Eco Tools Bath Set Review

by VioletLeBeaux | Jan 31, 2010 | Advert, Beauty, Review

A while ago Eco Tools sent me a couple of things to test out and this bath set was one of them!

You can most likely guess from the name but Eco Tools claim to fame is beauty products that are also environmentally friendly. They also make things like make up brushes (which I previously reviewed) and other fun bits and pieces.

So let the review begin!

First thing’s first: packaging! The bath set comes in a reusable plastic bag which zips closed at the top. The zip has a little loop of cotton ribbon so you can hang it up. I really like the idea that the packaging is actually useful, I would totally use this as a bathroom bag when traveling. It would also be pretty useful to keep hair clips etc in because it’s clear so you don’t have to go searching to find things in it ^_^

So inside the bag you’ll find a loofah, a shower flower thingy, a bottle of shower gel and a bottle of body lotion. One interesting point on the bottles is that Eco Tools is a member of “1% For The Planet” which means that they donate 1% of sales to environmental causes.

Now the loofah! Ok firstly who the hell knew that a loofah was a vegetable? I always thought it was like a sea sponge kind of thingy… but apparently it’s a vegetable so that makes it sustainable too ^_^ So yes, I liked that it had a string to hang it in the shower, I can’t stand things that can’t be hung up in the shower. To start with it was really hard and rough but after adding water and using a few times it’s much softer. Jamesdidn’t believe me that it actually gets squishy with water so I took this photo to prove him wrong hahaha!

The body wash! Omg I wish someone had invented a scratch and sniff computer because this smells so good that there aren’t words to describe it! It’s kind of like some kind of fruity cocktail of apple-kiwi-other-random-yummy-things.

I thought the viscocity was a little odd for body wash because rather than being like a gel it’s very runny. That said it lathered up really nicely and didn’t leave that icky soap feeling after. I’ve been using it since I received it and every time I step out of the shower Jamescomments on the awesome smell hahaha!

The body lotion! This stuff has a really similar smell to the body wash so you really need to go to a Priceline and smell it because it’s seriously awesome 😀 I found this to be a little bit thicker than other body lotion that I’ve used but it rubs in well and doesn’t feel heavy when you’re actually wearing it. It’s made from shea butter which feels really nice and it’s not hard to rub in like some other shea mousturisers I’ve used before.

Following on the eco friendly thing the lotion and body wash are also paraben free (YAY!), Phthalate free (if anyone knows how to pronounce that let me know!), recyclable, dermatologist and clinically tested (not on animals!) and hypoallergenic 😀

I’m not a huge fan of shower flowers or whatever else they’re called so I gave it to James to test and his verdict was that is was much softer than his current non-eco friendly one.

So all in all I would say this set is well priced at RRP$24.95 from Priceline. I think it would make a really good gift too because of the cute bag! I sure wouldn’t complain if some one gave me one *cough*Valentines Day *cough*XD

Have any of you tried out the Eco Tools Bath Set?

Cheesie, Super Kawaii Mama and Violet's Puffy Bun Hair Tutorial Video!

by VioletLeBeaux | Jan 27, 2010 | Beauty, Hair, Hair-Tutorials, Tutorial, Video-Tutorials

Hello it’s hair tutorial time!

Remember how I’ve been promising some big projects lately? Weeeeeell this is one of them! A never-before-been-attempted-triple-hair-tutorial! (Yeah, yeah I know someone else probably did it first but it took a long time to edit this so let me have my moment in the sun damn it!)

Candice, Cheesie and I were up late one night throwing around some fun ideas and this is what popped out ^_^ I’ve been wearing my hair like this lately on days when the heat is just unbearable!

So here is our tutorial on making a pretty side bun. I hope you enjoy it!

What did you think? I’m going to be visiting Candice in a few weeks and Cheesie is coming to visit in a few months, more video collaborations?

P.S. How cute are Cheesie and Candice? Serious love! Let me know if you want to see another video hair tutorial!

Skin MD Moisturiser Review

by VioletLeBeaux | Jan 14, 2010 | Advert, Beauty, Review

Today I hope you all enjoy this Skin MD moisturiser review!

So those of you who have been reading my blog for a while know how I’ve had some troubles with allergies. One of the things I’ve discovered is that I’m allergic to parabens which are a common ingredient in make up and skin products… when I say common I mean when I checked the labels of the products in my bathroom there were only like 2 that didn’t have them >_< I’m not going to debate whether parabens are good/bad I just happen to be allergic so I’ve been looking for alternatives.

One thing that I’ve been especially looking for is moisturiser. The back story to this is that as long as I can remember I’ve had insanely itchy legs, I mean like drive you crazy itchy, worse than the worse mosquito bite you’ve ever had! What didn’t click until I started looking at the labels in my bathroom was that I’ve also been using a moisturiser with parabens on my legs for like 10 years now… Mystery solved.

Aaaaanyway a few weeks ago I was sent some moisturiser from a company called “Skin MD”. When I received the package it had some pamphlets which were a little infomercial-y for my tastes so I took the claims with a grain of salt.

The general idea is that this isn’t so much a moisturiser but a “shielding lotion” that creates a barrier on your skin to keep natural moisture in and bad things out. I decided to give it a try for 2 weeks and see how I went… here is my morning routine/review!

I have *very* sensitive skin on my face so this was where I decided to test it out.

The bottle is kind of… plain. Definitely not the prettiest bottle I have in my bathroom but hey it’s what’s on the inside that counts!

The bottle has one of those clicky top lids that you press down on one side to open. I have a personal hatred for these types of lids because they are *so* hard to open with long nails.

The smell of my moisturiser is really important to me, it’s the first thing that goes on my skin so I really have to like it. This has a really pleasant smell, not overpowering at all. Just kind of like generic cream smell. It actually really reminds me of the smell of the expensive cosmetics counters at David Jones/Myers which is really nice ^_^

The consistency is really runny, it’s super watery which I like because when you put it on it doesn’t take a lot of effort to rub in. It doesn’t feel like you’re wearing anything at all which is great because if you then layer foundation on you won’t have that heavy pancake make up feeling!

It feels very light and you need about 2/3rds of the amount I have here to do your whole face. I thought that the bottle was quite small when I first got it but after seeing how little you actually need I think the price tag of US$18 isn’t so bad especially when you compare it to the top level brands.

One thing that I was worried about with this moisturiser was it’s claims to be an effective treatment for eczema. As someone who suffered from eczema throughout high school I was weary of treatments that just plain don’t work. I still have mild eczema and after using this product for a few weeks I have definitely seen an improvement. I don’t think it is a miracle cure but the difference in texture is really there.

I start by dotting little bits all over my face.

Then starting at my nose I massage it in the directions of the arrows.

After rubbing it all in my skin feels nice and smooth. Also hearts totally appear everywhere 😛

Taadaa!

So the verdict:

While I don’t think this is a miracle cure, I have noticed a significant difference in my skin since using it. I like the texture, the smell and how my face feels after using it. I actually recommended this to a friend with more severe eczema and they noticed an immediate difference too which is really exciting!

The part that I like the best is that it is free of parabens so I’m not allergic to it. After trialing on my face I started using it on my legs too and they haven’t been itchy in weeks now! After having itchy legs for the last 10 years I can’t tell you what an awesome feeling that is!

Another great point is that it comes in a version with sunscreen built in, for girls like me that live in sunny Australia that’s a huge plus! If you would like to read more just check out their website here.

So I’m going to give it an 9/10 (loosing a point because of the packaging and stupid clicky lid) I would definitely recommend it to others with skin problems or who just want yummy soft skin ^_^

Personally I love it and I am going to keep using it every day 😀

Have you every tried Skin MD moisturiser or had bad allergies?

Grand Opening Of Violet's Nailart Store

by VioletLeBeaux | Jan 7, 2010 | Advert, Beauty, Craft, Decoden, Hime Gyaru, Nails

Well this week has been all about nail art hasn’t it?

Today I’m happy to announce the grand opening of my nail art for sale section ^_^

Scroll down to see some of the false nails I’ve got for sale or scroll to the bottom to see how to order!

Set 1. Princess Pink Nail Art

Description:
These beautiful nails are fit for even the fussiest of princesses. They are striped in light pink, white and dark pink with a pearlised finish so they shimmer in the light. Two rows of pink, purple and red diamantes bejewel each nail, the tiny gaps between the dimantes are filled with small gold bullions. Perfect for any royal event.Measurements:
Included in each set sold are 20 individual nails in 10 different sizes. These are fairly short nails with a square tip. The largest size is 1.8cm wide and 1.9cm long. The smallest size is 0.8cm wide and 1.2cm long. They will arrive on cardboard backing wrapped in pink fabric with ribbon details as pictured below. Gift wrapping is available upon request.Price: US$30Please click on the photos for a larger version to see all of the details.

A close up of the first 10 nails.

Set 2. Loving the Leopard

Sold!

Description:
There is no hiding from these nails, you won’t need to camouflage! With a bright purple base and fluro pink leopard spots these nails sure make a splash! The tips have been dipped in bright pink glitter and a matching pink diamante has been added to polish off. These are guaranteed to grab attention!

Measurements:
Included in each set sold are 20 individual nails in 10 different sizes. These are fairly short nails with a rounded tip. The largest size is 1.7cm wide and 2.3cm long. The smallest size is 0.8cm wide and 1.4cm long. They will arrive on cardboard backing wrapped in pink fabric with ribbon details as pictured below. Gift wrapping is available upon request.

Price: US$15

Please click on the photos for a larger version to see all of the details.

A close up of the first 10 nails.

Set 3. Gilded Roses

Description:
A dark red base with tiny black flecks featuring a gold glitter wash and hand painted gold roses. They shimmer beautifully in the sunlight and make an eye catching addition to a day or evening outfit.

Measurements:
Included in each set sold are 20 individual nails in 10 different sizes. These are fairly short nails with a rounded tip. The largest size is 1.7cm wide and 2.3cm long. The smallest size is 0.8cm wide and 1.4cm long. They will arrive on cardboard backing wrapped in pink fabric with ribbon details as pictured below. Gift wrapping is available upon request.

Price: US$15

Please click on the photos for a larger version to see all of the details.

A close up of the first 10 nails.

Set 4. Cake Parade

Description:
Mmm Cake. Each nail in this set of 20 is individually decorated in the theme of strawberry cake. They even have yummy 3D icing! Some of the designs include: a slice of cake, a fork, and an icing heart. So yummy you might want to bite them off and eat them!

Measurements:
Included in each set sold are 20 individual nails in 10 different sizes. These are fairly short nails with a rounded tip. The largest size is 1.7cm wide and 2.3cm long. The smallest size is 0.8cm wide and 1.4cm long. They will arrive on cardboard backing wrapped in pink fabric with ribbon details as pictured below. Gift wrapping is available upon request.

Price: US$20

Please click on the photos for a larger version to see all of the details.

A close up of the first 10 nails. Particularly note the hand painted bow and delicious strawberry cake slice.

Set 5. A Midnight Rendezvous

Description:
The perfect nails for a night out on the town or a civilized evening waltzing on the dance floor. The deep blue background on these can’t be completely captured in photographs, it’s stunning in person! Gold glitter tips with strings of gold bullions falling from the sky adorn this set with hand painted stars and crescent moons accenting 8 of the 20 nails. Each gold bullions has been hand placed in it’s individual string.

Measurements:
Included in each set sold are 20 individual nails in 10 different sizes. These are fairly short nails with a square tip. The largest size is 1.8cm wide and 1.9cm long. The smallest size is 0.8cm wide and 1.2cm long. They will arrive on cardboard backing wrapped in pink fabric with ribbon details as pictured below. Gift wrapping is available upon request.

Price: US$30

Please click on the photos for a larger version to see all of the details.

A close up of the first 10 nails.

Set 6. Seeing Spots

Sold!

Description:
With a mixture of gold, purple and pink these nails are perfect for an every day look. They are classy and have just enough bling to keep everyone’s attention firmly on your nails. They have a mixture of french tips and moons. The diamantes used are complimentary colour in the shapes of circles, flowers, hearts and stars.

Measurements:
Included in each set sold are 20 individual nails in 10 different sizes. These are fairly short nails with a square tip. The largest size is 1.8cm wide and 1.9cm long. The smallest size is 0.8cm wide and 1.2cm long. They will arrive on cardboard backing wrapped in pink fabric with ribbon details as pictured below. Gift wrapping is available upon request.

Price: US$15

Please click on the photos for a larger version to see all of the details.

A close up of the first 10 nails.

Set 7. Tea for Two

Description:
These nails would go beautifully with a Lolita co-ordinate. Pastel pink and blue themed they are each individually hand painted with items such as lace, bows, lollipops and even a portrait or two! Please view them close up to fully appreciate the details. The perfect accessory to top off any outfit!

Measurements:
Included in each set sold are 20 individual nails in 10 different sizes. These are fairly short nails with a rounded tip. The largest size is 1.7cm wide and 2.3cm long. The smallest size is 0.8cm wide and 1.4cm long. They will arrive on cardboard backing wrapped in pink fabric with ribbon details as pictured below. Gift wrapping is available upon request.

Price: US$35

Please click on the photos for a larger version to see all of the details.

A close up of the first 10 nails.

Set 8. Koi Pond

Description:
Koi fish splishing and splashing their way through the waves on your nails. These koi have all been painstakingly hand painted. They have gold metallic scales and the waves have silver metallic accents to make them shimmer in the sunlight. Please view them up close to see all of the little details.

Measurements:
Included in each set sold are 20 individual nails in 10 different sizes. These are fairly long nails with a rounded tip. Please note that these particular nails have been hand filed to shape, as such they are not completely even. Please examine the photos carefully before ordering. The largest size is 1.9cm wide and 2.7cm long. The smallest size is 0.9cm wide and 1.8cm long. They will arrive on cardboard backing wrapped in pink fabric with ribbon details as pictured below. Gift wrapping is available upon request.

Price: US$35

Please click on the photos for a larger version to see all of the details.

A close up of the first 10 nails.

Set 9. Tartan Icing

Description:
These nails feature hand painted tartan style pointed french tips and tiny silver bullions. The base are frosted white with silver glitter to make them extra shiny. The tartan is made with 4 different shades of pink and white.

Measurements:
Included in each set sold are 20 individual nails in 10 different sizes. These are fairly short nails with a square tip. The largest size is 1.8cm wide and 1.9cm long. The smallest size is 0.8cm wide and 1.2cm long. They will arrive on cardboard backing wrapped in pink fabric with ribbon details as pictured below. Gift wrapping is available upon request.

Price: US$20

Please click on the photos for a larger version to see all of the details.

A close up of the first 10 nails.

Set 10. Frosted Fruit Candy

Description:
This set just screams summer to me! Each nail has a summery base colour with a thin white french tip. The tips have gradated silver glitter so they really catch the light and a slice of fruit to top it all off! These nails would look great sipping cocktails by the pool.

Measurements:
Included in each set sold are 20 individual nails in 10 different sizes. These are fairly short nails with a rounded tip. The largest size is 1.7cm wide and 2.3cm long. The smallest size is 0.8cm wide and 1.4cm long. They will arrive on cardboard backing wrapped in pink fabric with ribbon details as pictured below. Gift wrapping is available upon request.

Price: US$15

Please click on the photos for a larger version to see all of the details.

A close up of the first 10 nails.

Extra Information!

Custom Orders:

I will take custom orders, please comment with what you are interested for a quote 🙂

Ordering:

Before you order please take the time to read all of the information.
You can order by either commenting here or by emailing me using my Contact Page to let me know which set you would like to buy and your email address so I can send you a Paypal Invoice. Please note that the email address you put in the comment form can only be seen by me so if you are uncomfortable publishing your email either put it there or order via the Contact Page. Anything that doesn’t sell here is going to be put up in my Etsy shop, if you would prefer to buy via Etsy let me know and I will create a listing for you 🙂

Payment:

Payment must be made via Paypal. All prices are in US Dollars.
Australian buyers have the option of doing a direct bank transfer in Australian Dollars but must contact me for details.

Postage:

Shipping fees are included in the listed prices. Shipping is via Australia Post. International shipping will be by standard Airmail (unless you want to pay extra for express).
Insurance is not included in the price, if you would like to buy insurance please contact me. If you do not opt to buy insurance I cannot be held responsible for lost packages.

Notes:

Please note that these nails are all hand painted and as such they are all unique. They are not mass produced and therefore they have small irregularities. Please view the pictures carefully to be sure before you place your order as I will not accept refunds if you just change your mind. Larger photos are available upon request.

Thank you so much for looking at my nail art!

Leopard Print Nail Art Tutorial

by VioletLeBeaux | Jan 4, 2010 | Beauty, Craft, Nails, Tutorial, Video-Tutorials

I know I know I know I’ve been promising this leopard print nail art tutorial forever! I finally finished it 😀

Apologies for the crappy film quality, originally I wasn’t planning on making this into a tutorial so I wasn’t very careful when I filmed it. I have new software which I’m now learning to use so this is the last of my badly edited/made videos ^_^ So the quality is not great this time but hopefully you can at least get a good idea of the techniques and try it out yourself.

Make sure you let me know if you give it a try, I’d love to start a “Readers Photos” section! Anyway I hope this has helped a bit!

Today James took the photos of the first batch of cool nail art that I’m going to sell so expect a post about it very soon 😀 I’m so excited about this!

I’ve been a bit sick today so I’m off to bed. Night night and hope you enjoyed the leopard print nail art tutorial 🙂

How to Apply Individual Eyelashes – Day 2

by VioletLeBeaux | Dec 8, 2009 | Beauty, Beauty-Tutorials, Hime Gyaru, Review, Tutorial

Quite a while ago I was sent a bunch of 1000 hour individual eyelashes to test out:

To be honest I wasn’t really thrilled about the idea of individual lashes, it sounded like an awful lot of unnecessary effort to me. I mean who really wants to apply full eyelid’s worth lash by lash? Who has time for that either? It wasn’t until I did a bit of a rethink and took some inspiration from the lovely SuperKawaiiMama that I got some inspiration.

These lashes are perfect for a cute casual look. You don’t actually need to put lashes over the whole eye to get an adorable effect, these are perfect for a cat-flick at the side! Ok so here is how to do it ^_^ These are my lashes to start with, I’ve applied some mascara and given them a little bit of a curl.

Before: cute and casual look.

This is the packet they come it, it’s a step up from 90% of other lashes available in Australia because the little tray they come in actually has a lid. I hate when you get lashes and they just come in the tray, it makes them useless for storage! This however is good and you get a lot of them in a pack so they last a while especially if you reuse them.

So to begin with get one of the little bunches.

And some scissors.

And cut the tip of the bunch on an angle. You need to do 2 of these (one for each eye so cut them in opposite directions). This is the part that will gradiat to the longest lashes on the ends. If you don’t have one of these it will look like you’ve just one a random flick on the edge.

This is what they should look like.

Now grab your lash glue. I would not recommend this brand unless you are allergic to others like me.

Add a tiny bit of glue to the base of the bunch. Depending on the glue you’re using you will probably need to wait for it to get tacky before applying.

Ok now apply it to you lash line, you should apply it a couple of mm before the end of your lashes. Once you apply the bunch, give it a little pinch to make sure it’s in line with your natural lashes.

Here is a photo of it applied to my lashes, you can barely see it because the shape blends into the length of my natural lashes. In the next photo I’ve highlighted where it it.

This is where it is placed, if you compare the below and above photos you’ll be able to see exactly what I mean and the angle of the cut.

This is how it looks when my eyes are open, it’s much easier to see here but you can still see how it blends.

And here it’s highlighted…

Ok! Now you want to get 2 more bunches per eye. These ones should be full sized. Do them one at a time so you have lots of control over the placement. Add the glue!

And this time we’re going to place this bunch next to the one we just did on the outside side (closer to the corner of the eye). You should make sure that the last one sits on the very edge of your lash line. By the time you’re finished you should have 3 bunches on each eye (2 full ones and 1 angled one).

Once you’ve placed them if you want you can add another coat of mascara to make all the lashes the same thickness or even curl them again. One other tip I have is that if you find they are sticking up at a different angle than your natural lashes, give them a coat of mascara and pinch them together with your natural lashes gently. The mascara will act like a light glue!

So this is what you should end up with:

And here is where the lashes are:

With eyes closed you can really see the difference:

And highlighted!

So there you go! This look is great as an everyday look because it’s not too heavy but the flick at the end is super cute. Now as for a review of the actual lashes I found them to be really good. I was really surprised at how durable they were, I’ve used the same 6 for this look several times. The best thing that I found was that they were comfortable enough to sleep in… probably not something I need to worry about every day but great when you’re on a 7hr plane trip! I was worried that because they weren’t held on by much glue that they would be hard to keep on but I haven’t lost one so far. You can get them from Priceline, Kmart and other beauty supply stores for around AU$7.95 which is an average price for lashes here in Aus. I really like them and I’ll be buying them again… though with this many in a tray I probably won’t need to for a long time hahaha! Have you ever tried the 1000 hour individual eyelashes?

A while ago Eco Tools sent me a couple of things to test out and this bath set was one of them!

Hello it’s hair tutorial time!

Today I hope you all enjoy this Skin MD moisturiser review!

Well this week has been all about nail art hasn’t it?

Set 1. Princess Pink Nail Art

Set 2. Loving the Leopard

Sold!

Set 3. Gilded Roses

Set 4. Cake Parade

Set 5. A Midnight Rendezvous

Set 6. Seeing Spots

Sold!

Set 7. Tea for Two

Set 8. Koi Pond

Set 9. Tartan Icing

Set 10. Frosted Fruit Candy

Extra Information!

Custom Orders:

Ordering:

Payment:

Postage:

Notes:

I know I know I know I’ve been promising this leopard print nail art tutorial forever! I finally finished it 😀

Quite a while ago I was sent a bunch of 1000 hour individual eyelashes to test out:

Explore…