Why do flakies look different over different bases?

A few people have asked me why, when you apply a flakie topcoat over different colours, can they take on different sheens? Luckily, there’s a moderately simple explanation! Light and colour When light hits an object, some gets absorbed and some is reflected. The light that’s reflected hits your eye and tells you what colour it is. For example, when …

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Artsy Wednesday: Maidenhair fern nails (inspired by nature)

I had so much fun sticking stuff to my nails last week, I decided to continue this week: The theme is “inspired by nature”, so I snipped a frond of my mum’s maidenhair fern (don’t tell her!) and stuck them onto a base of creamy OPI Skull & Glossbones. Mini-tutorial: 1. Paint nails with base, let dry 2. Cut a …

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Skincare 101: Exfoliation basics

(Fir0002/Flagstaffotos) Why do I need to exfoliate? Your skin cells are constantly renewing themselves – your entire epidermis (outer skin layers) is replaced every 50 days. Millions of dead skin cells are shed each day from the topmost layer (the stratum corneum) in a natural process called desquamation. However, many things can interfere with this process, such as ageing, hormonal …

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Artsy Wednesday: Ninja nails! (3D nail art)

This week with Artsy Wednesday we’re sticking stuff to our nails! I had lots of ideas, but ended up with this: What it’s supposed to look like is ninja stars (shuriken) embedded in my nails, which are dripping with blood. A tad macabre, I guess, but that’s just me all over! 😛 The base is China Glaze Stone Cold, one …

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Review: Tweezerman Slant Tweezers

I’ve always been sceptical of the advantages a $20 pair of tweezers could offer over a cheap $5 supermarket pair. I don’t know if supermarket tweezers are the same all over the world, but the tweezers from Woolworths are pretty good here! Well, it turns out that the main pro of a fresh pair of Tweezermans is that, if you …

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ulta3 Magnetic: Spellbound

Cheap-but-awesome Australian brand ulta3 have just released a range of magnetic polishes! There are 6 polishes – 3 are neutrals, and three are in the pink/red/purple family. Alanna found them in the city on Thursday, so I picked 3 up that evening. They’re $5 each, and each bottle comes with a diagonal magnet. 4 additional magnets are available – star, …

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Review: Kosmea Replenishing Moisture Cream

I’ve always had a problem finding a good facial moisturiser. Overall my skin is oily, so in summer just rose hip oil is enough, but in winter my cheeks develop dry spots, and somehow my T-zone is both oily AND dry. So blackheads, greasiness, and flaky bits… the worst of both worlds! It took me a while, but I found …

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Review: Laneige Strawberry Yoghurt Peeling Gel

I don’t know why it’s taken so long for me to review this, since it’s on high rotation in my facial cleanser carousel (I have 9 different face cleansers in my shower at the moment, and uses whatever my skin feels like that day… yeah, I probably have a problem). As you can see from the worn-off label, I’m a …

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