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Beauty Spot: Cosmoprof Hong Kong 2011

Posted on December 4, 2011 | 2 comments

I had heard of a mystical wonderland called Cosmoprof on other beauty blogs.

This mystical wonderland was a magical place where you could get sneak previews of new nail polish lines, discover secret cool cosmetics brands, get to try products so new they didn’t even have names, hob-nob with the great and the good of the make-up world and generally hang out with other beauty addicts. So I was extremely excited when an invitation to Cosmoprof landed in my letterbox!

Unfortunately, Cosmoprof turned out to be less a Wonderland and more a ‘Wonder what the hell I’m doing here’ land. Although at least I got this awesome visitor pass – yes, ‘Through The Looking Glass Blog’ is famous! Well, sort of.

Just for those not in know, Cosmoprof is a super-huge-massive-enormous beauty trade show that lands in the HKCEC once every year – with numerous other high-profile international destinations too. There are booths and exhibitors for every beauty product and machine you could think of (and probably a few you wish you couldn’t) but really, it’s for brands to find distributors/buyers and for businesses to find products. So quite how bloggers started coming along for the ride I’m not entirely sure!

Luckily, I went along with the gorgeous Georgie, who as a beauty salon owner actually had a valid reason for going. She was great company and her proper business credentials meant that I didn’t feel such a fraud!

Georgie ended up visiting Cosmoprof on all three days that it ran – and may I extend my deepest sympathies to her feet, which are probably bloodied stumps by now. Seriously, I can’t remember the last time I walked so much! The booths were spread over three or four floors, jam-packing each huge stadium-sized room like sardines in a tin (where I saw Kylie a few months before and where my position remained relatively stationary!)… suffice to say, I won’t be doing a fun-run, let alone a marathon, anytime soon! After just a few hours, I was knackered – the things I’ll do for make-up!

I was actually invited to Cosmoprof by the gorgeous Clara of MOR Cosmetics, an Australian brand I had never previously heard of. And, despite everything, I’m SO glad Clara did invite me because MOR Cosmetics are a definite keeper!

I was totally wow-ed by this brand and it was by far the highlight of the day – which had I known when I set out to visit them first thing, I might have planned to end things on a high instead! All of MOR Cosmetics’ products look and smell totally deluxe-ly divine and I wanted them all! They specialise mainly in bath and body care, with a few cute lip products too, but encased in the most beautiful, classical ancient Greek and Roman-inspired packaging.

Just look at this packaging and tell me it isn’t irresistible?! I honestly don’t know if I’d ever be able to rip off that beautiful embossed wrapping paper to use the stuff inside! The scents were just utterly delicious too – Georgie and I really loved the Lychee Flower Soap, whose light fresh fruity scent was near enough edible!

Unfortunately, MOR Cosmetics aren’t yet available in Hong Kong – although that might be a good thing as I’m sure large chunks of my bank balance would disappear into an MOR shaped hole! I think these perfectly-packaged pretties would go down a storm here (they remind me a little of Fresh, which is sold in Lane Crawford) and if you do live somewhere where MOR is available, the gift sets would make absolutely wonderful Christmas presents *hint hint*.

The ladies at MOR were also really lovely and welcoming, which unfortunately cannot be said of most of the booths I visited. I encountered plenty of really interesting and gorgeous products but sadly, once vendors found out that I didn’t have a business to stock, the conversation was over. Could I take photos? No. Could I read the brochure? No. Could I look more closely at the products? Take a guess what the answer was.

I instead took to snapping ninja photos, so excuse the poor quality!

Gosh Cosmetics had a fabulous display of their range – and I was both excited and disappointed to see they had so much that wasn’t available in Hong Kong. They had SO much make-up, much of it looked fabulous and, when I swatched some, the quality seemed good too. They also had a much more extensive range of skincare and body products, which I hope they bring over as all my Gosh experiences have been pretty great so far.

Of course, I had to get a photo of these nail glitters. I’ve read about them somewhere before and think this is such a fun idea! Basically, it’s a pot of dazzle dust that you stick your freshly-painted fingernail into for a glitzy glamorous glittering look! I asked and these WILL be coming to Hong Kong, sometime in 2012, and the price (as with all Gosh stuff) sounded very reasonable indeed!

Australian drugstore brand BYS also had a huge display of their cosmetics, which I pored over happily. Of course, I wasn’t allowed to take photos, but I’d already snapped a few so never mind! They had a massive range of nail polish, which I was salivating over, with some really innovative (and competitively-priced) products. There were tonnes of shatters, of course, but I was more interested in these Colour Change Polishes (which takes me back the days of my mood stone… and even further back to my childhood Barbie whose dress changed colour in different temperatures!) and UV Polishes that glow under UV lights in clubs, which is a totally awesome concept. [And you can just see to the left some very glittery and highly covetable Wonderland Polishes, no doubt inspired by OPI’s sell-out Alice In Wonderland collection.]

Meanwhile, these Animal Instincts palettes were just too pretty not to show you! I did learn that BYS do international shipping, so I’m currently sorting through their enormous online catalogue to sift through what I want!

I also spotted Barielle Nail Polish, which had a few standout colours (Georgie and I were obsessed with Falling Star, a lush sky blue with copper glitter), and Palladio Beauty, whose herbal lipsticks intrigued me – but again both aren’t sold here!

My other major lust moment of the day came with Golden Rose, who have some of their nail polishes in the Colormix vats here (and alas, none of their really cool stuff, like flakies and holos), but nothing else. Well, we are missing out BIG TIME. As you know, I’m obsessed with mineralised baked cosmically awesome eye shadows – and Golden Rose has a whole galaxy of these Terracotta Eyeshadows available! These were a huge range of stunning swirls of marbleised colour, glittery, shimmery, intensely-pigmented, multi-dimensional and super-soft to the touch. I bet they’re a hell of a lot more affordable than the MAC ones I keep being conned into buying!

I also really liked the gorgeous retro packaging of these Coca-Cola cosmetics. These were at the same booth as the Coca-Cola Lip Smackers that are currently available at Sasa/Watsons/Mannings so I’m hopeful these will be brought to HK. The line consisted of lip balms, glosses and body cream – the left is Vanilla Coke, the middle regular Coke and the right Cherry Coke. Vanilla was the one that smelt the most divine, whilst regular was my ultimate favourite packaging. [Note: I have a vested interest in these as my boyfriend is a Coca-Cola fiend and I bought him a framed vintage poster, very similar to these, last Christmas!]

And well, we all love Swarovksi-encrusted nail files and Hello Kitty cuteness, right?! I particularly love Geek Chic HK!

And finally, a few shots to show yow just how random Cosmoprof was. This is a poorly-attended yoga display, happening right in the middle of all the action with absolutely no-one but press paying attention!

And here is a man having a crazy-ass treatment done to his face. At the next stall, there was a woman with a dripping face-mask being (badly!) applied. Georgie and I pondered the purpose of an egg-shaped cocoon, only to walk round and discover a model wearing nothing but a bikini and glum expression slumped inside. No-one talking or interacting with her… too miserable a scene to take a picture of!

So there you have it! Cosmoprof – not quite the mystical wonderland of my wildest dreams but a mix of interesting and exhausting nonetheless! Even if non-one wanted to talk to me!

Cosmoprof Hong Kong 2011, 9-11 November, HKCEC.
Cosmoprof HK 2012 will be held on 14-16 November.

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Jack Wills is opening in Hong Kong… and it’s Fabulously British!

Posted on November 27, 2011 | 7 comments

Amidst all the new international store openings in Hong Kong (Abercrombie & Fitch, Hollister, American Eagle, Gap, Forever 21), one store has quietly sneaked in under the radar… and may just eclipse them all. Ladies and gents, may I introduce you to Jack Wills.

And it definitely is an introduction. When I mentioned Jack Wills to most of my HK friends, the resounding response was ‘Who?!’. Having lived, attended school and gone to university in the UK, I was very familiar with Mr Wills. It was just getting big when I left around 4 years ago; Nottingham, the big university town where I spent far too many of my formative years, had just got its own store and had basically become THE uniform of choice for nearly everyone from my old school and uni.

The typical Jack Wills wearer then was:

In case you don’t know, that’s JP (played by Jack Whitehall) from  Fresh Meat (and do watch it, it’s hilarious), who basically epitomises near enough every person I went to school and uni with. JP would probably pronounce Jack Wills as “totally rape”… but enough Fresh Meat in-jokes!

Back then Jack Wills was very much a preppy British A&F, beloved by poshos and public schools (their tagline is ‘University Outfitters’, after all). Round my parts, we call these people ‘rah’s – for girls, think Ugg boots, sweat pants, all-enveloping scarves and big artfully-tousled bed-hair; for guys, think rugby shirts with collars never anything but up, lived-in jeans or board shorts determinedly worn in a country and climate that really doesn’t warrant having your hairy legs out for 8 months of the year.

Seriously, I could spot people from my school long after I’d left from the fact their hair was fluffed up to about five times the size of their body and that they were slouching about in sweats with ‘Jack Wills’ emblazoned on their arse. And as you’re probably now realising, I might just be a bit of a rah too. Like blates. But sadly, without the budget!

So I was already more than interested in Jack Wills opening in Hong Kong and the chance for me to relive my rah days. But, having attended a preview of their new store, I am now no longer interested, but EXTREMELY BLOODY EXCITED.

What became clear, especially after chatting to the fabulous Rachel Johnson, head of womenswear (and with a totes awesome first name, may I just add), is that Jack Wills has come on leaps and bounds since my time in the UK. Yes, there’s still rugby shirts, sweatpants and checked shirts galore, but now there’s so very much more too.

I was blown away by their range of dresses, all of which were immediately covetable, absolutely gorgeous and yet still had that signature Jack Wills feel about them. My heart did a little hop, skip and jump of delight when one of the models came out in the spotted black dress above – the very dress I pointed out to my friend a few moments before from the lookbook, stating ‘It must be mine.’

I was also rather enamoured with their fur capes, sparkly cardigans and fabulous tweed-y outdoors coats (with adorable metal anchor-embossed buttons – its the little details that count!) – here’s hoping HK actually gets cold enough to wear them! I’m also going through a cute print underwear and legwarmer obsession, so you can imagine what I made of the box of treasures below!

I loved the way the outfits were styled too – classic but still fashionable and in a way that felt distinctly British. I was also smitten by this Liberty-style print dress (most prints are bespoke to JW), paired with a slouchy knit cardigan, the perfect mix between dressed up and dressed down; all I have to say is, yes, yes YES! And this mannequin, showcasing sparkly sequinned shorts matched with a plain tee and statement-outfit making red blazer (I’m getting Claudia Winkleman vibes off this look) – even more YES! Even if I’d probably never be able to pull it off myself…

The great thing, especially for someone like me who buys what I like rather than paying close attention to whatever’s in fashion, is that Jack Wills doesn’t slavishly follow trends but rather forages its own distinctive path. I’d describe it as British heritage with a modern twist but with clothes classic and well-designed enough to last far more than a few seasons. However, unlike other shops that have an easily-identifiable signature look (*cough A&F cough*), Jack Wills doesn’t feel like a one-trick pony stuck in a major sartorial rut.

The other cause for major excitement – they’re doing BEAUTY. I think I totally freaked out Rachel, JW’s lovely brand coordinator Lauren and gorgeous PR extraordinaire Elle with my extreme excited squealing when they told me! It seems, in my time away, that Jack Wills have branched into nearly everything – home décor, mugs, iPhone accessories, jewellery and, obviously much to my delight, cosmetics too. The packaging, in their signature pink and navy stripes, is absolutely beyond cute and everything looks really affordable too. Obviously I can’t wait to get my grubby little mitts onto some of the product to give them a test drive – but that Union Jack tin stuffed with nail polishes?! It may as well have my name written on it!

I also NEED the following make-up bags – well, you can never have too many make-up bags, right?!

The lookbook is basically the cast of Skins having had a shower and minus the hipster posing, mini Rosie Huntington-Whiteleys and Prince Harrys. A sense of quintessential Britishness is as intrinsic to the brand as with Burberry or Mulberry, but at high street prices. (Though not that High Street – I’d say prices are on the more premium side, comparable to Ted Baker or Club Monaco here, but not unreasonable for the quality and with some more affordable basics. Rachel assured me they wouldn’t be jacking up the price tags for the HK market either, and my wallet thanks them hugely). There’s an emphasis on heritage prints, old-school Arran knits and little details, like embossed buttons and vintage-style labels sewn into each piece, that give it a sense of much-loved tradition but with a youthful twist.

I was also totally in love with the store itself. In HK, home to the mega-mall, store anonymity is the norm. The Jack Wills flagship, housed in Leighton Centre (behind G.O.D) in Causeway Bay, is anything but.

Firstly, it’s huge. Two floors, high ceilings, practically a mansion by Hong Kong standards. Yes, A&F may have got the press inches by forcing out Shanghai Tang but, unless they’re going to work wonders, this is actually the much better shop space.

Secondly, it’s amazing. No longer will wandering through M&S be my only port of call when pangs of homesickness strike – I can now go stroke some Jack Wills stuff too! There are so many idiosyncratic little touches, just the right mix between quirky and cool whilst being distinctively and delightfully British, that I can imagine people (especially Mainland tourists) will be popping into the shop just to take photos – and no doubt, grab a few Union Jack emblazoned souvenirs whilst they’re at it. So there’s a fireplace, vintage luggage cases, huge pre-loved Union Jack sofas, sweeping staircases, dazzling chandeliers, walls of haphazardly placed but perfectly-thought-out pictures, neon antlers, stuffed animals (didn’t take any pictures of these, slightly creepy)… oh and did I mention the big Jack Wills-striped Range Rover too?!

In a place where stores rarely have such a quirky sense of individuality expressed in their décor, this makes Jack Wills a very exciting… and enticing… prospect indeed. Their unique brand identity is just so cohesive (even their business cards have the pink and navy stripes!)… flick through their lookbook and everything just goes. It’s a study in easy fluidity yet without trying too hard.

Honestly, I really can’t think of anywhere that could compare to it in HK, which can only be a good thing. For me, another British chain with a similarly strong (though totally different) brand identity would be All Saints – in Notts, its store was an old bank kitted out to feel cutting-edge cool and rock-star gothic; meanwhile, another brand that has the quirky Brit thing would be Ted Baker, although I feel this has pretty much been entirely lost in HK stores (they used to give away condoms in my local one… can’t see that ever happening here!), whilst on the whole cool word-of-mouth front they’re totally doing a Superdry… but with a slightly posher accent!

A verrrry English tea… complete with too pretty to eat cupcakes!

Jack Wills is famous ‘in the industry’ for not doing billboards and conventional advertising, but going by word-of-mouth and viral marketing campaigns; they used to hire pretty young things to wear their clothes (and no doubt look stunning on them) and have Jack Wills beach and pub parties in the UK, all the time promoting the brand and handing out freebies.

I had a little chat about their marketing strategy here, as I was concerned that with all the new stores opening that would be aggressive about their marketing (seen those huge Gap adverts taking over the whole of Central MTR yet?!) and with very little brand recognition to work on, they might get somewhat lost. However, it sounds like they do have some cool tricks up their sleeves (involving HK’s iconic trams and some fab Facebook competitions) and they’ve created a bit of social media buzz already by inviting so many bloggers to check it out – and from what I’ve seen so far, response has been really positive, myself included!

I brought my friend Aurora along, a hot local twenty-something with a shopping addiction almost as bad as mine (i.e. totally JW’s demographic) and no previous knowledge of JW. She was won over within minutes. What she saw even from a half-finished store and a few racks of clothes had her almost as excited about the store as I was. (And here she is above, rocking her Jack Wills goodies far better than I ever could).

Her – and my! – final thoughts? Forget A&F! Head to Jack Wills instead!

Jack Wills will open two stores in HK – at Leighton Centre, Causeway Bay (see artist’s impression above!) and LCX (Ocean Terminal), Tsim Sha Tsui – at the beginning of December. Thanks to Elle and the whole Jack Wills team for inviting me and being so very welcoming and lovely throughout.

I’ll see you all at the launch party!

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London Show Rooms HK: Spring Summer 2012

Posted on November 6, 2011 | 3 comments

Regular readers may remember my Red Carpet Rundowns from awards ceremonies of yore, which generally consisted of me writing in the throes of passion to some stunningly beautiful designer dress. Well now, I’ve actually been and gone and seen and TOUCHED these dresses in person. And they are all SO MUCH MORE AMAZING in person!

But also, in a way, not that much more amazing too. At the end of the day, they are just body-part shaped bits of material, much the same as the body-part shaped bits of material you’d find at H&M, Primark or even the local wet market. Celebs, models and the beautiful people have a way of making you think their garments are some sort of magical mystical cloaks of wonder, elevating them to minor divinity status. But actually, having handled the very garments I’ve swooned at on a pixelated level, I can now tell you – it really is just a dress. No pixie dust, no ethereal glow, no heavens opening sound when you touch them… just a dress after all.

But still exceedingly pretty dresses after all!

Enough rambling and onto the point… I was lucky enough to be invited to the London Show Rooms, a British Council initiative to showcase the work of some of Britain’s hottest designers. Having pored over the recent pics from London Fashion Week, it was honestly like a dream come true!

I went with the lovely Hester from Sassy Hong Kong, and tried to keep my ridiculous squeeing in check in case she realised what a fashion fan-girl I am – especially for someone who generally looks such a state in person!

The event itself was a little weird – I saw someone toting a giant papier–mâché hand, which just about says it all. Apart from the fact that no-one bothered to introduce themselves so I had no idea who worked there or who was just wafting around to cover the event like myself, the biggest downfall was that very few of the dresses were displayed on a body – either real or plastic. These dresses come alive shown on people, yet there were fewer than 10 models standing around the room, strutting their insolent stuff (and yes, I did totally feel like I was in an episode of Next Top Model!). A fashion show, or even a small presentation about the designers (or even just better lighting!), would have done more justice to these wonderful garments.

On the plus side, you were allowed to handle the garments to your heart’s desire. I’m far too intimated by snobby shop assistants to ever try and go into the retail shops myself (Pretty Woman syndrome!) so it was great to be able to enjoy a leisurely swoon and sigh, without feeling like my grubby mitts would be shoo-ed off at any moment!

My favourite – Mary Katrantzou. I loved these dresses in print, I loved these dresses in pixel and I LOVED these dresses in person!

Katrantzou’s calling card is colourful, mental, full-on floral prints – as you can see from her rail (banner photo), which is just a riot of rainbow! The dress on the model was just exquisite – the flow, the shape, the way it sat on her body, that gorgeous train and most importantly, the fabulous print itself. You can appreciate how precisely thought-out the colours and shapes are by the way each different print begins and ends so crisply and beautifully – the fact the model looks gift-wrapped is a Brucie bonus! – but this is a perfect example of why high street knock-offs will never quite cut it. There is no way you could get as complex and crazy a print that still looks expensive, flattering and elegant for el cheapo prices!

I also loved this tropical-coloured coral reef asymmetric dress from The Katrantzou (held by Hester!). What you can’t really see in this photo is the gorgeous stiff full skirt, which pouffed out uber-cutely, and it’s such a shame I didn’t get to see this on a model, where it really would have come alive. Again, this isn’t the kind of tailoring you can get for high street prices – and that’s coming from someone that has been looking for that proper pouffy structured full skirt for ages! (Or alternatively, tell me where and I’m there!)

My next favourite, somewhat surprisingly, was Marios Schwab. His pieces were SO much more beautiful in person; on the catwalk, they can look a little plain – especially compared with all the other crazy colours and vibrant prints that come out to play for Spring/Summer. What I’ve always loved about his designs is how they always perfectly combine the tough with the sensual, the sexy with the soft. Despite the corsetry and cut-out elements to many of his dresses, they’re the very antithesis of the tired old trollope standby, the bandage dress.

It’s an overtly sexy, tight-fitting silhouette, but muted with netting, overlays and veiling. It’s lattice-work that actually reveals very little at all. It’s tough shapes and colours, but then a sprinkling of Swarovski crystals. And what amazed me most was how soft these were to the touch. Many bandage dresses I’ve handled before felt hard, rigid and constricting – that’s how they suck you in all the right places – but these were meltingly fluid, like a buttery soft fluid leather. I really loved the pretty lilac and blush coloured ones, which often lose out on the red carpet stakes to the more obvious black, white or nude numbers.

I also adored the work of Peter Pilotto. Pilotto’s digital prints were really hot a couple of seasons ago, where everyone and their ice-cream man was seen in his colourful abstract numbers (or a high street knock off of them!) but I feel he’s since been overshadowed by the likes of Katranzou and Erdem. Well, this collection showed me that he’s definitely still alive and kicking… with a vengeance! These were ultra-colourful, but in much less whimsical way – I’m gonna call it future-tribal! These were also some of the more complex dress shapes on show with lots of intricate cutting and plenty of those full structured skirts I love. Here’s the red dress I was eyeing for my wardrobe!

I was expecting to be wow-ed by Roksanda Ilincic and Jonathan Saunders, two of my other favourites on the red carpet (especially the divine Ms Roksanda, as worn by my ultimate girl crush, Kate Middleton) yet I ended up being a little disappointed.

Ilnicic’s pieces for me have always been about stunning cutting, draping and folding and an effortlessly tactile structured but unstructured elegance that enlivens her essentially simple and classic shapes. On coat-hangers, this just wasn’t evident. The colour palette was gorgeous – vivid turquoise and fuchsia jewel tones playing off muted mustards and grey but I needed to see these on a person! I’m still lusting after her Debenhams collection though!

Saunder’s rail was pretty delicious from afar – a cool ice-cream coloured rack of spring sorbets, especially to the right of my picture where my favourite of his pieces sat. As worn by Samatha Cameron and another one with a Debenhams collaboration under his belt, I felt his outfits were a lot more mainstream than most of the other designers here, though would probably look lovely on (Thandie Newton is another fan and I always think she looks amazing), but unfortunately they didn’t do much for me on the hanger either. Some of his prints were surprisingly acid-y, Pucci-esque and Mystery Machine-worthy though – I guess we just don’t get to see those on the red carpet as much.

David Koma was another surprise – him of dressing Cheryl Cole on X Factor in dustbin lids fame. As expected, lots of chunky embellishments (see the 3D Persplex on what I believe was a miniskirt yet which was so short I wouldn’t even wear it as a scarf!) but I saw some more mature designs in there too.

I loved the model’s outfit, which was decorated with awesome iridescent panels of sequins, shimmering and gleaming like insects wings in the light, which just looked intensely flattering yet still different. Expect to see more of Koma on the red carpet – and with a Topshop collaboration on the way (as has Katranzou, by the way), his time is definitely now.

Holly Fulton is another ‘one to watch’, who apparently revels in bad taste. Not really my style but nice to see some unashamedly happy designs (she’s supposedly influenced by Versace and most of these would fit right in with their H&M partnership) – but I have to admit, the model does look amazing!

Finally, some shoe porn of the highest order from Nicholas Kirkwood. I could have spent half an hour playing with these alone. If ever there was a case for shoes as art work, here it be. I once called Kirkwood’s designs ‘pure joy on a hoof’ and after seeing them in person, I stand by that description!

Of course, they’re far too beautiful for me to ever actually want to wear, as opposed to bring out the closet to stroke lovingly in times of sadness – as if I’d ever be able to afford a pair anyway!

So there you have it… amazing designer dresses are amazing. Not that amazing. But still amazing enough.

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Forgotten Fine Art: The Cityplaza Copper Suite

Posted on October 30, 2011 | 11 comments

In Hong Kong, you can often find pretty things in the strangest places… which often means discovering fine art in the most mundane of anonymous corporate offices.

Such was the case with this stunning series of plaques entitled The Cityplaza Copper Suite by Australian sculptors Joan Walsh Smith and Charles Smith in Tai Koo’s Cityplaza complex of buildings.

I was taken aback by the level of detail in these – you could spend ages poring over these still find even more interesting and clever little vignettes revealing themselves in the copper artwork. The style reminds me a little of Jan Pieńkowski’s silhouette illustrations for the Joan Aiken books I used to read when I was little. Click on each photograph to enlarge and zoom in  and you can check out some of the detail for yourselves!

Each ‘Rondo-Progression’ has a different theme (unfortunately, I forgot to note them down, bad blogger, slaps wrist!) but I believe they were The Arts, Food, Leisure and Work. My favourite is probably The Arts with its striking centre-piece of the two Chinese theatre masks and loads of other dynamic pictures surrounding it – it’s almost like it’s alive with movement!

You can’t really tell from the pictures (which have distorted the light reflections weirdly) but these are made from copper, which is even more stunning and vivid in real life – and I loved the way the light reflected and bounced off these pieces, making them even more vibrant.

It seems a shame that these are tucked away in a place most people wouldn’t even notice so hopefully this post does its bit to show them off to the rest of the world!

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Beauty Spot: Lush Christmas Factory, Christmas products sneak peek!

Posted on October 13, 2011 | 3 comments

Lush has to be one of the most aptly-named cosmetics companies on the block! They LOOK lush, they SMELL lush and they just ARE lush, full stop.

Their image and ethos is also super-distinctive and uber-unique. I’ve talked about them before briefly in my Lush Cupcake Mask review but just to recap – their products are all handmade, their packaging is all recyclable and they have a firm animal-friendly eco-friendly stance, using mostly natural vegan ingredients in their gorgeous goodies.

Given their shops are usually piled high with their colourful bath-time products and they always look and smell good enough to eat (although, as also previously mentioned, do not actually try eating them like my friend did!), the theme for their Lush Christmas Factory – where they introduced their entire line of upcoming festive products – was Willy Wonka-inspired… right down to the Golden Ticket invite that dropped into my inbox!

It was a totally awesome event, entirely befitting of Lush’s fun, quirky and creative identity! I went with my friend Mirander (on hand for translation duties) and had an absolute ball! Everyone was in fancy dress (there was even a magician!) and all the products looked AMAZING.

There are three key themes for their Christmas range. Candy Cane Delights are generally pink, girlie and super-sweet. I loved the Magic Wand Bubble Bar ($89) – an enchanted sweet-scented star that you waft around your tub (for up to three uses) to create a truly magical bubble bath!

You can also see the super-cute citrusy Satsumo Santa Bath Ballistics ($55), the scrumptious-looking Candy Mountain Bubble Bars ($55), which reminded me of marshmallows and produce tonnes of vanilla foam, and the peppermint Candy Cane soap bars ($55).

Gold Rush is pretty self-explanatory! Lots of festive golden goodness – and something that looked really disturbingly like a delicatessen sausage (not pictured, freaked me out too much).

My favourites here were the Melting Snowmen Bath Melts ($49), which melt into your bath to create softening vanilla, cocoa butter and almond-infused water, and the utterly adorable Gingerbread House Bubble Bars ($55), straight out a fairytale and with a scrumptious ginger snap scent!

Finally, To Infinity And Beyond, space-themed stocking-fillers for all the little (and big!) boys out there. Trying to resist all out-of-this-world puns…

The star product here is the Rocketeer Bath Ballistic ($55), which zips around the bath like a space shuttle set to zoom! I’m also keen to try the Australian Igloo Sugar Scrub ($59), a body buffer made with sugar, coconut oil and eucalyptus – no prizes for guessing that this smells totally delish!

All their gift sets look absolutely incredible and beautifully-packaged (basically everything you see in a box or gift-wrapped in my photos is a set)  and they’re great value, total no-brainers for Christmas presents. A few of my favourites are shown above *hint hint*

Lush also encourage wrapping their items in scarves as opposed to wrapping paper for a more eco-friendly – and adorable! – approach. I have to mention the Penguin Knot Wrap (just $19) that makes me coo with its uber-cuteness, and re-using these lovelies would certainly make me feel less cheapskate than saving up used wrapping paper!

There was fro-yo on tap and Lush even managed to theme the flavours around their products – I suppose it’s the nearest we’ll come to getting to taste those scrummy smells!

We also got to make our own bath ballistics. It was interesting to see all the ingredients that went into it (they really are au naturel) and I stuffed mine with loads of lavender and rose-petals. It smelt more gorgeous than it looks, trust me!

Alas, a future as a Lush Bath Ballistic maker probably doesn’t lie in wait as mine disintegrated at the slightest touch! Hence why it is still sorrily entrapped in its mould.

We also got to take home a goodie bag of some products of our choice. Here’s the goodie bag bar in a rare moment of peace and quiet. Lesson of the day: never come between a beauty writer and free product! There was a massive scrum there for near-enough the entire afternoon (not helped by inclement weather ensuring that all the lovely stuff outside had to be bubble-wrapped up to stop thousands of dollars of stock being ruined and a huge bubble bath engulfing the place); Mirander said most of the Canto chatter she heard was discussing how and when to pick up all the freebies!

Most of the stuff on offer was bath stuff and, as we learnt from the last time I won something from Lush, I don’t actually have a bath… so here’s what I managed to bag.

Actually, a few words just for the gift bag! So cute! So colourful! Love it!

In addition to the Magic Wand Bubble Bar I already mentioned (yes, I know I don’t have a bath, but it was TOO pretty to pass up), I picked up a big bottle of Glögg Shower Gel ($249), some Jilted Elf Shower Jelly ($79) and some pretty Celebrate and Snow Fairy Lip Tints ($89).

The Glögg is inspired by a traditional Swedish festive mulled wine drink – it smells of cinnamon and sweet beer, an unusual but not unpleasant combo! Meanwhile, I was told the Jilted Elf jelly (and it really is jelly, it looks like that silly putty stuff you played with as a kid!) contains vodka – needless to say, I can’t wait to try it! Apparently, you can even freeze it for future use, which is pretty cool. If you click for the enlarge, you can see it even has some gold glitter sprinkled in it, plus it has an awesome name (no enlargement required).

The Lip Tints were flying off the shelves quicker than they could keep them in stock, so I’m betting these will be extremely popular stocking fillers for girls of all ages come Christmas. They smell super sugary-sweet and look as if they’ll be pretty pigmented too. Even just after touching their products for just a few minutes, my hands smelt divine so I can’t wait to try them properly. As ever, in what is fast becoming a catchphrase for my blog, expect some full reviews soon.

It was a totally fab event and hopefully I’ve shared a bit of the adventure (you can click on any of my photos for enlarged versions, which pick up some more of the finer details and vibrancy of the colours). Big thanks to Lush for inviting me and I CANNOT wait to go on a major Xmas shopping spree soon!

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Applegreen restaurant review – these are the salad days…

Posted on September 15, 2011 | 6 comments

UPDATE: Sadly, this branch of Applegreen is now closed and there are currently no more locations on HK Island. For the updated list of their restaurants in Hong Kong, see the bottom of this post.

After my post on being a calamari glutton at Grappas, I had a lovely email from a reader demanding (very politely, of course) more posts like that. So hello Kai and may I present another of my regular Hong Kong haunts – Applegreen.

Applegreen’s cuisine is inspired by the café culture of California and its strapline ‘The house of salad’ is the main reason it took me so long to get there! My boyfriend is no particular friend of salad (or anything healthy and non fried potato based) and made disgusted faces every time I attempted to broach a visit to a place boasting salad as its signature dish. Instead, I waited it out until a group dinner with friends, which turned out to be great and where I spotted Cajun Fries (served in a trash can, no less) smiling brightly on the menu. Well, the boyfriend loves Cajun Fries almost as much as he hates salad – and consequently, we have found ourselves there nearly every fortnight ever since!

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Here Today, Haul Tomorrow

Posted on September 10, 2011 | 15 comments

It’s that time again… another EPIC haul post. So here’s what I’ve been buying over the past few months. Non-shopaholics look away now!

I loved the look of the Chanel’s Fall 2011 Illusion D’Ombre Collection, which marks their first foray into cream eyeshadows in nearly ten years (and as we know, I’m currently loving my cream shadows), plus some of their highly-coveted limited-edition sell-out nail polishes. The eye shadows are all kinds of gorgeous – shimmery, lightweight and extremely easy to use – and I picked up Illusoire (a smoky mauve), Epatant (a silvery khaki) and Emerveille (a shimmering peach). I have, wonder of wonders, actually swatched these so you can expect a review soon! I also got the nail lacquer in Graphite and a free sample of eye make-up remover.

These Stila Beach Palettes are the result of ‘which one should I buy… oh, I’ll just buy them all syndrome.’ Which happens to me a lot! They contain four eye shadows and two blushes/highlighters each, they’re super-cute and they were only £10 quid each. What’s not to love?

They’re from Lookfantastic.com, who I’ve already sung the praises of in my previous haul, who have since gone one better – by crowning me the winner of a competition to win a £75 beauty hamper! The spoils of my victory are shown here and I’m most excited about the mini bottle of Moroccan Oil, which I have been dying to try for ages yet never dared take the plunge full-size – and full-price!

My latest beauty discovery is Nars, thanks to the bessie beauty blogger Jenn. I love bright non-neutral colours, and it seems Nars does too! I picked up eyeshadow duos in Noveau Monde, Eurydice and Sugarland, plus a single in Strada, this amazing gold-dusted lavender. My wonderful boyfriend then bought me some goodies from their limited-edition Night Series collection – the Night Series Palette and two nail polishes, Night Flight and Night Rider, which are based on the eyeshadow colours and are seriously STUNNING. As usual, reviews to come!

Illamasqua had a summer sale so I used this as an opportunity to try my first make-up from the brand, which launched in the UK after I left. Service was brilliant – the order was beautifully-packaged, came with a catalogue, arrived by registered delivery and came within a week of ordering! I got two nail polishes – Raindrops (which I’d been lusting after since this post) and Poke, the Liquid Metals Palette, a Loose Pigment in Involve and a Liquid Metal in Stoic, both of which were on sale. Can’t wait to try these as they look all kinds of intensely awesome.

Clinique also have a new range of cream eyeshadows out – the deliciously-named Lid Smoothies. Colours, as ever with Clinique, are un-exciting but the formula and quality is great – I got Bit O’ Honey (a glistening light gold), Cashew Later (a super-versatile neutral) and probably the star of the collection, Born Freesia (a light lilac). I also stocked up on their Anti-Blemish Foaming Cleanser, one of my make-up miracles, and their Derma-White City Block, a great anti-pollution base with a high SPF that I loved from a free sample. Mega-spend with Clinique equalled a pretty awesome bag of freebies too!

I also got my Mum to send me over some stuff from Boots – can you guess which item I might be stocking up on because it’s been discontinued?! Yes, my make-up miracle, the Benefit Get Bent Eyeliner Brush SOB. I also got two of Benefit’s Creaseless Cream Shadows in Skinny Jeans and Birthday Suit, a load of toothbrush heads (which I’ve spared you) and some super-moisturising Lanolips stuff, another brand I’ve been dying to try. I got the Intense Rose Balm For Very Dry Hands & Nails (remember how my hands are falling apart?), Lemonaid Lip Aid, 101 Ointment and their coloured Lip Ointments in Dark Honey, Apple and Rhubarb (my lips are now falling apart too). Lanolips will be launching in HK soon, but as usual for mega-bucks…

After Benefit also discontinued my holy-grail, one-and-only blusher/miracle, Georgia, I’ve been one the hunt for a suitable replacement. And ever since Mac’s Semi-Precious Collection, I’ve been obsessed with baked, marbleised make-up. Enter Laura Geller, a brand which comes with great word-of-mouth Stateside and again, posted over by my Mum via QVC. I got Blush N Brighten blushers in Golden Apricot and Pink Grapefruit (I love that these come with brushes too!) and the Backstage Beauty Kit, which includes a Blush N Brighten Highlighter Duo in Como/Portofino, a Baked Eyeshadow Duo in Rome/Milan and a Lip Lights Lip Gloss in Dewberry. Can’t wait to try these stunners either!

Another Mac haul from their latest Mac Me Over Collection. The Icelandic Cool section was, sadly for my wallet, totally my colours! Again, amazing boyfriend gifted me the Lady Grey Eyeshadow Palette and four Shadesticks, in Tundra, Cakeshop, Heirloom and Street Cool (Butternutty is still to come, thanks to the lovely Vicky!).

I also won a Lush competition to win their Limited Edition John Burgerman Bath Bomb Set – I absolutely love the colourful tin, which is definitely a keeper, and the bath bombs look like sweets! Is this a bad time to admit I don’t actually have a bath?!

What haul post of mine would this be without some nail polish! Zoya’s Smoke & Mirrors Collection is one of my favourite collections in ages – two halves, one with a dusty murky shades (Smoke), the other with glimmering glittering smoky shades (Mirrors), and a ridiculous amount of purples. I picked up Jana, Neeka, Yara and Jem – how could I resist a polish named after Jem & The Holograms, only my favourite cartoon of ALL-TIME! Spot the odd OPI out, Grape… Set… Match!

And finally, the piece de resistance, the Urban Decay 15th Anniversary Eyeshadow Palette. Ugh… how GORGEOUS is this?! Thanks to my lovely Mother I’ll leave you with a few pics revelling in its ultra-luxeness… try and keep your drool to yourselves!

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Atelier Versace Exhibition, Pacific Place: Gonna dress you up in my love!

Posted on September 7, 2011 | Leave a comment

I love beautiful dresses. I love seeing them, buying them, wearing them and, as this blog proves, writing about them too! Sadly, with the most beautiful designer dresses worn by the most beautiful celebrities, that’s about as close as I get – seeing them on a computer screen and then detailing my lust in writing afterwards. But not anymore…

Kawai Wong, the lovely Shopping & Style Editor of Time Out Hong Kong, tipped off her followers on Twitter that there would be a mini Atelier Versace exhibition in Pacific Place shopping mall. I made a mental note and promptly forgot all about it but as chance would have it, I just happened to be in Pacific Place that weekend – and thank God I was. Because I got to see some of those beautiful dresses that I had previously only written about IN PERSON. And they were BREATH-TAKING.

Apologies for all the caps but as you can see from the photos, upper-case in this case is totally deserved!

I squealed with delight when I saw this stunning  gown that I adored on Charlize Theron at the Vanity Fair Oscars Party standing there in all its glory right in front of my eyes! This was my favourite gown of the lot simply because I remembered writing how much I loved it – and there it was!

Even on the mannequins, everything draped just so and looked utterly beautiful. This gown was worn by Eva Mendes at the Rome Film Festival last year. I didn’t really like the dress in photos but up-close, all the detailing was just exquisite. What was missing was the gorgeous sense of movement that Eva managed to create but I think this proves just how much a million flash bulbs wash out a dress, as it was much more of a vibrant tan colour in person.

This cobalt beauty was worn by Jessica Alba at this year’s Baftas and was another one I wrote about! She worn it sans feathers but this was every bit as vividly gorgeous in person. I love how effortlessly flowing it is.

This cascading grey ombre dress hasn’t been worn by anyone famous – yet! Love the cut-out detail on the back too. Stunning. By now, I was nearly going into seizure at being close enough to touch these gowns. Waaaah… just one stroke!

Fan Bing Bing’s ruffled purple gown (as worn at the Cannes Film Festival, which marked the beginning of many of our style crushes on The Bingster) was probably the true show-stopper of the collection. It was just so big, pouffy and spectacular in real-life. Again, the detail of all those flounces was just amazingly lush up-close. It was so delicate yet dramatic and that skirt looked like it was made up of crush flower petals. Divine.

There was lots of ‘oh my God’-ing and longing sighing that my boyfriend didn’t totally understand but ugh, I need more of these exhibitions in my life! Just five dresses isn’t enough! Hurry up and get that Alexander McQueen Savage Beauty show on the road to Hong Kong please!

Atelier Versace Exhibition, Pacific Place mall, Admiralty

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Canmake Jewel Star Eyes, Stone Gold and Illumination Nude eye shadow review

Posted on August 18, 2011 | 1 comment

I’ve recently been on a cream eye shadow kick – whether it’s because they feel more convenient than powders, seem cooler for summer or there’s just some subliminal connection to ice-cream, I’m not sure! The latest victims of my cream eye-shadow binge? Canmake Jewel Star Eyes in 07 Stone Gold and 08 Illumination Nude.

Canmake is a Japanese cosmetics brand and like most Japanese cosmetics brands, glittery girliness is very much the order of the day! The Jewel Star Eye Shadows are no exception – all nine shades are packed to the hilt with shimmer, sparkle, pearl and lamé particles for a high-shine Hollywood finish.

The texture of these is somewhere between a cream, jelly and mousse (my friend Jenn reckons they’re cheaper versions of Jill Stuart’s Eye Jellies); not as thick as a typical cream eye shadows, yet not as bouncy as a jelly and without that light whipped feeling of a mousse. The shadow slides onto your fingertips easily, almost melting off in fact (yet more subliminal ice-cream connections!), and it feels slippery and light but dries to a smudge-proof finish almost instantly. One light swipe gives you a sheerer, stardust-like effect, with a few heavy smears required to build the shadow to a more vivid colour.

Stone Gold (07) is a light wash of champagne or white gold. It contains gold, silver and red pearl particles – more recognisable to you and me as glitter – and I’d say silver is most noticeable of these three. This is a great neutral that packs more of a punch than the average neutral and looks really beautiful layered over other colours for a stunning starlit shimmer. For me, however, it’s a little too insubstantial to use on its own.

Illumination Nude (08) is a pinky-peachy melon shade that’s yet another great neutral. Canmake recommends using this as a base and the colour is in the vein of Urban Decay’s Sin (which you can see swatched in this post) – except there’s a riot of glitter going on here too! Close-up, you can really see the mixture of gold, pearl and red particles, and in the light, they flash a whole rainbow of other colours too. This is a more strongly-pigmented, multi-dimensional colour than Stone Gold and the shadow’s texture is smoother than Stone Gold’s too (you can tell this from the banner photo alone!). This one is sensationally pretty, especially when it hits the sun.

I was worried that Illumination Nude was a dupe for one of my Urban Decay shadows, X, and from this angle, my worry was well-founded! Illumination Nude basically looks like someone emptied a jar of glitter into the Urban Decay!

However, X is an amazing eye shadow (full review… someday) that performs a chameleon number on the Canmake and turns to a pretty pink-gold from other angles. So not a dupe after all!

Canmake promises that the Jewel Star Eyes series is long-lasting, non-creasing and doesn’t shed glitter. I can get on-board with non-creasing, but used alone, I found that the shadows seemed to melt away after a few hours and Stone Gold in particular dispensed glitter around my eyes during its disappearing act! I also wish the packaging was a little more substantial – they’re in individual plastic pans that are small and easy to lose in the wilderness of my make-up bag. But since you have a smaller quantity of product, plus shadows that feel less wet and more compressed than typical creams and jellies, drying out shouldn’t be as much of a problem.

I enjoy the unique easy-to-use texture of Canmake’s Jewel Star Eyes and getting that super-starry effect from such a light feeling, non-gritty shadow is rather awesome. It’s a shame the other colours in the range aren’t more useable – bright playground purples, blues, greens and pinks bulk up the rest of the range. I like to use 07 and 08 blended together to create a look so multi-dimensionally sparkly that passing magpies squawk in approval but that’s still neutral, easily wearable and versatile.

If you’re a fan of glitters, these are a must; if you’re a fan of great-wearing cream eye shadows, perhaps not. Canmake’s Jewel Star Eyes are not quite the crown jewels in my book, yet make for some pretty fantastic costume jewellery nonetheless.

Canmake Jewel Star Eyes in 07 Stone Gold and 08 Illumination Nude, $64, City Super and selected Sasas

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Go Hard or Go Haul!

Posted on July 25, 2011 | 19 comments

Believe it or not, I don’t actually like Mac make-up much. [Yeah, I can tell you don’t believe me.]

But the Semi-Precious Collection was SO pretty. Marbleised multi-coloured glittering domes of wondrousness; a cross between precious minerals, gemstones and cosmic galaxies. I just fell in love with the lot on first sight. Incidentally, swatches on the Internet just DO NOT compare. They make them look gritty and dull and sheer, but in real life, they are shimmery multi-dimensional wondrousness.

And I went accordingly overboard. Before I got in the store, I only wanted the Golden Gaze eye shadow (the outright gold star of the collection) and Pearl Skinfinish. Such is the power of a great shop assistant! And the allure of these babies in person!

I’m still in the ‘bring them out and stroke lovingly’ stage of ownership – they’re just too pretty to touch! I said to my boyfriend I should have bought two of each, one to use and one to look at; I was only half-joking. So these are photos to preserve the beauty!

Mineralize Skinfinishes in Pearl,  Rose Quartz and Crystal Pink. Glowy gorgeousness in a pan.

Mineralize Eye Shadows in Golden Gaze, Hint Of Sapphire, Jade’s Fortune and Clarity. I know others have complained about the lack of pigmentation, but for me, the lightness is what makes these so useable and great for my fair skin. They all shimmer different colours in different lights, like magic. Stunning!

My lovely boyfriend bought me this limited edition Bobbi Brown Bronze Eye Palette from the Tortoise Shell Collection.

Bobbi Brown aren’t exactly known for being exciting but they do great quality neutrals and this palette absolutely epitomises that. I LOVE the classy packaging – in the words of the awesome Alex Perry, it looks expensive (say with Aussie accent for full effect)! I love how compact is it, with the pull-out drawer, and the shades are all complimentary browns, golds and bronzes. Great for travelling and creating easy lovely natural looks.

I’ve recently got into The Balm, which is now sold at Sasa. It’s an American brand with retro packaging and witty names, kind of a B-List Benefit. After learning my beloved Benefit Georgia was discontinued, I have been on the lookout for a similar peachy blush. The Balm’s Hot Mama blush had quite a lot of good write-ups (including from blush queen herself Jenn)… and it all escalated from there!

I received the Shady Lady Eye Shadow (Mischievous Marissa, a lovely glittering beige) as a free gift for purchasing two The Balm products; I also got a Read My Lips lipstick in Letter To The Editor (a shimmering bronzed berry). Next, I got a free It Girl Lip Gloss for buying two of their Sexpot Mineral Overshadows. The latter are highly-pigmented loose powders in No Money, No Honey (a light bright gold) and Work Is Overrated (pink champagne), with gorgeous 50s pin-ups on the lids. I blame these on Vicki getting me hooked on L’Oreal’s intense Infallible eye shadows, which aren’t available in HK, although these are much less adventurous colours!

Meanwhile, the baked Pupa Luminys Eye Shadow on the left is a Semi-Precious hangover. There were no really nice purples in the Mac collection, so this is the result!

I also got these two Canmake Jewel Eye Shadows in a very glittery gold and a very glittery melon. I had been lusting after Benefit Creaseless Creams but these were about a third of the price, whilst make-up queen Jenn recommended them as cheap Jill Stuart eye jellies! Sold! Plus, a freebie Sasa Garden Fairy hand cream.

After my wonderful day at Elemis Day Spa, I wanted to buy some of their products and kept reading about this gift set in the UK magazines my mum sent me. This gorgeous leopard-print Elemis Safari Traveller is designed by Alice Temperley (only one of my favourite designers!) and I thought it would be brilliant for carrying all my toiletries for travelling. It didn’t disappoint in person – nice and hefty and again, a touch of the Alex Perry (i.e. expensive!)

It comes stuffed with seven Elemis miniatures that I can’t wait to get stuck into (including the Papaya Peel I enjoyed so much during my facial) and a percentage goes to charity, so what’s not to love? Sadly, it’s not being sold in Hong Kong so I purchased it from Lookfanastic.com, who offer free (and speedy!) international shipping.

I couldn’t just buy one thing from Lookfantastic though! So popped the Urban Decay Ammo Eye Shadow Palette in there too. I decided on buying this rather than several of their individual eye shadows (which I love), which would have ended up costing much more. Another typically fabulous and unusual array of colours from UD and in a very pretty box too!

I’ve been busy putting together a Hello Kitty birthday package for Aimee and sadly for my wallet, that means I’ve been swept along on the Sanrio steamroller of cuteness too! I bought a Cinnamoroll folder and two tins to hold all my eye pencils. They’re so lovely, they cheer me up just by seeing them!

And too cute not to show you some close-ups! I particularly love the Cinnamoroll pencil tin – the soft dusky colours are so haute! This is the sort of crazy-pretty-silly-cute-loveliness I missed so much when I lived in England; I used to have so much of it when I was young here so I’m just resuming my collection!

Whilst Aimee’s weakness is Hello Kitty, mine is Stitch. I just can’t get enough of that cute blue bug-eyed little alien! I’ll probably do a post documenting all my Stitch stuff, as there’s lots of it, but here are my three latest little buddies. Yes, that is a Soy Bean on his head. And no, I don’t know why either – but it sure as hell is cute!

More non make-up goodies thanks to my Kwai Fong shopping spree with BFF Mirander, including cheap and cute headbands, beautiful earrings and Miffy propelling pencils. I love that mini padlock on the headband and who could possibly resist watering cans on earrings?! Not me, that’s for sure!

Gwen Stefani is one of my style icons and I’ve loved the super-kawaii bottles she’s been putting out for her Harajuku Lovers perfume range but have so far resisted as, apart from my trusty Chanel No. 5, I don’t use scents. But resistance finally crumbled in the face of this limited edition G Of The Sea fragrance – IT’S A MERMAID. Amazing.

And finally… no haul of mine is complete without nail polish, right? Firstly, some pa nail polishes, a Japanese brand with tiny bottles but a rainbow of colours. I picked up some of the more unique colours  – a silver glitter with antique-rose-copper sequins and a purple with a gold shimmer, plus this charcoal holographic polish I found in CitySuper.

A reader, fellow HK polish and holo addict CaCa, tipped me off about some amazing undiscovered BK holographic nail varnishes. Well, she didn’t need to tell me twice – I was there in a flash to get my stash of rainbows in an (admittedly tiny) bottle!

I already showed you the NYX Jumbo Eye Pencils I bought from the “Make-Up Fiesta” (read more about that hyperbole here!) so, since I have no idea when I’ll get round to trying them all, here are all the NYX nail polishes I bought too. Are those flakies i.e. amazing shreds of rainbow awesomeness, I see before me?! And some multi-coloured glitter and duochromes too!

So as you can ascertain, I went hard AND went haul! Now for a rest I think!

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