So basically I’ve decided to start a new blog and won’t be posting here. So why? I guess I just haven’t been feeling it of late and even a design change etc I don’t think is going to get me out of my rut so thats why I’ve decided to start fresh (not even importing my 2 years of posts! woah!). It’s a little crazy but hey what the hell!

I’m still going to talk beauty over there, but also other things – whatever I feel like really… I hope you’ll come visit some time and if you don’t that’s cool too

new blog is at – http://www.pinkdynamite.net

I have explained everything a little better over there anyway! FYI I’ll be keeping this blog up but just won’t be updating it.

I don’t really know how to sign off so….byeeeeeeeeee!

These palettes are from Napoleons more “budget friendly” range NP Set which is available in department stores (Pretty sure BIG W has a sale on these products this week…go go go). I honestly can’t see the difference between these more pocket friendly products and the normal range, so for me it’s pocket friendly each time.

I was sent these palettes to try out (eons ago… yep bit slow on the ol blogging front over here) and I thought they were the perfect option for someone just starting to get into makeup (younger girls, i’m looking at you!). At a very wallet friendly price of $29 each you get yourself 4 lovely eyeshadows which are nicely pigmented, easy to blend and with a kick ass eye primer hold out throughout the day. You also get 4 lipglosses (to be honest i’m not a fan of these, just because it’s a bit impractical to take this palette for touch ups) and lastly, there are 2 blush colours!

Onto the sets, you have a choice of 2 sets which makes life easier… ask yourself the question are you a neutral girl or a little more daring?

The Glam Set is for your more neutral loving girl, the shadows in this are right up my alley and the 4 shades compliment each other really nicely and make for some nice easy eye looks.

The blushes are meant to be a contour and highlight blush I think, these did not work for me at all. The darker colour was just too dark for my fair skin, it may however work for you.

Here are some close ups of the palette and some swatches

Sorry I didn’t bother doing the lip glosses, the swatches I tried were way to sheer and really didn’t show anything at all.

The Red Carpet set is a little brighter and bolder, you can experiment a little more with the eyeshadow colours while still maintaining a quite neutral look if thats what you prefer.

When I first received this the thing I was most excited about was the blushes in this particular set… bright bold and exactly what I am into right now, the blushes on their own are fantastic and highly pigmented but I made a little discovery! Mixing these blushes together gives the most perfect pinky coral cheek….quite similar to one of my favourite blushes, the limited edition MAC Ripe Peach blush. I did a swatch of the colours blended together on their own so you can see for yourself.

Ahhh I just love them mixed together!!!

So overall these palettes are a nice addition to my makeup collection, personally if I could choose i’d have the neutral eyeshadows with the 2 bright blushes and no lip glosses in my ideal NP Set palette.

If your interested in purchasing this you can find NP Set at Target, Big W and now TVSN!

Products mentioned were provided for my consideration, please read my disclosure policy for further information.

Because of the great weather I decided to have a fun nail weekend and decided to try out the new Australis Nail Colour that I got sent in the shade Flip Flops… it’s blue, it’s sparkly, it’s awesome! It’s also limited edition so get thee booty to Priceline or the like and pick one up.. it’ll only set you back a RRP of $7.95AUD.

The formula is lovely, I could have gone with 1 coat and been out the door but i’m a stickler for putting 2 coats of polish on and a top coat (Seche Vite).

The royal blue with a gorgeous lighter blue shimmer is perfect for those warm days, or perhaps you want to channel your inner Beyonce and honour the birth of Blue Ivy like Beyonce recently did on her first public appearance since giving birth.

A bit of a close up to see the glitter a bit better, ignore my crappy application of the polish. I was in a rush to take these before I went out for the day.

This product was sent to me for my consideration, all opinions are honest and my own. For further information please read my disclosure policy.

1. Wella Brilliance Conditioner – RRP $24AUD *

LOVED this conditioner, it smells amazing and made my hair feel incredibly soft and manageable. The thing I love most is the smell actually lasts and my hair stays fresh for days! Repurchase? Yep, I would!

2. John Frieda Sheer Blonde Colour Renew Tone-Refreshing Shampoo RRP $17.99AUD 

I need a good purple shampoo to keep my blonde from going brassy, I remember picking this one up at Priceline when there was a sale on John Frieda products since my usual go-to Blonde shampoo’s are a bit on the pricier side. This isn’t a deep purple shampoo the purple colour is quite light. Basically it does nothing for my blonde hair so it’s headed to the beauty graveyard. Repurchase? Nope!

3. John Frieda Sheer Blonde Go Blonder Lightening Conditioner RRP $17.99AUD

I picked this one up the same time as the above, I also got the Shampoo in the Go Blonder range but i’m still using that. I saw Make Up By TiffanyD review this on her YouTube channel and she mentioned she used it in between salon colourings to keep her dark roots at bay, I thought if this works it’ll be brilliant. So it didn’t really help with my root situation it may have slightly lightened them (in conjunction with the shampoo) but it is actually a really nice conditioner! Repurchase? I would but haven’t as yet

4. Lush It’s Raining Men Shower Gel RRP $30.50AUD (500g)

Honey I Washed The Kids is one of my favourite scents you can get from Lush, this is the shower gel version! I am more of a fan of shower gels then soap so I was so happy when they released this last year for Valentines Day. I was even happier when I found out it was going to be a permanent part of the line (no more scrimping on using it!) Repurchase? NEED ANOTHER ONE NOW!

5. Dove Go Fresh Revive Nourishing Body Wash RRP $7.36AUD *

The bottle looks like it’s been handled by The Hulk, this is the result of the boyfriend using my body wash! It’s nicely scented with Pomegranate and Lemon Verbena and is moisturising on the skin. I like it! Repurchase? I bought the Nectarine & White Ginger one from the range

6. Neutrogena Deep Clean Cream Cleanser RRP $13.99AUD

This product has been a staple of mine since I was a teenager, it’s refreshing on the skin and doesn’t dry my skin out. It takes away the day and doesn’t leave a trace of makeup Repurchase? I need to, I feel lost without one!

7. Nivea Invisible Black & White Clear Roll On RRP $3.79AUD *

It’s a roll on deodorant, nothing too special about this one. It does its job and smells fine. Repurchase? Possibly if it was on sale or something

8. BioEffect EGF Serum Sample Bottles – RRP $180AUD (15mls) *

I’ve received 3 of these samples and used up 2. I actually really like this serum it made my skin look and feel amazing when I used it. What I don’t like is the price! So expensive! Repurchase? Wayyyy out of my budget, so no

9. QV Face Rescue Gel – RRP $19.95AUD *

This product is for calming the skin, It couldn’t have come at a better time when my skin was having major issues (due to a product i’ll be mentioning in this post very soon). It helped calm and give it a bit of an extra moisture boost. I also used it as a skin reliever when the boyfriend had really bad sunburn a few weeks back. IT WAS SO GOOD! Repurchase? YES!

10. Garnier Youthful Radiance Multi-Action Night Cream – RRP $13.95AUD

For years Garnier have always been my go-to brand if I run out of night cream, i’ll grab a Garnier one… I don’t know why either? I managed to pick this one up for an absolute steal (around $5) and I really liked it, the scent is quite strong but it gave my skin a lovely overnight moisture boost! Repurchase? Yep!

11. Lapurete Resurrection Night Cream with Okuru – RRP $59.90AUD *

Sorry but no love at all for this product, it’s meant to be natures botox but it just broke me out badly and made my skin completely dry and flakey for weeks on end. I had to go into a lot of damage control after using this product. Repurchase? No Way Jose

Products marked with * were provided for my consideration, all opinions are honest and my own. For further information please read my disclosure policy.

This is frustrating as I know this is how I’ve come to follow all my blogs, and it’s what I use so people can also follow me.

I’m not entirely sure if once this comes into effect that the current subscriptions will stop updating on Google Reader, so i’ve decided to let you all know of other ways you can find my blog and follow it

• The easiest thing to do is follow this blog via bloglovin, Click Here to follow me!
• I also tweet a lot, and on my twitter I automatically update on any new blog posts or videos
• Facebook is another option! Like my page to receive updates straight to your facebook timeline! 
• I have setup a Google+ account for the blog as well, It might take awhile to get used to it but it is there!
• Subscribe to my YouTube channel! 

Now not totally blog related or whatever but you can also find me on the following websites if they interest you at all!

• I have a tumblr that I sometimes go on major tumble spree’s on, but honestly it’s quite neglected!
• I am utterly addicted to Pinterest! I can get lost for hours on that website
• Another slight addiction of mine, Instagram! I love this app and am often “instagramming” 

Now you have no excuse to not continue to read this blog

Something else I wanted to share with you, I had a panic about 40mins ago thinking if google friend connect is going to stop following my favourite blogs, how do I keep updated with them all (I read a lot of blogs). I then found a way to import your blog list from google reader into Bloglovin! YAY!

Here’s how to do it

1. In your google reader account, go to ‘settings’

2. Click on the tab with Import/Export

3. On the ‘Export Information’ graph there will be a download on OPML column and the first line ‘subscriptions’. Download this file.

4. Go to - http://www.bloglovin.com/import

5. Upload the file you downloaded from Google Reader

6. DONE!

I’m pretty sure it only imports the blogs that are currently on Bloglovin, but it’s at least a start.

I am keeping the Google Friend Connect widget on my blog for the time being, I will remove it once it has stopped working. I am also working on fixing my RSS feed which is down for some reason and getting badges for the new G+ page etc. Sometimes blogging isn’t all makeup and fun

When the initial palette was released it was like trying to pull teeth trying to get your hands on one and get it shipped to Australia, but luckily the UK online store Beauty Bay  came to the party and stocked and shipped them to us lucky Aussies.

Guess what? THEY HAVE THE NAKED 2! and wanna know something else? FREE WORLDWIDE SHIPPING (at time of posting this).

So of course as soon as I got the email, I ordered one and am now patiently waiting for it to arrive. All up with currency conversion it cost $55 which is less then 2 MAC eyeshadows here.

image from beautybay.com

1. January Bellabox - See me opening the BellaBox beauty subscription box, The video cut out at the end (for some reason this ALWAYS happens on my BellaBox videos? weird!) I didn’t realize until after it was uploaded and didn’t really have time to fix it up. Sorry! You still get to see all the contents of the box though. My thoughts on it this month were a bit mixed, I thought there were too many sachet product samples and I was really confused by the perfume I was given. I also think the lip balm provided while it’s nice it’s a full size, the actually price of the product is an absolute rip off!

2. My Nail Polish Obsession Tag – This is a tag video! I haven’t done one in ages and they are loads of fun, let me know if you find any fun ones that I can do in the future

I have also been doing weekly vlog videos focusing on my health and fitness journey! I’m probably not going to post these on here but if you want to check them out feel free to subscribe to me on youtube or just go watch them. My direct youtube link is – http://www.youtube.com/user/vulcanellaxo

I love this product, it’s by Face of Australia and it’s a total dupe for the NARS Orgasm Illuminator!

This is a limited edition product, so if your looking to pick it up.. get thee to store now!

When I first swatched this in Priceline I ummm’ed and ahhh’ed over it, would I really use a highlighter that’s pigmented and not really a traditional highlighter colour? Then I couldn’t stop thinking about it and imagined how I would use it, now I can’t see myself without it (and i’m tempted to go buy the rest of the colours).

The consistancy of the product is quite thin, but it is very pigmented and easy to blend into the skin. You do have to be careful though because you may get a bit of product overload come out (see swatches below for a great example!).

The colour though, wowza! If you’re a fan of NARS Orgasm get this! It is an absolutely gorgeous peachy pink with a fine gold shimmer. I think it’s one of those colours that universally suits all skin tones.

I find the best way to wear it is more as an enhancement on my blush, so i’ll put on my blush and then dot a bit of the Illuminator on the top points of my blush and blend in. I have no idea if this is what you’re meant to do but it works for me.

Let’s see this bad boy (or girl) in action. This is a photo I took in the car on NYE my first outing with the Illuminator on. Yeah I like heavy blush

Details!!!

There are 4 colours in this range, and as said earlier they are limited edition! You can pick them up for RRP $14.95AUD from all the usual Face of Australia stockists.

Here is a recent FOTD using the Mineral Therapy Illuminator

Products Used -

Foundation – Illamasqua Skin Base in 07 & Boujois Healthy Mix in 02

Eyes – Naked Palette (Sin on eyelid, Virgin on brow bone, Buck in crease, Half Baked in the middle of the eyelid, Creep in the outer corner), Face of Australia Liquid Eyeliner, Maybelline Colossal Volume Mascara)

Cheeks – NYX Glow & Face of Australia Mineral Therapy Illuminator in Angel Fire

Lips – Revlon Carnation

Product was purchased by me at P to the riceline  

The Revlon Moon Drops lipsticks aren’t readily available in Australia but they seem to be available in the US, so if you can get your hands on them, lucky you!

The lipsticks themselves are moisturising and long lasting, the pink colour especially lasted ages on me even to the point it kind of stained my lips.

The one thing I don’t like is the smell, they smell a bit “older lady” to me, it’s a small thing but I thought i’d better mention it.

The 2 colours I got were brights from the range…surprise surprise! It seemed my local Cosmo Cosmetics had quite a good range of colours as well so I may go back and get a few more!

The colours I picked up were Blase Apricot & Lilac Champagne

You can find Cosmo Cosmetics at these locations (I’m not entirely sure if they all sell the same products though, sorry!)

Also, I’m just getting these locations from google so if the stores are no longer there… oops! I do know for sure the Parramatta and Merrylands stores are open

Cosmo Cosmetics – Parramatta

256 Church Street

Parramatta NSW
(02)9633 1522

Cosmo Cosmetics – Merrylands

Stockland Mall, Merrylands

Cosmo Cosmetics – Hornsby

Pacific Hwy
Hornsby NSW
(02) 9482 4988

Cosmo Cosmetics – Sydney City

Met Centre, George Street

Sydney