CLAIRE'S Rocker Blues

All I can say is WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you so much Wackymichy for sending me this colour! I would have never tried it if I had seen it in store, my mum and sister are also craving this colour now :D

Two coats and I have been wanting to wear it ever since I swatched it. Rocker Blues is a very vibrant electric blue. The shimmer in it is amazing! I wish they sold Claire's here, who knows what awesome colours we are missing out on :O

Color Club Maintenance Minis

I haven't been painting my nails much for awhile now because I ran out of Seche top coat and the Essie one just completely sucks, but then Color Club came to the rescue! By sending me a little pack of minis which include a top coat, base coat, strengthener and cuticle oil.

STUCK ON YOU

This is the little base coat included in the pack. I used it in the manicure shown here and it reminded me a lot of Orly's Top 2 Bottom. It was quite a thin base coat and a little goes a long way with Stuck On You. It also dries very quickly.

I thought I'd put it over these two Essie shades because they always seem to be a mission. Mint Candy Apple is a little streaky and Mink Muffs never seems to dry or stick. Well, for Minty it really did help with the streakyness, really seemed to hold on to it. For Mink Muffs.... read on...

It has been two days now and not a single chip/lift/peel! That's even with me constantly fiddling with my nails throughout the day, doing dishes, washing, typing... Stuck On You passes the test for me as a great base coat!

VITABASE

This was the first mini I used because my nails aren't in the greatest shape right now and could use a little strengthener. When I first got a whiff of this, it took me way back to my nail course days. It smells just like the top and base coat we had to use, so I do quite enjoy it just for that :)

Before Vitabase I was using Natural Nail Growth Stimulator just by itself. After applying Vitabase and wearing it for a few days, I forgot what it was like to have a strengthener on that doesn't peel! I do love the Qtica stuff, just the peeling drives me nuts... My Mum doesn't seem to run into that though...

Vitabase did make a noticeable difference in my weak nails but it did not make them as strong as say Zoya's Anchor does for me.

TOP COAT

I was desperate to paint my nails! Then I remembered about this little Color Club mini. It's ok readers, we don't have another Essie Top Coat mess on our hands.

I found it was quite similar to the Stuck On You base coat, a little goes a long way and has a thin consistency. It did dry fairly quickly and I didn't acquire any dents or nicks within ten minutes of applying it and throughout the day I didn't get any dents or scratches like the Essie.

I applied it over Essie's Mink Muffs and Mint Candy Apple because Mink Muffs has always been a challenge to completely dry and just make it wearable really. Color Clubs Top Coat sufficed. I will be testing this top coat out on a few other colours too :D

CUTICLE SOOTHE

Update: I've only managed to use this once because I really don't like the smell of it. It reminds me of medicine. Boyfriend says he couldn't smell anything though so I don't know... :D

It seemed to work ok though for the day I had it on but I know a one day trial isn't fair. So I will give it another go shortly!

OVERALL

This isn't a bad set of maintenance minis at all! I think it's a great idea as a gift for a friend or yourself as you get everything you need in one pack. They seem to work with other brands which is a major plus.

Have you tried these treatments before? How did you find them or do you have something you can't live without? :D

Aveeno Intense Relief Hand Cream

Hi guys, I just thought I would give a review on this product introduced to me by my mum. Aveeno's Intense Relief Hand Cream.

Here is the story: I am currently on some medication to get rid of my acne (great results by the way! :D) and maybe about a month ago I got these little red bumps on the back of my hands after removing make-up from them. I didn't really think anything of it.

Then mum and I went to a MAC launch party and of course I was trying all sorts on the back of my hands and I noticed the little red bumps again. I thought the make-up might have caused it so I used a MAC wipe to remove it and that was a bad idea. They turned bright red and stung so bad. They later started to peel.

I then had a dermatologist appointment a week after that occurrence, I said to the derm whats happening and she didn't seem to care so I thought ok it's no biggie.

But recently it happened again! But this time much worse, the red bumps and peely skin hung around for days. I told mum and she gave me some moisturiser to try that is for skin with eczema. I tried that and it stung the back of my hands so badly, so I washed it off asap!

Mum did a little research online and found out a lot of people on the same meds as me for their acne were getting the same thing on the same place of their bodies. They were recommending to keep hands out of hot water and were raving about this hand cream.

Mum always raves about it and has a tube in just about every room of the house, so I tried it but wasn't expecting much or at least for it to sting my hands. Quite the opposite! My hands are now smooth, not all dry and peely and no longer bright red and inflamed.

I have been using it for a few days now and couldn't be happier. Hand creams usually give me a bit of grief either making my hands sweat, overly greasy or way too perfumey. Aveeno's Intense Relief hand cream is absorbed almost instantly and is no way greasy or perfumey.

I apologize for the long story, but I think sometimes when you read reviews online that person may give it a raving or horrible review but you don't always get the background, so I felt it was necessary :).

Also I am a little bit upset with my dermatologist not really caring or even taking a look at my hands when she brought up the topic "side effects" from the meds. She may deal with hundreds of people trying to get rid of their acne, but this is my first time with such a strong medication and I have no idea what to expect. 

I have also noticed a patch of the same eczema type thing on one of my legs, so I will be using the Aveeno for that area too.

I promise to have some polish reviews soon, this eczema thing has just scared me a little is all :)

Color Club Magic Attraction

My previous photos didn't show how holo it really was, so here are some full sunlight pics~!

Previous post of whole Glitter Vixen collection here.

Chanel Splendeur

I am so sorry about the lack of updates! Just trying to move apartment at the moment and it's proving a little difficult.

Anyway, here we have Chanel's lucious Splendeur.

I found Splendeur to be similar to Dragon in how much coverage it gave on the first coat, both out standing! The formula is typical Chanel, buttery smooth all the way.

Two coats pictured here. 

I thought Splendeur would be very similar to Chanel's Riviera from the Les Pops collection, turns out Riviera is much lighter and sort of not as squishy looking at Splendeur.

I also have updates photos of Color Clubs Magic Attraction which will be posted soon :D

Chanel Dragon

Mum was kind enough to let me swatch some of her Chanels. This one is called Dragon.

I don't really know any information about it other than it cost $46NZD and is available in New Zealand.

The formula is a dream though. Full coverage in one coat too! I think this would be a good choice for red lovers! I even quite liked it on myself.

In my photo here it is showing Dragon to be a little brighter than it really is. Dragon is a little bit more muted :)

Chanel Particulere

This is one of Chanels most popular shades, although I think it may be limited here in New Zealand.

I used two coats here. Very nice formula as with all Chanels.

However, it is very close to OPI Over The Taupe. Very close, only miniscule differences! I will have a comparison between the two along with Essie Mink Muffs shortly.