Hi Divas
 

It's been years since I purchased an eyeshadow palette. I never felt the need to add to my collection since the dreaded lockdown days. I have been using the palettes in my collection intending to hit pan on all of them. When I passed the Essence stand a while ago to top up on some makeup essentials, I couldn't let this beauty pass by. The palette is named after my beautiful home town Cape Town and that was enough reason for me to make a transaction at the till. Upon opening the palette, to my surprise, it was filled with an exciting colour story. I was very eager to play with it as these eyeshadows were quite different from my collection.

The palette is designed with a sturdy cardboard casing that makes it light and easy to travel with. The length and width of the casing are perfect sizes. It is not cumbersome to use. I was surprised by the large mirror inside, making it a nifty case to escort around. The cover is a picturesque aerial shot of the iconic Cape Town views. Table Mountain stands tall looking over the gorgeous coastline and bustling city arena. This is the beauty of Cape Town captured in one picture; the colourful sites of the city along with its vibrant culture and diverse nature.

There are 12 bold shades in the palette consisting of 5 shimmers and 7 mattes. The variety of shades is what makes this palette an absolute winner. The 5 shimmers are yellow gold, rose gold, metallic silver and aquatic blue. The mattes are 3 neutral shades in two browns and cream, making great transition shades. The rest are a bold orange, leafy green and two shades of sea blues. I just love the cute tree and lion embossed on the pans. There are no names allocated to the eyeshadows, but the stark contrast in colours makes it forgivable. The pans are large and will last quite a long time. What a fun and fresh design. It makes me delighted to use the eyeshadows.

As you can see in the swatches, the colours really pack a punch. They are pigmented and have great colour payoff. I was especially surprised by the performance of the matte shades. They truly blended well on my eyes and were bold not only in the pans but on the eyelids too. Some of the shimmers are a bit chunky and you will need a concealer or eyeshadow primer to help them adhere to the skin. This especially applies to the gold shade. I prefer to use my finger to pack the pigment on. I used a combination of 5 shades. For my brow bone the white-cream and for my crease a combination of  light matte brown and bold orange. I carefully placed the gold shimmer on my lids as this eyeshadow has the most fallout in all the pans. For a pop of colour, I blended the two matte blues alongside the blue shimmer on my lower lash line.

This palette is gorgeous and you can create a variety of looks. If you are someone who wants to explore colourful makeup looks, this is the perfect palette to jump into. It's easy to work with and not intimidating. The mattes especially blend wonderfully. You can easily create a vibrant eye for any occasion. If you are a makeup fanatic like me, this is an excellent option to add to your growing collection. Have you purchased this palette?
 Let me know your thoughts below!

Hi Divas

Before this year comes to a screeching halt, I want to share some of my nail art designs with you. These were done from late 2018 to 2019. I have done many designs in this time frame, but these are the ones I love the most. To see all my nail designs you can follow me on Instagram here. As I mentioned before, nail art is a wonderful way of expressing my creativity and challenging myself. There are still so many designs I want to do and nail art techniques I want to achieve. It takes a lot of time, patience and dedication to create pieces of art for your fingertips. I am slowly but surely getting there. As you can see below, I love colour and am not afraid to wear it. If you are afraid of colour and want to be bold, nail polish is a great way of achieving this. I find that nail art is so much more than just a pretty manicure. It truly represents your personality and mood for that period in time. I hope you find inspiration from my designs and let me know what look you love the most in the comment section below. ;)


Christmas Sparkle Nails
I wanted to step away from the traditional Christmas nail designs consisting of red and green. My goal was to have soft festive nails with a touch of angelic sparkles. I decided to use pastel purple and pure crisp white to achieve this. For the purple polish I used Sorbet in Berry Special and Wet n Wild in French White Creme. To top it off I added jolly stickers and purple rhinestones for extra sparkles. I loved this design as it was playful, angelic but still captured the Christmas spirit.

Summer Tie-Dye Nails
When I was painting this nail design, I honestly didn't expect the great response for it on my Instagram. Everyone was in love with this manicure. It is funny how you are busy creating something and it looks so mundane and foolish at first. Then, once everything comes together, you can finally see the beauty taking shape. This is exactly how I felt when creating this pattern. The Tye Dye was really easy to do too. I used three bright nail colours in #11 and #70 by Etude House and Walking on Sunshine by Tip Top (discontinued), and Wet n Wild French White Creme for the middle finger. I randomly brushed colours on my nails in tie-dye shaped patterns. The important part is to not make it look stylized or well placed. It needs to look a little messy and random the way tie-dye naturally looks. The results came out better than I expected. I added green and gold rhinestones along with stickers for a diva signature look.

Soda Orange Pop Nails
My inspiration for this design was actually the fact that I hadn't worn bright orange nails in a long time, and I noticed my nail polish was getting old. I honestly hate wasting and will use something till the last drop. I decided to show my neglected nail polishes some love and the shade Salsa Pop by Tip Top was one of them. This brand is discontinued but you can use any bright orange nail varnish for the look. I used my trusty Wet n Wild French White Creme for the ring finger and added gold stickers along with silver shapes for the ring finger.

Oriental Pink Birthday Nails
For my birthday I wanted to use my favourite colour pink of cause and a whole lot of shimmer. My inspiration was oriental embroidery along with ancient royal jewellry. The mood was pure regal opulence inspired by the East. I love the contrast of two different shades on one nail as well. The illusion is amazing and looks very elegant. The gorgeous bright pink varnish is Etude House in #11. The white sparkles are iridescent nail glitters which I glued on using a clear nail base. I added diamond rhinestones and stickers for an extra glow.

Purple Marble with Stripes Nails
I have been dabbling in marble techniques for a while now. These are really tricky to do and time consuming. They can sometimes come out really great or be an epic fail. Thankfully I had one good attempt with this design. For the purple base I coated my nails with Essence Purple With Purpose from the Merry Berry collection. To create the marble effect, I used a foil nail polish by Nails Inc in Kings Road. For the index and middle finger, I placed the same purple polish on half my nails and used purple nail strips to create the stripe designs. I topped off the look with rhinestones and cute gold bow stickers.

Fun Pastel Easter Nails
As the Christmas manicure, my desire was to create festive nails but without the traditional Easter eggs and bunny designs. I decided to stick with pastel colours as what is Easter without pastels, right? For my thumb and ring fingers I coated them with Etude House #8 pink lacquer and added gold nail strips to resemble an Easter egg wrapper. My index finger is Wet n Wild French White Creme topped with a yellow feather nail decal to represent the cute Easter chicks. My middle finger is Sorbet Jaded and my pinky finger is Etude House Red Rocks from the Merry Berry collection. I wanted these two nails to be bright and colourful with stars and glitters to resemble Easter chocolate packaging as well.


 *****
For all my nail designs I use the Sally Hansen base coat in Complete Care 7-In-1 and the top coat is Sally Hansen Mega Shine. I have used these two products for years and can highly recommend them to protect your nails and make your manicures last. One thing, I would like to mention is that I do not run after trends and buy every new shade of nail polish on the market. I have lots of nail lacquers from collections past. I sometimes use polishes that are discontinued or may not be readily available. You can use any nail colours of your choice. You don't have to constantly go out and purchase the latest things. Use what you have in your collection and you will be amazed at what you can create. I use Pinterest as a source of inspiration for all my nail art creations. There are so many tutorials and techniques shown there too. You can explore and spur on your creative juices to do your own nail designs with your unique style and touch.


Thank you so much for reading. Hope you found this post helpful
Divalicious Kisses
Xxxx

Hi Divas

Essence has some really great complexion products on the market. If you haven't checked them out yet, you definitely should.  I particularly love their liquid concealers as they are affordable and give excellent coverage for a low end brand. I was excited to see that Essence had expanded their Camouflage range as I was a huge fan of the previous concealers. I have a review on it here. This range has been up graded to Camouflage Plus. It promises to be a full coverage matte concealer which is waterproof and even covers tattoos. Now I do not have any tattoos, but I do have moles and under eye bags that need serious cover. When it comes to waterproof claims I do not venture out into open waters with makeup on, but I do sweat it out in intense cardio workouts. I need a concealer that would cover pigmentation and not move during exercise. This one sounds like it would do the job perfectly and therefore I didn't hesitate to purchase it.

The previous Camouflage range only came in an atrocious two shades. The Camouflage Plus comes in a disappointing three shades. I have the shade 30 Light Honey which is perfect for my medium skin tone. If you are darker in complexion from a medium to medium tan than there is no shade match for you. This is extremely discouraging as we live in a time where inclusivity is not an option any more, it should be a prerequisite. I understand that Essence is made in Germany and their demographic is not the same as the rest of the world but if you going to branch out to other countries, you going to need to expand and put in the effort to include everyone. Any way besides the shade range the packaging is really great. It comes in a sturdy plastic tube with a doe foot applicator. The applicator is an ideal size to disperse product evenly. The tube comes with the standard 5ml of product and is well built to travel with as it won't easily break under extreme conditions such as falling or knocking against other products in a makeup bag.

Upon application, I was truly surprised at the consistency of this concealer. By the claims I was expecting it to be super thick and hard to blend. This was not the case at all. The product goes on quite light and blends out smoothly with fingers and a sponge. It does not drag, flake or dry too quickly. The formula is lovely to work with and you can build it up to the desired effect you want without it becoming clumpy. I have combination skin and the matte effect it gives is just right. It does not dry out my under eyes or cause streaks. There is a surprising luminosity to it that I did not expect. It covers blemishes and under eye dark circles great too. I have a mole on the right side of my face that is very prominent. Since I do not have tattoos, I decided to test the full coverage claims there. It did not cover the mole fully on first application but started to conceal it as I was layering the product. I do not think this is a full on heavy one touch concealer. You would need to add a few layers to get total full coverage on things like tattoos and heavy scars. When it comes to the matte effect and waterproof claims, the concealer held up really well. It lasted under my intense sweaty cardio sessions and did not run, flake or move. My under eyes still looked covered and flawless.

This is a well made concealer for an affordable price. It did a great job in covering blemishes and holding up under heat and sweat. It is on the light side when it comes to covering full on tattoos in one go though. You would need to layer up and blend. The concealer is not drying even though it has matte claims. If you have intense dry and sensitive skin, this may not be a good option for you. For those with normal to combination skin, this concealer sits comfortably on the face and does not feel tight, heavy or dry. I love the price and longevity of this product but the shade range needs a whole lot of work. I hope you found this review helpful. Let me know if you tried this concealer down below.


Divalicious Kisses
Xxxx

Hi Divas

This will be my last post for 2018. Can you believe that the year is practically over? My goodness, what a horrible year it has been, well for me at least. 2018 was not my best year, but God has carried me through it in one piece and I am very grateful for that. Christmas and the New Year are honestly my favourite holidays because they always bring festive cheer and the feeling of new beginnings. I just love seeing all the decorations wherever I go and everyone has that joyful glow. Brands too get into the holiday spirit and release gorgeous Christmas collections every year. My absolute favourite festive collection that has been released in South Africa has to be the Essence Ho Ho Ho! Christmas Edition. Besides the fact that the brand is super affordable, they truly nailed it this time with cute, merry and innovative packaging. I have four products from the holiday edition to share with you. There are eight products within the range including Christmas nail art stickers, nail art stamping set, a highlighter brush and a body and hair shimmer mist.

Essence Oh My Deer Bath Bomb Greeting Card
The bath bomb greeting card is honestly the cutest and most innovative little gift you could have. I love that Essence combined a Christmas card with a lovely scented strawberry bath bomb. It would be a truly thoughtful present to give to someone has you can write a personalized message in the card and give it to any one as the greeting card is unisex and appropriate for any age group. Who does not love a beautiful smelling pamper product? Not to mention the card is so festive and bright you won't need extra trimmings to jazz it up.

Essence Ho Ho Ho! Lip Balm
Essence did really well with the jolly packaging on the lip balm too, as it resembles a Christmas tree bauble. You could totally hang these on your tree and have a fun present hunt. Or you could gift them as secret Santa presents and place them in stocking stuffers. The lip balms are cherry scented and have a slight tint to them. They are quite soft in texture and would be great to whip out at the Christmas table after dinner to touch up your lips.

Essence Ho Ho Ho! Iridescent Powder Highlighter in 01 Twinkle Twinkle
I was quite surprised at the colour choice of this highlighter. Usually brands tend to put out gold and champagne highlighters as these are the common shades that most of us makeup lovers like to wear. Instead Essence went totally out the box and did a full-on pink highlighter instead. I honestly did not think I would like it but I was so wrong! This highlighter is a beautiful holographic pink shade with slight gold and purple shimmers. It reminds me of the Too Faced unicorn highlighters. I actually feel like a unicorn when I wear it. It looks so unique and flattering on me. You can use it as an eyeshadow or blush topper too. It is so pretty, I have been wearing it everyday to work so far.


Essence Ho Ho Ho! Eyeshadow Palette in 01Jingle All The Way
The Piece de Resistance of the whole collection has to be this gorgeous palette. Essence have never released such gorgeous and vibrant eyeshadows before. Theses shades are so pigmented and bright. I love the colour scheme and the size of the pans are much larger than usual. There are 3 mattes, 3 creamy shimmers, 2 creamy satin finishes and one bold glitter eyeshadow. The shades are very pigmented and opaque. The shadows are quite soft therefore, be careful when dipping your brush into the palette. Most of the creamy eyeshadows work better when applied on your lid with your finger as the texture glides on the eyes. The mattes take some work to blend out but with a little patience it would look great, especially in the crease. The glitter eyeshadow is very soft but has some grip to it. It would work best with a glitter eyeshadow primer and applied with your finger. This palette is beautiful and the shadows have the quality of high end brands. The actual palette is made out of cardboard though and comes with a plastic protective sheet for the eyeshadows.

As you can see above the eyeshadows swatch beautifully and are very pigmented. They look amazing on the eyes. There is some fallout with certain shades hence it would be best to do your eye makeup first and your foundation application afterwards. The very top swatch is the pink highlighter. The shade is truly unicorn inspired and I love it so much. Below is a full face with the palette and highlighter applied. I placed a matte terracotta shade in my crease and the dark deep plum satin shade across my lid. For the inner corners I placed the creamy satin gold shade and topped off the outer corner of my eyes with the festive glitter. I placed the highlighter on my brow bone, cheekbones and the centre of my nose. I truly love the way the makeup look turned out. It's so glam and can be worn for any special holiday party.

Diva Desle Festive Nails 2018

Hi Divas

This week I shall be sharing some of my holiday nail art with you. This post should have been done ages ago but there was always something new to review and I kept forgetting to do it. As most of you may know that I am a complete nail art addict. I absolutely love creating different nail designs and challenging myself in the process. When it comes to new ideas I definitely use Pinterest and Instagram as a source of inspiration. I like to find new designs and try to adapt it and make it my own. Nail art is an art form in which I love to express my creativity. I am in no way a qualified nail technician but just a lady having fun. Before this year comes to an end I wanted to share four of my festive manicures with you. Let me know what your favourite design is below.

Christmas Nails December 2017

For this design I wanted something festive yet regal. Kind of like Christmas in a palace feel, LOL. Since I will never be a princess and know what it's like to have a royal Christmas, why not live that through my nail art. I opted for a royal blue and festive red nail polish as the base colours. I mixed Rimmel Salon Pro in Brit Pop with Catrice in Get the Blues for the perfect blue. Essie in Limited Addiction was the perfect red to compliment the blue. Glitter, pearl and gold rhinestones as well as snowflake and a Christmas tree decal all sealed the deal in creating the perfect look. 

Birthday Nails January 2018
This glam look was all I needed to celebrate my birthday in style. I wanted it to be all things diva with an edge. I used two black and gold nail polishes by Tip Top a brand which sadly discontinued their products. I still have full bottles of their nail lacquers and I intend to use them till the last drop. For the glitter overlays I applied Sephora Collection nail polishes in Gold Fever and Fireworks. To achieve perfect geometric angles, I placed nail tape to corner off my shapes. I then painted my nails in black and gold. The trick is to wait for the nails to dry slightly and slowly pull off the nail tape. If you rip it off too early you will smudge the design. If you pull it off too late the polish will dry over the tape and it won't come off. This one takes some practice but it looks amazing when done right. I finished off the manicure with gold rhinestones.

Valentines Day Nails February 2018
Many people have mixed opinions about Valentine's Day. I personally like the idea of having a special day to celebrate love. Even though it can get super cliche and soppy, I view Valentine's Day as a license to be all lovey-dovey. It better be just for that day though. You know you got to cut it out when the clock strikes 12, LOL. My idea for the nail design was romantic, sweet and charming. For my two base colours I used Nails Inc Special Effects in Marylebone Lane for the beautiful glitter red and Wet n Wild in French White Creme for that crisp white. Again, I used a silver nail tape to create duo colour nail effects but left the tape on as part of the design. I drew a heart on my little finger with a dotting tool and applied pearls and stickers. I really liked the way this manicure turned out and definitely want to do something similar again.

Easter Nails April 2018
When it comes to Easter the colours are always playful and fun. For my design I really wanted to play around with as much pastel shades as possible. I was inspired by bunny ear head bands and decided to paint them on my nails too and use pearls as the headband structure. Polishes used are Sorbet Ice is Nice for the blue and Berry Special for the purple and Wet n Wild French White Creme for the white. Etude House Play in #8 for the pretty pink and a Tip Top yellow nail polish which is discontinued. I painted yellow speckled eggs and zigzag Easter egg patterns with a nail art dotting tool. I think it turned out pretty cute.

*****

I really hope you like my designs and get inspired too. Follow me on Instagram @divadesle to see more nail designs. Thank you so much for reading. Lots of love!

Divalicious Kisses
Xxxx

Setting Spray Review

Hi Divas!

As most of you know Essence is known to be an affordable makeup brand. Their products are good quality and easy on the wallet too. I was searching for a budget friendly makeup fixer as my trusty L'Oreal one ran out. My mom stole my Urban Decay setting spray, BIG LOL, therefore I was on the hunt for a new one. I came across the Essence spray and thought I should give it a try. What I look for most in a setting spray is something that would lock in my makeup and keep me matte throughout the day. This one promises to be a light weight spray that is oil free, non sticky and mattifying. Since this product is under a R100 (+ $10) it sounded really great. The bottle contains 50ml of product. It comes with a spritz nozzle and cap. The packaging is small and light weight therefore it is perfect to travel with and pop in a hand bag. It states on the packaging that you can use it as a primer before makeup application, as well as a fixing spray. I prefer to only use it after makeup as I am not really a big fan of primers. To test out this bad boy I decided to apply all my glam makeup products. I wanted to see if this product would hold my foundation in place, keep my winged eyeliner from smudging and prevent my mascara from running. I wanted to test it out on glitter eyeshadow too, to see if there would be any fallout during the day. In addition to that, I planned on doing a heavy 40 minute cardio session to test if my makeup would last under sweat and heat. 

For application it states to shake the bottle and spray directly onto the face 15cm away. The nozzle works well in distributing the product and covering the face but it does not go the full distance. Some of the liquid tends to fall downwards on to the chest area instead of projecting towards the face. I would say, for the best application tilt your head slightly back and aim directly onto the makeup. The spray distributes a fine mist and you can sometimes see tiny droplets on your skin. I love that the fixer is not too wet and it dries quickly leaving a smooth finish. It has no residue and does not leave unwanted white marks or a white caste all over the face as some products tend to do. It blends all the powder products wonderfully together. The skin is left looking natural.

Throughout the day I would notice my face has a certain sheen to it. It seems the spray leaves a very subtle glow all over my skin. My makeup does not look completely matte and some of my oils still seep through along my t-zone area. The spray sets my foundation, eyeshadow and eyeliner. When I do heavy cardio workouts my face surprisingly still looks good despite some of my sweat seeping through. This product holds your makeup in place but it does not give an overall matte appearance on the skin. If you have very oily skin you might not be fond of the sheen that the product leaves. It definitely feels light weight and non sticky on the face. My face does not feel tight or heavy during the day. I like that it is oil free too and therefore won't leave my face with clogged pores.

 I think this is an affordable setting spray for every day. If you are someone who works in an office or wears makeup to the mall and need a spray that would set your makeup then this is perfect for you. If you are someone who loves a completely matte face and has an oily skin type then this one would not be ideal. I like this setting spray on days when I wear light makeup and don't need a fully matte face. If I were to go out for an event and needed my makeup to last all night long on a dance floor then I would not reach for this one but something stronger with more hold. If you have dry sensitive skin, then this product might work wonders for you. I am looking forward to testing this out in the Winter time, when my combination skin is not so oily and drier. In conclusion I recommend this makeup setting spray for everyday wear and a natural finish. If you want your makeup to be completely matte then give this one a skip.


Hope you found this review helpful.
Divalicious Kisses.
Xxxx

Essence Camouflage Full Coverage Concealer Review

Hi Divas

I recently went on the hunt for an affordable concealer as I shockingly ran out. I couldn't find one full tube of concealer any where in the house. Such horror, I tell you! When it comes to concealers I usually stick to what I know and tend to purchase my tried and trusted products. On my shopping trip I was feeling a bit daring and decided to try something new. I purchased the Essence Camouflage Concealer. What struck me the most was that it said full coverage on the tube. The product promised to cover dark circles and imperfections without a masking effect. It guaranteed a fresh and concealed look. I was excited to try this new magical concealer because it claimed to camouflage my deepest flaws while being kind to my wallet. I have only ever tried one concealer product from Essence called the Stay Natural Concealer. That one was light as a feather and didn't give much coverage. This concealer however is part of the full coverage Camouflage range which  has a 2 in 1 makeup and concealer base. I had already purchased a new foundation therefore I decided to try out the concealer first and if I like it, would purchase the 30ml 2 in 1 foundation later on. 

The concealer comes in a very sturdy 5ml tube with a bright orange cap. The packaging is quite heavy and bulky compared to most products in this range. It has a soft doe foot applicator that picks up the concealer pretty well and distributes it across the face evenly too. I have it in the shade 10 nude. This is a little too light for my skin tone. I would have preferred the shade beige. Nevertheless I use it to brighten up the darkness under my eyes. To be honest I have only seen two shades in this concealer so far. Both on the shelves in store and the website only display Ivory and Nude. I have no idea if there are more shades in the range or if this is it for the colour selection. I really hope that it is not the case as most women in South Africa would not be able to use this concealer. The product is made in Germany and maybe that is the reason for the limited shade options.

The texture of the concealer is soft and creamy. It is not super runny or too stiff. It actually has the consistency of custard. The formula is very pigmented and a few dots is enough to cover the areas under the eyes. I have used my fingers, a brush and a sponge to blend the product out. I enjoyed the sponge and using my fingers the most as both blended the product effortlessly. The brush caused streaks and uneven patches. It was very difficult to blend and I ended up using more product than I was supposed it. The sponge and finger tips press the concealer into the skin and gives the most natural coverage. The concealer dries fairly quickly therefore you have to blend it out immediately. It is buildable and more than two layers can be applied for heavy coverage. I like to set my face with a translucent powder to lock all the products in place. The concealer sets well with powder and does not move around or flake throughout the day.

I was extremely surprised at how well the Essence Camouflage performed. It covers my dark circles and under eye puffiness like a dream. It does not crease under my eyes or flake off. Even though the concealer is thick in texture and dries quickly, my under eyes do not feel dehydrated or heavy. When wearing this concealer it gives you the full coverage without that mask feeling as it claims on the tube. It lasts a really long time as my face was still flawless at the end of the day. I would definitely repurchase this one if I can find a deeper shade for my skin tone. I think it is a great budget friendly concealer and lives up to its claims. Have you tried this concealer or any product from this range? Do let me know below. Thank you so much for reading. Hope you found my review helpful.


Divalicious Kisses
Xxxx

Hi Divas

 I am so excited to do a blog post today. I have been wanting to blog for a while but I was having Internet problems with my service provider. Thank goodness things are up and running again and I can finally connect to the world wide web. This week I want to share two nail polishes that my mom and I picked up on one of our Sunday shopping trips. We always stop at the Essence stand when we go shopping to see what is new and popping in the cosmetics department. Essence always has great quality and affordable products. I decided to buy a white nail polish as I have ran out of my old one. My mom bought a beautiful pink nail varnish and I of cause had to borrow it for ''research'' purposes, LOL. These polishes are all part of the Essence Gel nail polish family. They have an extensive range of shades and the price is under R50. On to the reviews...




Essence Gel Nail Polish in 08 Whatever!
This is a pearlescent baby pink nail varnish with a slight duochrome finish. It has a purple sheen to it when displayed in the sunlight. The consistency is a lovely balance in that it has a medium thickness. On the first application the colour covers the nail really well and you can see the slight purple duochrome shade shining through as it reflects the light. If you want a sheer application then one coat would be enough for you. I proceeded to apply the second coat but with a much thicker stroke. At this point the polish leaned more to the baby pink spectrum and the duochrome sheen faded slightly. On the third coat the duochrome was hardly visible at all as you can see in the photo above. My manicure looks like a solid baby pink. I love that you can build up the shade to the intensity that you want. You could play around with the polish to create your desired affect. I think this polish is really beautiful on its own. I definitely recommend it if you are looking for a pretty pink girly shade.


Essence Gel Nail Polish in 03 Give Me Nude, Baby!
This is a white nail varnish with tiny gold specks of glitter in it. The specks are so tiny that it gives off a shimmery finish without looking like a chunky glitter mess. The glittery specks can only be seen up close but is not visible on the nail from a far. In the sunlight the nail shines like an iridescent white polish. It looks beautiful and very ethereal. Upon first application the polish is thick in texture, yet it applies really sheer. This nail polish is not opaque at all but leans more to being a nail topper than an actual white base. Since the polish is thick but applies sheer you need quite a few coats to get the desired white effect you see above in the photo. The polish also takes a while to dry since it is gooey in texture. I recommend applying a solid white base first and applying a top coat of this on top. You cannot use this polish to stamp or draw nail designs as it is way too sheer. This is a lovely polish but it is not a necessity to have in your collection. I think it makes a great nail topper though.

*****

Have you tried any of these polishes? What do you think of my manicures and which is your favourite one? Let me know below. Thank you so much for reading!


Divalicious Kisses
Xxxx

Hi Divas!

This week I want to share some of my nail art with you. I love doing my nails and getting creative with my manicures. A lot of my designs don't even make it to Instagram nevertheless this blog. I do all my nail art by trial and error. A lot of the times it's an error. Doing creative manicures as I said before takes a whole lot of patience and a steady hand. It can become frustrating if you trying something that looks perfect in your head but does not translate that well into reality. I want to share four manicures I did recently. I am always looking to try new things and challenging myself. I really want to get my grip on stamping designs. I have the plates and the stamper. I just need to get my hands on the right nail polish. If you have any suggestions please let me know below.

1. Christmas Nails:

Would you believe me if I told you that the nails in the photo on the top left is not even my real nails? I know, right? What a shocker! They look super natural but it is true, they are not my real nails. It was Christmas Eve, I just finished helping my mom with the cooking and I washed and styled my hair. I was dead tired and it was late. I have only used acrylic nails once in my life. I was too tired to stay up late and wait for my nail designs to dry. I decided to apply these acrylic nails which I bought from Clicks and add my own touch to them. Viola! Perfect Christmas Nails in like half and hour. I added the nail stickers and rhinestones for a festive theme. I even fooled my mom. She had no idea that they were not my own nails. I found a new love for acrylic nails that I never knew I had. Plus they last a really long time and are super convenient for when you need to have a manicure in minutes.

2. Valentine's Day 2017 Nails:

This manicure on the top right is definitely my own nails. I chose pink as my main base colour and stuck to black and a touch of silver to glam it up. The part that took the most time and patience was of cause the thumb and pinky finger. Getting two tones of polish on the nail without smudging takes precision. I added silver nail striping tape which I layered across each other twice to give it some extra bling. I will probably try this technique again sometime soon. I used a nail dotting tool to draw on the 'xo' and heart. I painted my nails with Etude House Play Nails in '#8'. For the black Polish I placed 'Black Forest' by Tip Top and for the accent glitter nail I painted it with Wet n Wild in 'I'm With The Band'.

3. Turquoise Stone Marble: 

This was one of the hardest techniques I tried doing. Everybody in every tutorial said this was so easy and a breeze to do. I think not! It took me like 5 attempts to get this right. I had to repaint my nails and remove it so many times that I ran out of cotton pads. LOL! In order for water marble nails to work you have to make sure that the temperature of the water you are using is lukewarm and that the nail polish you are using is not too old. So after my many attempts I finally got it right. I truly love the way it turned out. You need to paint your nails with a base colour and choose two to four colours and drop some in the water. Take a toothpick and draw a design in the bowl where the nail polish was dropped. Dip your finger into the polish and get a random marble design. It sounds easy but it is not. I will definitely do this technique again and try out new polishes. For this manicure I used Etude House Play Nails in '#70' as my base coat. For the water marble technique to create a stone marble look I used the gold shade 'Gold Digger' and for the black 'Black Forest' both by Tip Top.

4. Yellow Fun Nails: 

So this manicure was me free styling. I had no idea of what I was going to do. I just started painting may nails and going with the flow. This can sometimes be the best part of nail art. Having fun and exploring different options and designs. I like the way it turned out. It could have been a total disaster, but it came out great. For these types of looks I like to use nail polishes that I totally forgot about and haven't used in a long time. You know those polishes and rhinestones that were hidden deep in the back of a box or cupboard? For the base colour I used the yellow shade 'Let's Meet' by Sinful Colors. For the red heart I used the polish 'Red Rocks' by Essence.

*****

Let me know down below which manicure you like the best and if you tried any manicure techniques or designs recently. Thank you so much for reading.

Divalicious Kisses!

Xxxx

 Hi Divas!

Recently everybody and their dog was doing the Ride or Die makeup tag on YouTube and I decided to be annoying and do it too, Hahaha. ;-D It was created by the very famous beauty Youtuber Jaclyn Hill. The tag is all about your holy grail products. Cosmetics that have never let you down and makeup that has been with you through thick and thin and will always be your number one. I have included Korean brands as well as Western brands because you know I am about that ''Cosmetics around the World'' Life! This is quite a long tag so hope you enjoy reading it and find some mini reviews helpful.

1. Ride or Die Primer: Clarins Beauty Flash Balm. This is a skincare and makeup product in one. I love that it brightens and lifts my face while creating a smooth and even canvas to apply my foundation.

2. Ride or Die Foundation: Peripera BB cream. This Korean product comes in the cutest packaging you will ever see. I am already on my second bottle. The BB cream gives me the coverage that I need while still looking natural on my face.

3.  Ride or Die Concealer: Rimmel Stay Matte Stick Concealer. This concealer is so creamy and blends like a dream! Unfortunately I have not seen it in stores for a while. Someone please tell me that this is not discontinued. *Crying face*.

4.  Ride or Die Powder: Innisfree No Sebum Powder. Another holy grail Korean product is this very famous Innisfree powder. It's similar to an HD powder which smooths the face and eliminates all traces of oil. It blends makeup well and has a super fine texture.

5.  Ride or Die Contour: NYX Contour Stick. I am not much of a contour girl, but I do enjoy a light application of it on special occasions. I use the nifty NYX contour stick as it is easy to travel with and to apply on the face. You can read my review on it here.

6.  Ride or Die Bronzer: Sephora Collection Shimmering Bronzer on Seychelles Cruise. I love that it contains three shades of colour and can be used as a bronzer or dark blush as well as an eyeshadow. Yay! ;-)

7.  Ride or Die Blush: Too Faced Sweethearts blush in Peach Beach. I feel like my cheeks were kissed by unicorns when I use this blush. Not only is the packaging gorgeous but the blush can be used as a eyeshadow and highlighter too. Read my full review here.

8.  Ride or Die Highlighter: The Balm Mary LouManizer. This is a great universal highlighter and perfect for travel. Read my review on it here.

9. Ride or Die Eyeshadow Primer: Urban Decay Primer Potion. I have used many eyeshadow primers but nothing has ever come close to Urban Decay. It is seriously holy grail material.

10.  Ride or Die Eyeshadow Palette: Too Faced Chocolate Bar Palette. This palette has a lot of sentimental value to me as it is the first Sephora product and Too Faced product I ever bought. I love it so much and we will never ever part! Review here.

11. Ride or Die Single Eyeshadow: Essence Single Eyeshadows. I am not much of a single eyeshadow person, but I do enjoy the Essence single eyeshadows. They are super affordable and some of the shades can double up as a highlighter and bronzer.

12.  Ride or Die Eye Liner: Essence Super Fine Liner. No product can create a wing that can cut my worst enemies like this liner. Plus it  retails for under R50/ $5. Hello!!! Review here!

13.  Ride or Die Mascara: Lancome Hypnose Drama Mascara. I love this mascara as it gives bold dramatic lashes which stays put all day. I will buy this mascara over and over again.

14.  Ride or Die Lip Liner: NYX Lip Liner in Pinky. I only use on lip liner and this one by NYX is my holy grail product. It remains in my cosmetics purse and compliments all my lipsticks.

15.  Ride or Die Lipstick: Wet n' Wild Bare It All and Mauve Outta Here Lipsticks. I cheated and chose two lipsticks. These are my favourite as they are light on the wallet and give a beautiful semi matte finish on my lips. They also work with any makeup look. LOVE!!! Review on them here.

16. Ride or Die Lipgloss: NYX Butter Gloss in Peaches And Cream. I am not much of a lip gloss wearer but these glosses smell so good and give a beautiful sheen on my lips.



Thank you for reading!
Divalicious Kisses
Xxxx

Essence All About Matt!

Fixing Compact Powder

Review

Hello beautiful Divas!

Welcome back to my crazy blog! I have another beauty review for you and it is all about makeup fixing powders. Let me share a little background about my makeup powder knowledge before I get into the product review. I have combination skin, so I always have to set my bb cream and foundation with a powder. I never feel secure unless I do this step. I do not know how other ladies can walk around with foundation that has not been set by powder. For me it will feel like I didn't brush my teeth that morning. I just have to do it. I have had my fair share of ups and downs when it comes to makeup compact powders. Some are just too pigmented and sit heavily on my foundation/ bb cream. Some make my face oxidize so badly that I end up looking like a melted toffee by the end of the day. Some powders are so chalky and chunky that it makes me look like a dried up caramel sponge cake. meh! Most of you who follow my blog know that I have really been into Korean cosmetics for a while now. I found a makeup fixing powder that changed my life! It was literally the best thing that happened to my makeup routine. Since I have to import my Korean cosmetics and with the Rand currency falling deeper and deeper down the pit of hell, I decided to look for something affordable at stores in my home town. I won't have to worry about crazy exchange rates and all those economic problems. You all know the struggle is REAL! In steps this Essence compact I decided to try one fine day.

 

The Essence All About Matt Fixing Powder is described as a makeup fixing powder which keeps the skin matte as well as give a flawless finish to makeup. I was truly intrigued by these claims as this is exactly what my Korean powder does to my face. The powder is packaged in a clear plastic compact with no mirror. It is the typical Essence standard packaging. The compact is quite big and there is a lot of product. This powder will definitely last you a really long time. Upon opening it you will find a super white powder with a pretty ribbon pattern embossed at the bottom of it. Nice touch, Essence! When swatched with your finger the powder appears to be super white but when you blend it on your skin the colour disappears and you are left with a smooth finish. What I love most about this powder is that it is so finely milled. It's soft to the touch and feels like silk on your skin while still doing the job of fixing your makeup and locking it in.

 

So what is the verdict on this matte powder? Well surprisingly, I love it. I think it blends my makeup perfectly together and gives my face a smooth finish. I apply my foundation, concealer, eye makeup, highlighter, bronzer and blush first and then set everything with this compact. I lightly dust the powder all over my face to set my foundation and concealer. I also use it to blend my highlighter, blush and bronzer together and get rid of any harsh lines. The result is a smooth and well blended makeup application. It definitely does a great job in keeping me matte throughout the day. I have only used this powder in Winter, so I think in Summer I will probably have to touch up with this powder in the afternoon to keep my oils at bay in my t-zone. I think this powder is amazing for fixing makeup as it does not interfere with the colour of my foundation nor does it crease or cake up my concealer. I truly didn't think this powder would work that well, but it does. I recommend it to anyone who is looking for a light translucent fixing powder at a great price. ;-)

Hope you beautiful ladies found this review helpful.

Lots of Divalicious kisses!

Xxxx

Hi beautiful Divas!

I am very excited to share a budget beauty gem with you. On one of my recent shopping trips I came across the Essence eyeliner pen in Clicks stores. I have been using the NYX Superfine Liner religiously and ran out of it. I decided to try something new and opted for the Essence eyeliner as it was more than half the price of the NYX liner. I paid under R50 (+ $5) for it. I had no idea if this product was going to be a hit or miss for me but because it was so cheap, I did not hesitate to buy it and test it out. The eyeliner is packaged loose on the Essence stands and does not come in a box or plastic packaging. It is shaped like a black pen and feels very comfortable in my hands and between the fingers when using it. When taking off the cap the pen tip is drenched in product so be careful to not shake the pen excessively or you will end up with black eyeliner ink all over your carpet, and this is exactly what happened to me, poo! I managed to clean that mess up in a jiffy so no makeup stains on the carpet, yeah!

The eyeliner felt tip is quite thin at the tip and tapers out in a wider shape towards the base. This tip too is much longer than the NYX pen liner. I was actually having a mini panic attack before I used the pen as I had no idea how I would control that elongated tip. It seemed as long as a train compared to my NYX liner. Any way all this hesitation was all in vain because this mighty long tip actually worked to my advantage. I found it so easy to glide the pen across the base of my upper lash line and create a perfect black line. There was seriously no fuss. I created a lovely black line across my eye in seconds by one stroke of gliding the brush. If you press the base of the pen against the eye the line will be much thicker than just using the tip. It is very easy to get the brush on the inner corner of the eyes with no smudging. Controlling the pen and creating different thickness with the lines was very easy to achieve.


Creating my wing was an absolute breeze too. Everyone has their own technique in creating their perfect winged liner. I found that what works for someone might not work for me and that is OK. As long as you feel comfortable and create a winged liner that you are happy with. Most people like to start at the base of the eye and draw the pen up towards the brow. I prefer to start at the top and work my way down to the base of my eye. With this brush I can create a perfect wing liner in one stroke by slowly drawing the brush from my outer crease to my lash line. I then go in and fix any smudges or ridges with the pen. As you can see in the photo above my wing is sharp and perfect and ready to take flight! Lol. I was very surprised by the lasting power of the liner. I exercised in excessive heat and my face was drenched in sweat. I could not believe my eyes when I saw that my liner did not smudge, run or budge. It was still perfectly in place. This budget beauty has staying power! The liner is very easy to remove as well when I wash my face with my cleansing face wash. It comes off with no mess and no fuss.


I really recommend this eyeliner pen to anyone who is starting out with their winged liner technique or if you want to have your winged liner done in a jiffy because you don't have time in the mornings to deal with a brush and gel liners. Have you tried this product? Let me know below.

Thanks for reading beauties!

Divalicious kisses

Xxxx

The Blush Addict Tag

 Hi Divas, welcome back to my blog!

This week I wanted to do something fun and take a break from all the reviews. I decided to do a blush tag as I haven't done anything in this line before. I do not own too many blushes as I am more of a lipstick and eyeshadow palette kind of girl. I would love to expand my blush collection in time. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this tag below and leave me recommendations of blushers I should put on my wish list ;-)

1. What colour blush suits you the most?

 I love wearing soft pink blushes on my cheeks. Almost baby pink in shade but a little brighter. I find that these shades suit me the most. They make me look pretty, young and feminine.


2. Pressed/cream/loose blush?

 I prefer a pressed blush as it is less messy and I find it easier to control how much I apply on my face. Plus most pressed blushes have really beautiful designs. I always look at the pretty packaging before I buy a blush or any makeup product for that matter.


3. Favourite shimmery blush?

 I love my Too Faced Sweethearts blush in Peach Beach. It has three tones of gold, pink and bronze. It gives a beautiful hint of shimmer on the cheeks that looks classy and pretty,


4. Favourite matte blush?

I have a deep red blush in Renesmee Red by the Essence Twilight Breaking Dawn collection. It is a lovely red blush that looks matte but not flat on the cheeks. I hardly wear it because it's a deep red shade and it is more suitable for vampy looks.


5. Favourite cream blush?

 I only own two cream blushes and I love them both. One is from Becca in Petal and the other one is by Sonia Kashuk in Petal as well. Both are easy to blend and give a natural look on the face. Maybe I should do a comparison review of them in another blog post.


6. Favourite drugstore blush?

 I loved my Catrice blush in Tickled Pink. It was a perfect bright pink blush that gave a beautiful flush of romantic pink hues on my cheeks. My mom stole that blush from me that is why I am using the past tense words: 'was', 'gave' and 'loved'. Lol ;-)


7. Favourite high-end blush?

I adore my Clarins Blush Prodige blusher in Miami Pink. It comes encased in a beautiful gold case that has a mirror and brush. It looks very regal and sophisticated.


8. Favourite bright blush?

 This blush actually comes from my BH Cosmetics That's Heart palette so it is not a free standing product. The blush in that eye and face palette comes in a bright pink shade that is perfect to wear everyday. I am almost hitting pan on that blush as I love it and use it so much.


9. Biggest blush disappointment/regret?

 I don't think I was ever disappointed in the blushes I have purchased or have a regret buy. I honestly cannot answer this question right now because I don't have one yet.

10. Best blush packaging?

 The Too Faced Sweethearts blushes wins hands down!!!! The gorgeous heart shaped vintage boxes are just stunning.

11. What's on your blush wish list?

 Oh my gosh, for me a blush has to have beautiful packaging before I even look at it. I don't care about the fantastic product. If it does not come in a pretty pan or box it will get rejected, Lol. My blush wish list includes:


1) Too Faced Love Flush Blush in Justify My Love
2) Missha Signature Dramatic Rose Petal Blusher in Pink Rose (Korean brand available on Ebay)
3) Guerlain Rose Aux Blush duo in Smile


12. Number 1 holy grail blush?
My holy grail blush is definitely my Too Faced Sweethearts blush in Peach Beach. I would buy that blush a thousand times over again. Packaging is 10 out of 10. The product itself and the colour combos are 10 out of 10. You could use it has a bronzer, highlighter, blush or eyeshadow. It's just the best blush of life!!!