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

Hi Divas!

I do not have much experience when it comes to Catrice makeup products. I have only ever used their lipsticks, nail polishes and blushes, which I loved by the way. I noticed that Catrice came out with a new HD Foundation and I was super curious about its performance. I went online and tried to do as much research on the product as possible. To my surprise it was really hard to find good reviews especially in English. I watched as much Youtube tutorials as possible to see if the foundation was worth buying or not. Most had satisfying results, so I thought I would give it a try too. I went to my local Dischem and purchased the shade 030 Sand Beige. There are only four shades in the foundation range which is a fail when it comes to women of colour. All four of the shades are light in tone with the darkest being 040 Medium Beige. Catrice is a German brand so I do understand that the brand markets to their main demographic in Europe. When it comes to exporting to South Africa this is an epic fail since the majority of our demographic is not pale in skin tone. Anyway, I still love the brand, I just wish they would produce a variety of shades in other countries.

On to the review:

The foundation is packaged in a sturdy 30ml glass bottle with a dropper top. I personally prefer pumps over dropper tops as it is easier to get the product out. It's also less messy when using a pump. I do like the look of the packaging though. It looks very high end and classy. The product is described as a mattifying full coverage foundation. It promises to give a lightweight feel and second skin effect while lasting up to 24 hours. It swears to give a high definition result, thus looking picture perfect on camera. Yes, please sign me up for that! I am combination skin and love matte foundations. What drew me to this product even more is that it claimed to give you air brushed skin while still looking natural. As mentioned above I chose the third shade out of the four, 030 Sand Beige. Even though, this shade is lighter than my skin tone there is a reason for my madness. Since I did not know how the base will play out on my face, I decided to go lighter. I was looking for a lighter foundation shade to mix in with my current foundations to match my Winter complexion. In addition to this, I had no idea if the product would oxidize on me, so I chose a lighter shade. I figured I could always purchase 040 Medium Beige, which is closer to my skin tone, if I really liked it.

The consistency of the liquid coverage is very runny. I do not apply dropper products directly on my face as it drips down every where. I prefer to place a few drops on my hand and apply it on my face with a brush or sponge. One full drop of this foundation is enough to cover your whole face and have a natural look. Going in with a second drop will definitely give you more full coverage. I applied the product on separate occasions with a brush, sponge and my hands. I do have to say that I love applying foundation with my hands the best, as I get full coverage and an even application. Applying it with a wet sponge gives good coverage and looks natural but a lot of the product gets absorbed into the sponge, which kills my spirit a little inside. When using a brush it's a little harder to blend and can cause streaks. It too sometimes soaks up the product and you end up having to apply more drops. Either way you choose to apply the base, it dries down quite quickly so be sure to not waste time for even coverage. The foundation has an incredible matte finish. I usually apply a matte setting powder quite liberally all over my face when using other foundations. With this one, I lightly dusted some powder because my face was super matte.

So how do I feel about this foundation? As you can see in the two photos above, the shade 030 Sand Beige has a yellow undertone which I love! I think the shade looks really good on me for my Winter skin. It does oxidize throughout the day but not too much. It is definitely too light to wear in the Summer months and I will mix this colour with a darker foundation. My base lasts well on me throughout the day. The foundation does not move around or transfer. My one pet peeve is when my base transfers all over the place. This does not do that, thankfully. As I mentioned above, this dries down to a super matte finish. This could be your worse nightmare or best dream. I have combination skin and I noticed that while the foundation performed well in my t-zone, my mouth and forehead area would sometimes look dry. I found that I would look drier on some days and not on others. This of cause was due to the chilly Winter weather and the moisturiser I was wearing. If you have a tendency to have dry skin, it would be best to wear a hydrating moisturiser and primer. This would give your face a good moisturising base and the foundation would not cling to dry patches. I noticed too that if not blended out well the foundation can settle into fine lines like my forehead. Make sure you do a proper makeup application.

Final Thoughts:
I think this foundation performs very well for a drugstore product. It gives great coverage and you don't even need to use concealer on days you want a minimal look. It does give an HD effect and looks good in pictures. I do not agree that your face will look completely natural. You can see that you are wearing makeup but it's a better version of your skin, if you know what I mean. This is a super matte foundation and will not work well on dry skin tones. If you are oily, this one might be your best friend. I am combination skin and with the right moisturiser and primer it worked well on me. I do not have proof that it lasts for 24 hours but I did do heavy 50 minute cardio exercises wearing the foundation and it did not smudge or budge. It looked pretty flawless except for my runny mascara, LOL.

Let me know your thoughts. Have you tried this foundation?

I hope this review was helpful
Lots of love
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!!! 

(BH Cosmetics That's Heart Palette Winner Announced)

Hello Divas!

Hope you all are having an amazing week. This will be quite a short post on the blog. I wanted to share some of my manicures and nail art designs with you. These have been done over the course of about two months. I am becoming more confident in doing nail art and much more creative with my nails. I am no where near being an expert or nail art guru. There are many techniques I want to perfect and designs I still want to do. As they say practice makes perfect so I am documenting my little journey with you. I said before nail art requires tons of patience. If you don't have the virtue of patience you will usually learn it when doing your nails. I am still struggling with nail stamping. My designs are always filled with smudges. Sigh, the struggle is real people! Any way, I will let you know in up coming posts if I have mastered the technique or not. I will keep on with my smudgy stamping attempts.

 Let me know what your favourite designs are below. Until next time, have a fabulous week Divas!
 

 Nail Polishes used starting from top left to right: Tip Top in Speck-Tacular and Love that Shine; Catrice in Get the Blues; Tip Top Get the Party Started and Wet n' Wild On a Trip with Sephora Glitter polish.

 

Middle left: Tip Top in Peach Crisp; LA Girl Color Pop in Tantrum and Nostalgic; Tip Top in Black Forest and As the Beat Goes On with Sephora gold glitter polish.

 

Bottom left: Tip Top in Walking on Sunshine and Sinful Colors in Fig topped with Sally Hansen in Strobe Light glitter polish; Rimmel Salon Pro in Britpop; Tip Top in Cha Cha Cha and Innisfree in No.3.

And the Winner of the BH Cosmetics That's Heart Palette is.... 
KHOLOFELO MALATJI !!!!
Big congrats, darling! *Look out for another exciting giveaway soon ;-)*

Much love!

Divalicious Kisses

Xxxx

Hi Divas!

I haven't blogged in like FOREVER! Sorry ladies, I have been very busy with work, travelling and family stuff. My head has been all over the place lately and since it is almost Christmas time the madness is just getting worse. I hope all of you are surviving the end of year crunch time. You know things always tend to unravel this time of the year. To help keep me sane I did a little shopping to ease my busy mind. Retail therapy always helps! I bought some new nail polishes and have been testing them out recently. Hope you enjoy my little reviews.

Wet n' Wild Megalast On a Trip: 

I am absolutely in love with this lavender colour. When I saw it in store I just had to have it as I don't own any light purples in my collection. This is my first Wet n' Wild nail polish that I have tried and I must say that I am very impressed by the quality of the nail varnish. The consistency of the polish is quite thick. Two coats would be sufficient for a pretty manicure. In the above picture I added three coats. The brush is wider and thicker than most nail applicators so do be careful to not paint your whole finger in the process. Hehe, you know what I'm talking about, don't you? ;-) With a top coat my manicure lasted four full days with no chipping. I think that is very impressive considering the low price of these nail polishes. I am definitely sold on this brand and will be purchasing more colours soon.

Etude House Play Nails #4:

Etude House is a very famous Korean cosmetics brand. I have tried their makeup and skin care products and I really wanted to add some nail polish to my collection. I ordered three shades from Ebay and #4 is one of them. This is a pretty baby pink shade that is perfect for spring. Unfortunately the consistency and the lasting power of this nail polish is not that great. I did get two full days of wear with no chipping and then it all went down hill from there. The polish can apply quite unevenly if you are not careful. I think the trick is to gradually build the colour up with light strokes. It needs about four strokes for the desired effect I created above. Sigh, I really wanted to like this polish but it is not one of my favourites. I still have to try the other shades I bought from this brand. Will let you know what I think of them later.

Catrice Get the Blues:

I have never used  duochrome nail polish before so I was very excited to play with this polish. For those of you who don't know, a duochrome nail polish changes colour according to the light. Two colours would appear as the light reflects off the polish at different angles. With this shade a metallic blue is the main colour and with it a pretty metallic purple hue would appear reflecting off on the sides. It reminds me of fishes scales as it changes colour according to the light reflecting off it in the water as they swim. When I wear this nail polish it makes me feel like a mermaid ;-) The polish glides on smoothly too and lasts a really long time with a top coat. A sure winner for me.

Tip Top Cherry's in the Snow:

This is a beautiful strong classic red. It would be really pretty to wear Christmas time. It applies very smoothly and evenly on the nails. Two coats is just enough to create a pretty manicure. The polish is a little runny on application and can be smudged easily. So make sure your nails are completely dry before you do anything after you are done painting your nails. The polish chips easily without a top coat so I do recommend wearing this nail polish with a good base and top coat. I am not a big fan when it comes to red nail polish. I only have two shades of red in my collection. This shade of red is very classy and warm and can be worn to any occasion.

Much love beautiful Divas!

Mwah Xxxx

Spring Makeup F.O.T.D 

Hi Divas!

Last week I did the Spring Fling tag on the blog which you can read here. This week, I thought I would use some of the products I mentioned in that post and do a fun makeup tutorial. Of cause you don't have to have the exact same products that I have used to create this look.I thought I would get you inspired for spring and you can use whatever is in your makeup bag for a fun bright makeup look. The weather in Cape Town has really been depressing. It has been grey and raining a lot lately. How I wish Cape Town would wake up and smell the flowers! It is Spring people!!!

Makeup Tutorial:

1. Firstly I covered my face with the Guerlain Super Aqua BB Cream. I prefer using BB creams rather than foundations. It gives my face a more natural and glowing appearance.

2. I filled in my eyebrows and set them with the Essence Eyebrow Stylist Set and Essence Lash and Brow Gel Mascara. I applied the Nyx Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk all over my eyelids to prime them and create a white base as I am working with bright colourful eyeshadows.

3. I took the Yardley Suntorini Eyeshadow palette and used the lightest matte brown shade and dusted it all over my eye lids to warm it up.

4. I added a warm shimmery brown shade of the BH Cosmetics That's Heart palette and lightly applied it in my crease just to warm up the eye a little.

5. I then applied the pink shade of the That's heart palette and the deep pink shade of the Yardley Suntorini palette and mixed them together to create a pretty pink eyeshadow on my eyelids. I then blended everything with a fluffy brush.

6. After that I took an angled brush an applied the turquoise eyeshadow of the That's heart palette and glided it across my lower lash line.

7. For eyeliner I used the Nyx Super Fat Marker on my upper lash line and volumised my eye lashes with the Loreal Miss Manga Mascara.

8. For concealer I used the Catrice Coverstick under my eyes and set my face with the Maybelline Clear Smooth powder. To contour my face I applied the blush, bronzer and highlighter using the That's Heart palette.

9.Once that was done I mixed the Etude House Dear My Blooming Lips Talk lipstick in RD304 and Maybelline Fuchsia Flash lipstick for bright pink lips.

Final Thoughts:

If you love colour and not afraid to wear it this would be a great bright spring look to rock. If you want to tone the look down a little bit, you could skip the turquoise eyeshadow under the eyes and apply a pretty pink gloss instead of bright pink lipstick. I really hope you enjoyed this look. Let me know what you like to rock in spring: bright lips, floral accessories or dresses?

Have a fabulous week Divas! Xxxx

Hi Ladies!

I want to apologise for being so M.I.A on the blog these past two weeks. Super lame, Desle! There was so much going on with work and my family that the blog was the last thing on my mind. Who can believe that we have actually hit September? Eeek, the year is almost over. What a scary thought! Any way I am back this week with a nail polish review post since I haven't done one in a while. Spring is upon us in the Southern Hemisphere so that means our nails need to look extra pretty and bright not only on the hands but toes too.

Nails Inc in Baker Street: 
What a beautiful shade of awesomeness! I am absolutely in love with this polish. The colour is a classy chic blue that can be worn to any event or with any outfit. The consistency of the polish is quite runny so you have to glide the polish slowly across the nails for an even application. Two coats would be enough for a beautiful manicure. Considering my history with Nails Inc polishes I really didn't expect this one to amaze me as it did. With a top coat the polish lasted 4 to 6 days.

Sinful Colors in Let's Meet: 
This was the first time I used Sinful Colors nail polish range. For the low price I was so surprised at the great quality of this varnish. This is a beautiful golden yellow shade with a slight shimmer. The polish applies sheer on the first coat. Two to three coats would be sufficient for a bright bold manicure. I particularly loved the staying power of the varnish. My manicure lasted all week with a top coat. I have bought more polishes from the Sinful Color range and can't wait to do more manicures.

Catrice in Rasberry Fields Forever: 
This too was the first time I used a Catrice nail polish. I don't know why I never got around to buying them. This is a beautiful dark pink berry shade bordering close to red, depending on the light. The staying power of the polish was pretty phenomenal. With a top coat my manicure lasted about 4 to 5 days with minimal chipping. I used two coats in the manicure above. On the first coat the polish glides smoothly and covers the nail in bold colour. The brush is quite thick so you have to be careful in the amount of polish you are using and not to mess all over your nails. I definitely recommend Catrice nail polishes. They are good quality, last long and are inexpensive.

Nails Inc Fibre Optic in Mayfair Mews: 
 One word... Yuk! I don't hate this nail polish but I really don't see myself reaching for it any time soon. It is suppose to give a funky fibre glitter effect but the texture and finish of this nail polish is just bland. It does nothing to enhance the look of your manicure. It makes your nails look messy. I would not recommend it. There are many other glitter nail polish effects that are 10 times better. Big miss for me.

*GIVEAWAY TIME*



In other news I have a mini GIVEAWAY. Whoop!!!  I am giving away this Grazia Nail Art set to one lovely lady. All you have to do is comment down below with your email address and follow me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Winner will be announced in a week. Open to South African residents only*

Have a fabulous week Divas! Xoxo