinding I now wear an eye-poppingly expensive night guard (sans Swarovski crystals, and platinum). To help recoup my fun fund I've nixed frivolous expenses for the next few months -- salon manis/pedis are now done at home, eyebrow threading and tinting will have to wait, and the ends of my hair must keep their crap together a few weeks longer than usual. Please?

The struggle is real. 

Snaggle nail is non-negotiable, so I'm putting my French Pink mental notes to the test by dusting off the nail artillery for battle. 

If you're ever in a pinch and need to get polished nails fast, CND's Vinylux fully sets in eight minutes (curing lamp not required), evenly covers nails in two coats, and can last up to ten days. I realise I sound like a broken record here, but this nail polish is too legit to quit.

Time to serve up the best nail polish sandwich out there. While I do love Essie's protein base coat, and Seche Vite's top coat, Orly has dropped the ultimate Blimpie. Bonder leaves behind a slightly tacky base to keep polish on the nail, while Polished gives any hue a high shine, finally Flash Dry speeds up the drying process. *Ding* Order's up!

Keep things hydrated with Essie's Apricot Cuticle Oil, and Provence Sante's Hand Cream -- two decadent treats I always keep on hand in order to relive the French Pink experience. Shea Butter, calendula, sweet almond oil, and apricot send me to my happy place, and even quells the noxious scent of acetone.

Yesterday I went hunting for a cheaper dupe of Essie's Mint Candy Apple thanks in part to my pastel nail obsession of late. When most of the options on hand at Priceline just wouldn't do (too dark, shimmery, or not minty enough), my gaze locked on a lone bottle of L'Oreal's Perle de Jade.

L'Oreal's Perle de Jade

Slight gripe, dipping the brush in for second, and third helpings grew awkward whenever errant bristles lagged behind.  Despite this L'Oreal still gets props for the low price point, colour selection, and contoured brush head.

How to apply Nars All Day Luminous Weightless Foundation

Stumped on how to apply Nars' All Day Luminous Weightless Foundation? I certainly was!

Despite my tireless pursuit to learn how to make this persnickety foundation work for me, I've officially thrown in the towel. In other words, I'll be returning this bottle ASAP.

Fret not normal skinned people, Nars' All Day Luminous Weightless Foundation might just be the foundation for you. For oily/combination gals, be sure to check out Kitsch Snitch's review.

Other products used and/or mentioned in this tutorial:

• Eve Lom's Mineral Powder Foundation in shade no. 4 Petal
• Chanel's Vitalumiere Loose Powder Foundation
• Laura Mercier's Secret Concealer in shade 1.5
• Cosmedics Antioxidant Hydra-Mist

*Edit* I suffered some sort of reaction to Cosmedics Antioxidant Hydra-Mist shortly after filming this video. If you have sensitive skin, please do not use this product.

And on closer inspection, here I'm wearing Shade Light 4 in Deauville a few weeks ago

Swatch of deauville slightly blended out

Swatch of Deauville fully blended out

Wash less to experience the benefits

Can you keep a secret?

Confession time: I only wash my hair three times a week, and wash my face precisely once a day. I know what you're thinking, gross! Am I right? Well, hate the idea as much as you want, but I promise you'll begin seeing the benefits in the not too distant future.

It's taken me almost a year to kick the habit of washing my hair every day. You see my hair fell under the F/R/AZY category, think Fine, Frizzy, Wavy, and while I'm at it, pretty darn tired. My hair lacked life, vitality, shine, and general style, but now that I wash my hair every other day my hair remains grease-free for longer spans of time, it can also hold a curl for more than a day, and the frizzy fly aways are truly a thing of the past.

Time, and the commitment to this restrictive washing schedule cured my hair woes. Your scalp's natural oils are your best friend, so stop trying to rob your hair, and give it [fewer shampoo sessions] a go, even for just a couple of weeks. Truth be told, I've gone up to four days without washing my hair, and I felt like Kramer pushing the gas gauge to the way beyond. 

As for the once a day face washing, that's only a recent revelation, and I have NARS' makeup artist Beck to thank for that. During a consultation last week I complained that my liquid foundation was sliding down my face, pooling around my nostrils, and settling within the pores and fine lines (sneaky buggers). Upon hearing this bit of information, Beck asked, "how many times a day do you wash your face?" I proudly exclaimed, "twice a day!"

Heck, I thought I was doing it right by keeping my face squeaky clean.

Beck went onto explain that once a day is more than sufficient. Excessive cleansing forces the skin to overproduce sebum in an effort to rehydrate itself. Sebum is not the enemy as it keeps the skin properly moisturised, and it also works as a natural barrier to protect the skin. It's important to note the presence of too much sebum can make your foundation fail, causes nasty breakouts, or might even lead to acne. 

Going forward Beck requested that I pamper my skin at night, and only rinse my face off with lukewarm water in the morning before applying any skin care products, and makeup. I'm only a few days into this experiment -- the shine across my T-Zone isn't nearly as bad as it used to be. Let's see if normal skin is in the cards for me, and maybe even you.

Food for thought: You'll be using facial cleanser, shampoo, and conditioner a lot less. Maybe it's time to treat yo self, and invest in the luxe stuff as it'll last longer! 

// For further reading:

The Real Dirt on Face Washing

Skincare Basics: How to Wash Your Face

Kookai does Vegas for AW15

Sneaky snap of Siobhan touching up her makeup

Last week I found myself amidst the backstage mayhem prior to the start of Kookai's fashion show. It wasn't really mayhem of course, more like organised chaos - everyone had a station, a role, and a pretty model to paint. I'm still pinching myself about it all, but the highlight of the evening was meeting Napoleon Perdis' Director of Makeup, Siobhan Kelly.

Watch on to see how this fashion show came to life..

And, be sure to check out these links for a bit more information:

• Music by Geowulf - a local, and very talented Aussie.
• Napoleon Perdis' DeVine Goddess Lipstick in Electra (currently sold out).
• Napoleon Perdi's Auto Pilot Lip Service
• Kookai's latest collection for AW 15 - dying to try on the Placid Funnel Neck Top, and The Architect Top!

Thanks for watching!

Special thanks to Two Birds Talking for providing backstage access, as well as allowing me to hang out for the show.