[Essie] Blues For Your Nails, Not Your Mondays

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A few things you should know about me: 1. I am too nail polish-obsessed for my own good; 2. Essie is one of my favourite polish brands EVER; 3. Cool toned polishes are my go-to. Here I have four blue polishes that are perfect for the spring-summer transition.

L-R: Mint Candy Apple, Bikini So Teeny, Garden Variety, Blossom Dandy

First off, these polishes have amazing formulas. Mint Candy Apple has been dubbed the 'perfect mint' by many nail bloggers, and it's definitely one you can't miss. I have never been able to find another polish with a similar tone. Bikini So Teeny is a ridiculously pretty periwinkle blue (still into that!). In the bottle the shimmer is visible but on the nail it's almost invisible, which I honestly prefer since the colour does all the talking. Garden Variety impressed me as soon as I swatched it; it's a creamy teal one-coater (though I always apply two coats to hit that maximum level of opacity). Blossom Dandy is also a mint shade, but as you can see from the picture it differs slightly from Mint Candy Apple. I say pick up both!

Collections
Mint Candy Apple: Sweet Time of the Year - Winter 2009
Bikini So Teeny: Bikini So Teeny - Summer 2012
Garden Variety: Flowerista - Spring 2015
Blossom Dandy: Flowerista - Spring 2015

If you are in Hong Kong and can't find Essie polishes, I have found two stores throughout my nail polish journey. The first one is Cher2, which is slightly better known than the other, A polish. Both companies have stores around HK, selling OPI, Essie, China Glaze, Orly, and many more. Check out their sites to find a store near you, or have fun shopping online.

I own many more cool-toned colours, but my collection won't stop there. I have my eye on Saltwater Happy from Essie's new Summer 2015 collection, Peach Side Babe. Oh, and did I mention Essie polishes have such adorable names?



What are your favourite nail polishes and brands?

Topshop Lips: Innocent

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A few weeks back I read on a ton of beauty blogs that Topshop had its 5th Anniversary for their beauty line. Instead of launching new products to celebrate, they took their top five lipsticks, nail polishes, and a whole lot of other products from previous years, and revamped them with rose gold packaging. Pretty neat!

I don't know much about their makeup - or makeup in general - but Topshop's lipsticks are very nice. There's a whole rainbow of reds, pinks, and purples to choose from, and the formulas are generally good. I own Mercurial, a metallic-pink shade, Brighton Rock, a bright off-pink, and Twin, a not-as-dark-as-Lorde red-purple lip polish. I decided to reach out and try another colour; I returned home with Innocent, one of the top five lipsticks. 

Before we get into it, I would just like to apologise for the inconsistent lighting throughout the coming photos. The weather hasn't been great and the colours of everything were a right pain to capture!

As mentioned above, the top fives were packaged in rose gold. I'm not going to go into too much detail about it because a. it's all pretty self explanatory, and b. I rave about packaging more than I rave about actual products. This rose gold beauty is a straight A* from me.

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Innocent is one of those my-lips-but-better colours, or in my case, my-lips-but-better-and-paler. I wanted to swatch it on my lips to give you guys a proper look at the outcome, but I swear the sun went, "Nope, not today." The site describes this shade as an 'iced lilac'. On my hand it's a medium pink; on my lips it's a cooler-toned light pink that's very wearable on an everyday basis. 

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The formula was so good. When I first put it on, I was surprised by how creamy the texture was. A single swatch gives full coverage. It hydrates the lips with wear, which I'm thankful for because sometimes I find that some lipsticks are so drying. However the colour can sink into the lines of your lips or show areas of peeling, so exfoliating and moisturising your lips before rocking this shade will come in handy. 

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There is a slight vanilla-marshmallow scent to the product but it isn't overpowering at all. In fact, you hardly notice it when wearing the lipstick. I didn't really look out for durability or staying power, but the lipstick will come off if you eat or drink. I'm guessing it's due to the creamy formula, but I'm not complaining!



Have you picked up any of the Topshop Beauty 5th Anniversary products?

Paint Splatters and Majestic Waves

I first spotted Candice Patton's outfit for the CW Network's 2015 Upfront on the The Flash insta, and it is absolutely stunning. 

Repost @thecw ・・・ CW Upfronts 2015 Candice Patton on the black carpet #theflash

A photo posted by The Flash (@cwtheflash) on May 14, 2015 at 7:43am PDT

The separates are totally different in style, but they work so well with each other. I'm loving the skirt; it has a unique shape to it, and it reminds me of ocean waves. Gosh, I'm missing the beach. Candice Patton accessorised with a basic white clutch and minimalistic black heels to compliment her impossible-coloured ensemble. Oh, and her hair and makeup are fab by the way!

View image | gettyimages.com

The event took place in New York at the London Hotel on 14th May (last night in HK?). The Upfronts are annual and from what I've read, it takes place for the network to go through their schedule, show us what's coming back, unveil new shows, all that jazz. Stars from a number of CW shows were in attendance, including The Flash, Arrow, and The Originals.

Met Gala 2015 | Favourite Looks

Hey guys!

I am back with another Favourite Looks posts! I originally post on Sundays but a. I've fallen late on that, and b. pictures of the Gala have been all over literally everywhere I look. 

First thing's first [I'm the realest]: what is the Met Gala? I am not ashamed to say I had no idea what it was until it came to the time of writing this post; I assumed it was one of those fancy-schmancy events which A-listers attended and you read about the day after in the news. After typing up on Google, 'what is the Met Gala doing some research, I've found that the Met Gala is a fundraising event for the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institution. Pretty cool! 

The theme this year was "China: Through the Looking Glass", which I thought was very interesting since a lot of events don't exactly have themed dress codes. I had no idea what was coming, and if you read back on it, there were a lot of looks that were out there! Here are a few of my favourites:

1. Zendaya in Fausto Puglisi

View image | gettyimages.com

DAMMMNNNN. For one, Zendaya kills it in heels. Next, I love all the reds and golds contrasting against the black, with the embroidery and matching accessories. She always looks on point (have you seen her Instagram?), and the Gala was no exception. This may be the inner textiles student in me, but I would love to see the construction of the skirt and train. Her tiara and armband are to die for, but let's be real, I don't think any of us will ever be able to pull off such intricate pieces as well as she did. An A* for sure.

2. Eddie Redmayne and Hannah Bagshawe in Valentino

View image | gettyimages.com

To be honest, I'm still not over Hannah Bagshawe's Oscars dress, which was a stunner by the way. Her white gown is much more minimalistic, but still beautiful - the black panelling at the sides give it an extra kick. And of course, Eddie Redmayne is just dashing as usual. I know I've said this before, but I'll repeat it again: goals!

3. Hailee Steinfeld in Michael Kors

View image | gettyimages.com

My first thought was that's quite Taylor Swift-y. The gown is so simple but elegant, and the red definitely screams boss. The gold accessories were really well paired; I've always thought that matching red and gold would resemble a traditional Chinese wedding dress (not a bad thing, but it's probably not the style you're going for), but it is clear that I am proven wrong. 

4. Wei Tang in Burberry Prorsum 

View image | gettyimages.com

I don't know what it is, but I've recently been loving black lining. It gives such an effortlessly elevated, modern vibe to clothing. On this gown, it downplays the sparkle slightly so we're not all blinded by all those jewels. A very nice contrast!

And those were my favourite looks from 2015's Met Gala. Two things before I end this post:

• The newborn Princess has been named Charlotte! I was so hoping she would be named Victoria, after Victoire Weasley and all that Harry potter fandom ish. If you've been on Tumblr for the past two weeks or so, people have been buzzing about the Victoire-Princess birthday coincidence. I personally don't think it was a coincidence, but was J.K. Rowling's magic that blessed us all!
• How are you guys doing with exams and prep? I've got two more weeks until my mocks, and I'm stressing over the Schlieffen Plan and kinetic energy. Gosh, there are still a ton of things to revise for Science, but nothing seems to stay in my brain :(

Hope you are all well. I'll see you soon! x