Preview of Blogging in Style eBook and Review of Blurb

by VioletLeBeaux | Oct 15, 2010 | Life, Notices, Review

So as you all saw in the last Snapshots post I received a hard copy of the blogging ebook I’ve been working on.

Firstly I just want to clear up something, some of you were under the impression that this was the craft and tutorial book I’ve been working on, that is not the case ^_^ This is a basic guide to starting and maintaining your own blog which I have *also* been working on. So I’ve been writing two books (which is why I as being run so ragged!)

Blogging in Style with Violet- 76 pages on how to start and maintain a cute blog. A basic how-to guide for beginners to the world of blogging with lots of cute pictures to help understand new concepts and ideas. Released only as a PDF ebook at this point. Priced at US$8.
The craft/tutorial book which is still in progress and yet to be named. This one will be available in a large hard cover volume and several soft cover versions which comprise of 1 chapter each. It will also be available as a PDF for those who want to read but can’t afford postage of a heavy book. It will be a couple of hundred pages and price is yet to be determined.

But enough about that for now! Let’s talk about this ebook 😀

The last time I mentioned I was writing this, the lovely people from Blurbcontacted me and offered to print me a copy so I could have a physical reminder of all of my hard work.Basically Blurb is a website where you can upload whatever you like and they will print it into a fancy little book for you. They do hard covers and soft cover, pretty much anything you can think of.

I chose the hardcover option with an image wrap. It looks so beautiful and professional!

They make the process very easy so even someone with no design experience can creat something like a book with photos from their holidays and have a really pretty keepsake.

These are the three options they offer for book creation:

1. Bookify (our newest addition to the product range, this is an online bookmaking tool for streamlined book projects that can be done over a night or two) For example a quick travel book from your recent trip or a child’s birthday party.)

2. Booksmart (Blurb’s free software that’s made easy for everyone to download, pick a layout and just add content)

3. PDF To Book (for experienced designers and Indesign software users)

I was in a hurry so I used Booksmart and imported my page layouts. It look me about 15 minutes from opening the program to uploading my images 😀 Of course before that it took weeks of writing, drawing, colouring, editing and organizing the layout of the book XD

The best part:

All in all I am very happy with the quality and service from Blurb and I will be looking them up again if I ever write another ebook so I can have a personal printed copy 😀

If you want to have your own book printed they have been nice enough to include a discount code for you all:

Code: VIOLETSHIP (this is case sensitive)

Good for Aud$9.99 off your shipping charges for books you make

Expires Nov 15, 2010
one per customer, one time use.

Get up to 3 books shipped for free!

Hurray! So there you go 😀 I will let you all know next week once it’s up and available in the shop!

In the mean time, if you want to get a little taste of what it’s about I have made a free low quality preview that you can download, it contains a random selection of 14 pages. Hopefully this will let you get an idea of things and decide if you would like to purchase the full book next week. It’s around 1.9mb big so if you have a download limit please take that into account.

Best viewed in Adobe Acrobat ^_^

DOWNLOAD THE PREVIEW!

Blixz Nail Art Foil Review

by VioletLeBeaux | Oct 13, 2010 | Beauty, Review

Last week I was sent some Blix Nail Foilsto try out. As you all know, I’m a sucker for nail related anything so I was quite excited ^_^

These are the designs they sent me:

They come in singles packs like the ones below or salon packs like the top 3 above.

The singles packs come with scissors, nail file/buffer and a little cuticle pushing tool which is used to apply them. According to the website these singles packs cost $17.50 which at first thought seems a little pricey considering you only get one application out of it. The price isn’t so bad when you consider they are supposed to last for up to 2 weeks and if you were going to get a professional design it would probably cost that or more. That said if I was to make a habit of buying them often… paying for a pair of scissors, file and cuticle pushes when I didn’t require them would probably bug me quite a bit.

Anyway on to the application!

First you file and buff your nails so they are smooth and ridge free. If they are too bumpy you will be able to see the imperfections through the foil.

I decided to do these on my natural nails because at the moment I’m doing a lot of nail art and I can’t have fakes because the chemicals ruin them. I kind of want to do some nail art tutorials which are more work-appropriate and for girls that don’t have crazy long nails too.

Instructions said to pull off the top layer of the stickers next…

Then you match the closest size to your nail.

Now you should cut the bottom and sides to fit your nail exactly. This bit was a little bit confusing if you ask me. Each single set comes with 16 foils, 8 on each side which to me seems like a weird number to have considering that you have to cut them to fit your nails anyway. If it were me I would just provide 10 large sizes and then you could cut them to size… or provide 20 of them so you could get 2 uses rather than having 6 left over. That’s just my thrifty brain’s thinking though!

So you apply it to your nail and smooth it down with the cuticle tool. The instructions then say you should use the nail file to remove the extra… instead I used nail clippers to snip it off which was much quicker ^_^

Repeat and you’ve got pretty nails!

Now here’s the step which makes all the difference, when you first stick them you can see they bubble a bit and get wrinkles if you don’t have perfectly flat smooth nails. Well the instructions suggest that once you stick them you use a blow dryer to gently heat them up and then use the tool again to push out air pockets. They looked much better after the hair dryer treatment!

They are shiny as hell and I really like a lot of the designs on the website. I think they would be good for a big night out or a fancy event especially for those that don’t have the patience for painting intricate designs themselves ^_^

For good measure here is one I used on a fake nail:

I kept them on for 3 days with no problems and I only removed them because I wanted to change to a different design. To remove I just soaked my hands in warm water and peeled them off again.

Because they are quite thick (almost like vinyl car decals) and the heat molds them to your nails I think they would be quite durable. I could definitely see them lasting a few weeks easily if you were careful with the application. I really like the idea of these and they come in a huge amount of designs.

VERDICT: DO WANT

Yay I’m so glad to start doing beauty reviews again, I can’t wait to show you guys some of the cool things from the Beauty Blogger event the other week 😀

The Sock Boutique Review Faux Lace Up Socks

by VioletLeBeaux | Oct 7, 2010 | Advert, Review

This post is sponsored by The Sock Boutique.

For more information on sponsored posts please click here.

As you all know, I am a big lover of socks and stockings so when The Sock Boutique were lovely enough to send me one of the designs they’ve just started stocking I was quite excited to see what would arrive!

Beautifully wrapped up in tissue paper and a little pink ribbon…

Inside was this pair of socks from Leg Avenue:

I *think* this particular Leg Avenue design is a knock off of a Japanese brand’s design but I can’t for the life of me remember which brand though, so someone correct me please!ANGELIC PRETTY design (thanks for the correction Tash!). They are designed to mimic lace up boots. Very cute idea!

I quite like this design because they can be dressed up or down while still providing a point of interest. For example this is how I wore them in a casual way for grocery shopping…

And this is them dressed up to go out to dinner later that night.

I found that the socks themselves were made from very comfy cotton and even though they are designed to be knee high socks, I am quite short at 151cm so I wore them comfortably over the knee all day and they didn’t slip down at all.

I was wearing stockings under them this day because it was freeeezing outside but you can see the over the knee-ness here:

They feature lace around the top with a small polka dot bow. The lace wasn’t great quality but it doesn’t actually touch the skin so the scratchiness didn’t bother me. I am thinking that replacing it with cotton lace would be very easy to do, though I always wear them under longer dresses so no one will ever see the tops anyway…

Nice close up of the details, my favorite part are the little hearts! I don’t think these are “brand” quality socks but considering they only cost $8 while brand socks cost $30ish I am very happy with them.

Overall I am very happy with the quality and comfort of this pair. Very versatile for co-ordinations too! I’m looking forward to seeing what else they start stocking at The Sock Boutique!

If you would like your own pair you can buy these and others from The Sock Boutique.

Eyeko Nail Polish Swatches

by VioletLeBeaux | Sep 19, 2010 | Nails, Review

Another nail polish swatching adventure today! If you read nail polish blogs you’ve probably seen the new Eyeko polishes everywhere. I figured this was as good a time as any to review and show you all of the Eyeko polishes in my collection.

Mostly I just wanted a little down time and swatching polishes is nice and relaxing!

Brand: Eyeko

From: Their website

Price: £8.50 per polish *EDIT* Sorry everyone! I miss-read the website, it’s actually £8.50 for a set of 3 or £3.50 each. My bad! */EDIT*

Volume: 8.5ml

Ingredients: Ethyl acetate, Butyl acetate, Nitrocellulose, Adipic acid/neopentyl glycol/trimellitic anhydride copolymer, Isopropyl alcohol, Propyl acetate, Triphenyl phosphate, Trimethyl pentanyl diisobutyrate, n-Butyl alcohol, Stearalkonium hectorite, Diacetone alcohol, Dimethicone, Citric acid, Benzophenone-1. May Contain: CI 77891 (Titanium Dioxide), CI 15850 (D&C Red No.6), CI 77499, CI 77491 (Iron Oxides), CI 77510 (Ferric Ferrocyanide), CI 77000(Aluminum Powder), CI 19140 (FD&C Yellow No.5), Calcium Aluminum , Borosilicate, Silica, Polyethylene terephthalate.

Bottle: Tall round thin bottles. Look good but not as easy to store as square bottles.

Brush: Average size, flexible.

Drying Time: Roughly the same for all of them. Not ridiculously long but nothing to write home about.

Colour Name: Chi Chi

Description: Pink glitter in a milky pink base.

Thoughts: Quite an interesting pink the milky base is very sheer but after 3 coats it’s nearly opaque from the weight of the glitter. I think this is probably my favorite of the bunch.

Good for: -Layering -Small accents eg. French tips etc

Bad for: -Being Opaque

Colour Name: Saucy

Description: Red with an orangey base.

Thoughts: Fairly standard bright red. Pretty, shiny and opaque in 1 coat.

Good for: -Bright fun summery manicures -Good red for vintage-ish mani’s too -Very opaque so possibly good for Konading

Bad for: -Anything you don’t want to be completely in your face with colour

Excuse the stripe in the photo below, I managed to get a hair on it while drying >_<

Colour Name: Punk

Description: Neon pink.

Thoughts: This was an odd one for me, I’m not sure if it was just the bottle I got but it’s a slightly different colour than I was expecting. Very very matte, no shine to it at all.

Good for: -Insanely bright mani’s -Probably good for Konad as it’s very opaque

Bad for: -Not burning your eyes out with it’s insane brightness -Being subtle

Colour Name: Rain

Description: Light opaque blue/grey.

Thoughts: Actually a really interesting colour. Very odd combination between blue and grey, I think the name pretty accurately describes it!

Good for: -Nail art, good consistency to use with a small brush -Rain clouds etc… anything gloomy -Work safe designs

Bad for: -Cheery bright designs

Colour Name: Lilac

Description: Pretty much what the name says… Lilac.

Thoughts: I really like the packaging on this one! The polish itself is a nice glossy flattering colour suitable for crazy nail art but also more subdued work friendly things.

Good for: -Work friendly mani’s -Macaron nail art etc

Bad for: -Anything with a big oomf. -Probably not good with konad as the first coat is a little weak.

Colour Name:

Nude

Description: Tan opaque polish.

Thoughts: Meh, there’s nothing actually wrong with the polish, it applies well and dries glossy… but I just don’t like it because I find tan so boring.

Good for: -Work safe stuff I suppose -Leopard print…

Bad for: -Exciting-ness…

Colour Name: Purple

Description: Nice matte reddish purple.

Thoughts: I have a soft spot for matte purples, I don’t know why but I just love them. This one is no different, it is quite an interesting one because it layers really well for 3 distinct colours.

Good for: -Versatility -Using as a matte base and adding glitter

Bad for: -Can’t think of anything.

Colour Name: Coral

Description: Bright red polish, light pinky tones.

Thoughts: This is a very similar colour to the Saucy polish from earlier but this one is lighter and more… red. In the bottle it looks more orangy but when applied I thought it was on the pinker side.

Good for: -More bright manicures. -Again probably good for Konading as it’s very opaque

Bad for: -Non-bright designs (duh)

Colour Name: Vintage

Description: Mint green, shiny and opaque.

Thoughts: Another nice shiny opaque colour. This one reminds me of the green/pink striped colours in an old fashioned malt shop. Or maybe an old fashioned dentist.

Good for: -Nail art like leaves etc, very opaque and good consistency.

Bad for: -Using on it’s own, I think a whole polish design in this shade might be a bit odd because it’s kind of a washed out colour.

Colour Name: Tea Rose

Description: Dark pink glossy polish.

Thoughts: This one dries a lot more darkly than in the bottle. Very nice colour and not a shade I’ve seen very often.

Good for: -Work safe manicures -Natural but interesting designs

Bad for: -Out there/unnatural designs.

Colour Name: Posh

Description: Medium brown for “ladylike” nails.

Thoughts: Again there wasn’t anything actually wrong with this polish but I just am not a fan of browns like this… they look so boring to me! Also I have no idea how this colour is for posh nails but that’s just me XD

Good for: -Ummmm… More leopard print?

Bad for: -Cutesy sweet designs.

I can’t find the photo of the 3 layered swatch I took so you will have to use your imagination. Pretty much it was opaque in 1 coat.

Overall I quite like the quality of Eyeko polishes, though considering the size of the bottle I think they are quite expensive. Some of the colours they come product are quite original. Very nice.

Big Fat Bodyline Review Part 2

by VioletLeBeaux | Aug 28, 2010 | Review

This was my second order from Bodyline and I was quite excited about it considering the quality last time!

I placed my order and it was very promptly shipped out. This time the tracking stopped updating in Hong Kong so I wasn’t expecting it when it arrived after 3 days.

I ordered from Bodyline the following:

This is what arrived:

The ponytail extension was wrapped in a plastic bag with cardboard to stop it getting crushed.

The others were just in plastic bags. The yellow gold was a little darker than I expected but the colour was nice. The quality was much better than I expected for the price. They are not shiny at all and assuming you could get the right colour I think it would be easy to blend with natural hair.

I was very happy with the colour of the pink that came.

James’ beanie was the same quality as the last one he ordered. Very soft and comfy.

Now the shoes! These were the part I was most interested in. I ordered them to use as a base so I could finally make you all a tutorial on modifying hime gyaru shoes 🙂

They were packed in plastic with paper to hold the fronts.

Unfortunately the pink ones turned up missing the little plastic stopper on one of the heels. I emailed Bodyline about it and asked for the missing stopper to be posted out but after several emails back and forth in broken English the end result was that (as far as I understand) they wanted me to make my own replacement plastic thing. I will probably just take it to the shoe repair place and get them to do it. I would have liked Bodyline to send a replacement one but considering the shoes were $12 I can’t really complain XD

Other than that mishap I am quite pleased with the quality. They are fairly true to size and the colour was accurate.

The bows are quite icky but as I bought them as bases to customise I don’t care.

The quality of the materials is quite good, plastic bottoms and vinyl-ish on the tops.

They are labeled as “Duan Da”

Nice and comfortable too, they are very low heel when you take into account the front platform. I imagine they would be good for lots of walking/shopping. Looking forward to testing that theory!! Overall I think they are going to make a good base for the tutorial.

Overall opinion:

Very happy with the overall quality of everything, the shipping was fast and prices were very good. Communication was a little frustrating but I think that is negated by the prices. Very happy with my purchases!

Have you all bought from Bodyline before? Hope you found the Bodyline Review useful if not!

Blue Circle Lens Review :D

by VioletLeBeaux | Aug 21, 2010 | Advert, Review

I’ve been wanting to try blue circle lenses for aaaages so I was so happy when E-Circlelens.net offered to send me some!

Yay for parcels in the mail! I was very happy when the post man delivered this 😀

Lots of careful packing with Styrofoam so nothing was broken. Shipping was nice and quick too.

I received two pairs, firstly the Belita Blue which have a diameter of 14.5mm. They are US$40 and the manufacturer is Dueba

They are the ones I wore in the poufy hair tutorial…

They have a black ring around the outside and very dramatic bright blue. On the website they look really crazy blue but when they are actually in I think they are more subtle. On darker eyes these would be quite subdued but I think they would really pop on light blue eyes.

My eyes are green with a brown ring in the middle so they blended quite well, I have fairly large pupils though. I think they might work really well for girls with lighter eyes too. After around 7 hours I found them to still be very comfortable and my eyes were only a tiny bit dry.

Verdict: Look massive, very cool for day to day wear. DO WANT

Secondly I received the Super Star Blue set which have a diameter of 14mm. They cost US$40, last for 1 year and the manufacturer is New Bio.

These ones are smaller than a lot of lenses but the black ring around the outside makes them pop anyway.

These ones have a much more subtle blue to them. Well there really isn’t very much blue but they have tiny blue stars! How cute is that? When you are a reasonable distance away it kind of looks just light blue flecks in you eyes but close up they really pop!

I wore these ones for around 6 hours and they were comfortable too. The only thing I didn’t like was that because my pupils are larger than average every now and then I could see blur from the stars entering my frame of vision.

Close up you can really see the little stars. I think these ones are really fun for photoshoots!

I think on darker eyes the stars would be more obvious. These photos were all taken with James’ DIY ring flash so that’s why there is a white circle in the middle of my pupils, it’s not part of the lenses XD