Maybelline Super Stay Gel Nail Colour Review

I've heard a few rave reviews about the formula of these polishes and I've been dying to get my hands on them since. Australia is forever behind on basically all beauty releases so it was a very long wait but I finally saw them at my local Priceline and had to pick them up.

The shade range isn't quite my style, I lean more towards pastels rather than brights but I managed to find three shades that are right up my street in Surreal, Eternal Lilac and Hot Salsa (this photo doesn't really depict the colour well but it's a pretty coral/red shade). I know that in the UK they have a much larger shade range and I can only hope that Australia gets some of those eventually if these prove to be popular.

The formula is very long wearing, 7 days isn't an understatement and my hands get battered from my work so it's a miracle for anything to last 3 days without a chip. With a thick brush, which if you're got narrow nails could border on being too thick, the polish goes on almost fully opaque with another coat required to just touch up a little. The finish is the closest to gel I've ever found in a normal nail polish but it wasn't until I used a polish from a different brand right after using these that I noticed how big of a difference there is. Other than the fact they're super long wearing, one of my favourite things about these is that you can peel the whole nail polish off it's so thick which is weirdly very satisfying.

For under $10 you can't really ask for more from this polish other than more shades please! A very pale pastel blue and a white would be nice..

Makeup/Skincare Haul

As a girl who is trying to save right now there are far more products in this haul than there should be but alas I can't resist a good sale and I usually know what I want and wait for it to be discounted before I give in. It's been months since my last haul and some of these are more recent and others are a bit older but all worth mentioning.

Starting with skincare the Origins Drink Up Intensive overnight mask has become my life saver. I spend a lot of time in air conditioning/heating at my work and I've found it completely dries out my skin. If I'm doing a real pamper I pair this with the Aesop Parsley Seed Mask to really cleanse my face of all the bad stuff and then use this to nourish it so it's not so stripped of moisture. It's not overly expensive in the scheme of things for skincare in Australia and you don't need a lot so I think it's a good price point, available through Kit Cosmetics or Mecca Cosmetica.

I believe this is my third pot of the Dirty Works Buttery Salt Scrub that I have going as I live in fear of it being discontinued, it's insanely affordable and a beautiful body scrub that leaves the skin feeling lovely and smooth. Follow with a really nice moisturiser or body butter and your skin will love you for it. I've only seen it at Coles supermarkets but a quick google found two places online that stock it for Australians, internationally I think this one will be a bit harder to access unfortunately.

Bioderma, Bioderma, Bioderma, this wonder product is so expensive in Australia by comparison to France it's ridiculous but fortunately my dad was in France last month and picked me up a 500ml bottle (we don't even have this size in Australia) for under 10 Euros which was a complete bargain and cheaper than a 250ml bottle here. If you know someone going to France get them to leave room in their suitcase to pick you up a bottle, it'll be well worth it.

Face wipes are such a hush hush topic in the beauty world but the reality is that when it's 11 o'clock at night and I've got a full face of make up, I just want it off so I can go to sleep already and I don't care how it happens as long as it doesn't make me drift to sleep standing up. I figure it's better for your skin to remove it rather than sleep with it still on no matter if it's a wipe or a whole skincare regime that does it and this is what inspired the Yes To Cucumber Soothing Towelettes (brownie points for those who get the Glee reference with towelettes) purchase. They're cheap, supposedly soothing which if you've been to a party is always a good idea and will hopefully just do what they say on the packet which is all I can ask for.

I've been in a bit of a nail polish funk of recent, I've become over my nail polish collection and no colour is the right colour but I don't want bare nails. I saw my lovely friend Phoebe wearing the Maybelline Color Show polish in Audacious Asphalt and it looked so good on her that I had to buy it for myself. I don't think I pull it off as well as her but I like it and I'm quite fond of the lighter shade compared to my usual grey polish go-to Essie's Master Plan.

If you haven't noticed, I really love nail polish and it's not often that I hear a formula raved on about as much as I've heard for the Maybelline Super Stay 7 days polishes. The range in my local Priceline was limited with about 8 shades and it's not even online yet but I picked up Surreal, a purply denim blue which I love and Eternal Lilac which is quite a bright pinky/purple and one I'm sure I'll be bringing out in Spring/Summer. The opacity is great, two coats with the really thick brush and your set, I can't speak for the lasting power yet but keep your eyes peeled for a full review.

I'm lucky in that I'm not self conscious about my skin so often I go without a base at all but sometimes a slight amount of coverage just brightens your complexion and this is where the Rimmel Wake Me Up concealer comes in. The shade range is basic but the yellow tones of ivory counteract my very rosy skin and covers The Vein, a dark blue annoyance under my left eye. I wear this most days under my eyes and sometimes on my cheeks if I'm over having rosy cheeks that day. It doesn't crease on me, it's brightening and it seems to last well but I'm very limited in my concealer testing so don't just listen to what I say.

As mentioned before my dad was in France last month and what kind of daughter would I be if I didn't at least try to get a present from Sephora? I sent him in search of the Sephora Cream Lip Stain in Always Red (Amelia Liana and Lily Pebbles are to blame for this) amongst the Parisian sales and he returned with this beauty and a story about the man who helped him find it. I will be doing a full review in a few weeks (there's a reason why it's postponed which you'll find out about) so look out for it but it's definitely going to be a rave.

I've been needing some eye brushes for far too long now, over a year at least and when the Real Techniques brushes were 25% off I decided it was time. The Your Eyes Enhanced starter set contains 5 brushes which cover your blending, packing on and lining requirements which high quality brushes and I picked up the single shading brush as well which is amazing. Having good eye make up brushes (and multiples of them too) really changes eye make up looks and is essential, more so than a lot of base brushes which are interchangeable with fingers. So glad I finally invested in a set and I'm thinking another shading brush needs to happen soon as well.

On the mascara front I've had two $10 bargains that I couldn't resist, the first is a repurchase of the Maybelline One by One mascara which is a daily mascara favourite for the past few months. One light layer and then another over the top once it's dried gives a really fluttery effect on my lashes, it's volumising and lengthening but not OTT and most definitely not clumpy. Mascara is quite dramatic on my mostly blonde lashes so during the day I don't like anything too intense and this fits the bill. 

The Maybelline The Falsies Big Eyes is a very recent launch in Australia and I ummed and ahhed about it until I bit the bullet and decided that worst comes to worst I get a bottom lash mascara out of it. I went for the waterproof formula for a change and it's most definitely waterproof let me tell you, bioderma didn't budge it and I needed an oil based cleanser to get it off and it still took a bit of effort. I've only tried it once but it held the curl really well for the few hours I had it on, it gave me volume, length and was truly black. It's quite a dry mascara and I found the application almost a little scratchy on my lashes but with two layers it wasn't clumpy which was good. A mascara round up post is due on here once I get my act together and I expect this one will be included for a dramatic mascara.

And I made it, that was a long one and was totally my own fault. What have you sneakily purchased recently? Or maybe don't tell me otherwise I'll want to buy more things..

Maybelline Express Remover Review

I first saw this concept with the release of the Bourjois Magic Nail Polish Remover quite a while ago and have been waiting for it to hit Australia's shores since. Maybelline seem to have beaten them to it with the Maybelline Express Remover being released here a few months ago.

I paint my nails a lot, depending on what I have going on it can be up to 3 times a week (excessive, I know), so fast removal is really convenient for me and worth the 10 Australian dollars for a few months of use.

I'm onto my second pot, the first is now filled with confetti polish speckles and stains my finger pink because of all the red polish I've taken off with it. It's not 'one dip' but by pressing gently on the spongey sides and moving your finger around, removal takes seconds and there are no acetone soaked cotton pads to worry about cleaning up!

It's fuss free, quick and even though I'm usually sceptical of acetone free nail polish removers this one does work really well. It's the lazy nail polish wearers dream and available from Priceline and some supermarkets in Australia.

Pastel Paint Palette Nail Art

A while back I read Lily Pebbles' post on paint palette nail art and loved it, promptly recreated it and uploaded a very low quality to instagram. Months later I am bringing what was a quite simple technique (no odd tools required) back but in pastel.

I love pastel polish year round, my nails are the only place I really wear much colour and I think it's a gentle pop amongst my primarily monochrome outfit choices. I'm not big on 'nail trends' so my colour choices are rarely influenced by season but this would be more of a summer choice for some but I'm wearing it in Autumn right now.

With a simple white base (a shade that if you're into a little bit of nail art, you need to have and I recommend buying a decent one, not just the cheapest one from the supermarket like I did) paint over the nail as many coats as required until fully opaque. I used Sally Hanses Hard As Nails Xtreme Wear polish in White On. I did this step the night before so it was fully dry but either use a quick dry top coat to shorten the process or wait an hour so the polish won't move when you paint over it.

I'd personally go with four or five shades but use what you have. I went for Essie's Go Ginza (pastel pink), Essie's Bikini So Teeny (darkest blue), Maybelline Color Show in Green With Envy (the deeper green), L'Oreal Color Riche in French Riviera (very pale blue) and Covergirl's Outlast Stay Brilliant polish in Lav-Endure (pastel purple).

Wipe the majority of polish off the brush so it's going to be slightly streaky and uneven, and gently do a small stroke over the nail. You can place this randomly or strategically depending if you want the art to be uniform on all nails or different. If the colour didn't show up as much as you'd wanted, you can easily go over it again with the same process. It's better to have less and add because you can't take any away without starting over.

Repeat this on every nail, one colour at a time to make it simpler. Because the strokes are thin they'll dry quite quickly and some of the colours don't overlap at all so you can do those at the same time. Repeat this process for all colours on all nails and finish off with a topcoat after a few hours so the colours don't blend together and you're finished!

It's a simple introduction into the nail art world and I really loved the results. Let me know in the comments if you'll be trying the paint palette look.

Speckled Nail Art

I love a bit of nail art but often it's a bit of a faff to do for something that only lasts a couple of days. That's why when I saw the L'Oreal Color Riche top coat effect in confettis I was very intrigued and alongside the low price point I bought it and gave it a try.

Being a top coat effect you of course need a base colour, I used a simple cheap white nail polish for a statement but I think a grey (Essie's Master Plan is my favourite) or even perhaps a red would work nicely. The white polish did hide the white speckles but I love monochrome contrast so that didn't matter to me. I found it was an easier adjustment into the white-out nail polish trend with the addition of speckles to break it up a little and make it look more polished.

Removal was the worst part but it was only mildly traumatic and only makes me slightly hesitant to do it again. One hand at a time wrap half a cotton pad that has been soaked in an acetone based nail polish remover around the nail. Over the top of that cover the finger in foil and leave for a few minutes before taking off the foil and wiping away the polish. This will get the majority of the speckles off but you'll need to go back to get the cling-ons. Lily Pebbles explains this process much better in her post but you get the gist.

What do you think of the speckled nail effect? Will you be tempted to try this soon?

Nailed It!

I don't think it would be an exaggeration to call me a bit nail polish obsessed.. With almost 40 lined up on my mantle in the past few years I have gained quite the collection but I have a few go to colours that I wear year round, no matter the trends.

Ever since they became easier to access in Australia, I have been collecting Essie nail polishes. Every now and again they come out on sale for about $10 and I pick up a shade.. or two. The quality of the polish is great, I can wear them for over 5 days easily with only slight tip wear without a top or base coat and if my nails are buffed and filed it looks very much like I've had a professional gel manicure. I do however wear about five shades in rotation almost constantly.

Bikini So Teeny - the light blue shade that it seems most have in their collection. It adds a perfect pop of colour for a monochrome outfit and is the perfect pastel blue.

Mint Candy Apple - another shade that pops up in a lot of people's nail polish collection and I don't blame them. For a person who hates green, I really love this colour and just for that I put up with it requiring three coats for it to have a perfect finish.

Go Ginza - a lavender/pastel purple that is the most recent colour in circulation of what I put on my nails. It's bright, it's happy and perhaps a little juvenile but the most colour I wear is on my nails so I think it's acceptable. A dupe however which is over half the price is the Covergirl Outlast nail gloss in Lav-endure which is almost identical, just a little bit more lavender than pastel and has reasonably good staying power.

Lapiz of Luxury - not my favourite of the five polishes but still a great colour if pastel polish is not your thing. Again on me this requires three coats but that could just indicate I am rubbish at painting my nails.

Forever Yummy - the perfect red, it's dark without being dull and exclusively wintery and cheery enough to be worn at Christmas time. I wear this on my toe nails almost permanently and if I'm going on holiday this is my shade of choice because it is so versatile (although I wouldn't recommend it if you're going swimming on this holiday, it will chip like nobody's business if in water for too long like most polishes). Pair it with a little black dress or shorts and a t-shirt and it works.

What are your favourite Essie nail polish shades? I think I might have to start keeping a wish list and put away some pennies in preparation for them going on sale.