Steamcream, my new favourite moisturiser?

It finally happened! I finally caved into the Steamcream hype! After reading so many great reviews about how moisturising and totally awesome Steamcream is, I had to try it myself! My skin has been experiencing quite the dry spell lately, adding to my inability to resist the purchase!

I placed my order on the Steamcream website the 6th of August and received the soaking wet package yesterday morning, on the 18th of August. It took 12 days to arrive to Australia which is pretty average I guess. I would have preferred the uber fast shipping ASOS offers that seems to get to my door anywhere between 3-6 days but oh well, the important thing is it eventually got here! I am really pleased with how Steamcream shipped the order though I must say. Although it was pouring outside and the satchel the creams came in was drenched, the Steamcreams were unaffected as they were wrapped nicely in this little box.

Anyway so I ordered these off the site when they were having a 2 for $30 promotion. I think the product is quite overpriced for the tiny 75ml you receive but the beautiful tins make it SOOOOO worth it! The moisturiser inside is actually quite decent too but more on that in a sec.

The tins I purchased are Ekaterina, which is the lovely dark purple tin with a gorgeous, intricate gold design on it, and Envy, which is a beautiful watercolour floral design. On the steam cream site it says the Envy tin is designed by a Japanese artist named Maki Kahori, fancy! This is what they look like, and trust me, these pictures do not do the tins enough justice!

The Ekaterina Tin is simply stunning! I can't wait to use the tin as a ring storage container when I am done with the moisturiser! It goes so well with my decor!

The Envy Tin looks amazing! I intended on giving this to my sister but I really want to keep it for myself now!

Now onto the moisturiser itself. I love the moisturiser! It feels rich in moisture but light in texture at the same time. It also has a thick texture but not at all gloopy or unpleasant. It is a thickness that isn't runny and isn't body gel crazy thick either. I literally don't have a moisturiser that is like it! It also absorbs quickly and seems to brighten up my skin. There is literally nothing not to love about it... except it's smell. I am sure a lot of people love the smell of this cream but I really do not. I find it is much too strong for me. It has a really pungent lavender/floral/old lady smell that lingers for a long time when it's on my hand however feels like it disappears relatively quickly on my face. Maybe I just get used to the smell when it's on my face? I am not too sure but when my hands go near my face I can't stand the scent again. I really hope I'll just get used to the smell because I really love how the moisturiser feels on my skin. Here are some photos of the cream so you can see its texture and how nice it makes my dry hands look once applied.

As you can see here, Steamcream has a light, gel like texture.

I am not sure if the photos are showing how much my skin texture improved once I used the cream, but trust me the improvement was quite significant from the first application! I really hope this will give my skin the moisture boost it truly needs. Have you tried Steamcream before? Did you love it or hate it?

Love,
Nur x

Michael Todd Chronicles: Weeks 3 & 4

Hello beautiful people!

I would firstly like to apologise for not posting my chronicle update last week! I was SUPER busy with my friend's party and work and all sorts of other things and simply did not have time to post it up! Heck my weekend was SO hectic, the photos I was supposed to take of my outfit and all that good stuff on my night out have simply vanished from my phone! I don't know how it happened, but it did. I do have a shot of my makeup from the night though so I'll post that and talk about it at the end!

Ok so lets talk about the logistics of my skin this week (cue old timey video sequence and music!). My skin this week was pretty shabby... I had a giant bruise on my nose as the result of a tickle war and a giant pimple that sat right above it (talk about offensive). I was also quite acne prone this week and my skin was super dry everywhere but my forehead which was an oil slick. I was also quite pale and pasty this week due to a terrible cold that I just can't seem to shake off! Below are shots of my skin taken each Saturday morning for the past two weeks. Please excuse the tired face and bed hair!

My skin on week 3 of the Michael Todd Skincare Regimen

My skin on week 4 of the Michael Todd Skincare Regimen

As you can see in week 3, my skin was better and I'm not sure if you can tell but I am super pale there and look like I am about to get sick (and I did). In week 4 my skin is not in a good place, you can see the pimple scars and what's left of a bruise on my nose, at least I've got some colour though!

Alright now to my makeup from last Saturday! It was my best friend's 21st party so I decided to go with a gunmetal smokey eye and bright red lip. To achieve this, I used my Sleek Bad Girl Eyeshadow Palette and Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet Lipstick in Hot Pepper! I chose these products because they last all night, are transfer resistant and look gorgeous! I am so sorry about the picture quality and that you cant see the smokey eye that well. as I said, I can't seem to locate any of the photos I took that night and this photo was the only one I had of it... unfortunately it's a photo I took just to show my boyfriend I was safe on the train, so I wasn't concentrating on taking a photo of how my makeup looked!

Anyway, I think I'll end this weeks chronicle here. To keep a look out for all my chronicle posts and to keep in touch with my blog, click here or follow the pretty bloglovin' picture that is in the sidebar.

Love always,
Nur x

The Balm Girls Lipstick Review with Swatches! (Mai Billsbepaid, Ima Goodkisser, Mia Moore)

HEYYAAAAAA!!!

I'm so excited for this post! I just did a review on my YouTube Channel of The Balm Girls Lipsticks! I have to say I absolutely love them and will find this review helpful! I also did swatches of the pretty little things so you can see how the colour looks on my lips and complexion.

I forgot to mention that the lipsticks smell a little like play dough and have a menthol feeling to them when they are on the lips. The menthol feeling goes away after about 5 minutes though. I actually love the menthol feeling it gives as it is quite refreshing!

Have you tried  I really hope you enjoyed the video! Talk soon!

Love,
Nur

Mani Mondays! ft. OPI Green-Wich Village and Revlon Parfumerie in Wintermint

Hello my lovelies! Welcome to another installment of Mani Mondays! This week I'm rocking green nails! Why? Well green, specifically emerald green is a trend setting colour this season. To be honest I never really follow trends on my nails but this week coincidentally my choice in nail colour has been bang right on trend! This week I'm rocking the sporty look with stripes. This look is so easy to create! I'll let you know how I did it in just a minute.

Before I get into it I wanted to talk about the polishes I used first. To create the stripes I used the gorgeous OPI Green-Wich Village. Its a beautiful cream finish polish the perfect emerald/leaf green shade! Two coats gave me full opacity. The polish is a little streaky in the first coat but goes on nice and creamy for the second coat. Look at how gorgeous this polish looks!

Anyway to complete the manicure, you just need to buy yourself some nail striping tape and place it 0.5cm apart towards the tips of your nails and paint your favourite polish on top. Today I opted for the gorgeous Revlon Parfumerie Polish in Wintermint. This shade is to die for! Its a beautiful shimmery emerald green polish with bits of dark blue and green glitter running through it. Normally glitter seems like an accent as its quite big and empowering on the nails but this polish manages to look soft and pretty, which is strange but totally stunning on the nails!Anyway with that said, once you have painted the second polish over the entire nail, pull off the striping tape whilst the polish is wet for straight lines, and that ladies is how you get this trendy nail design!

This manicure is really so simple to achieve and bang on trend with its emerald tones and sporty chic! If you havent yet experimented with striping tape, you should give it a try! The different manicures you can create with it are endless and it's a really inexpensive way to jazz up your nails! As for the polishes I definitely recommend both of them, they truly are beautiful polishes with great formulas which you will love! I also should mention that when the Revlon Parfumerie polish dries it has a slight scent to it! Wintermint gives off a pleasant light beachy scent in my opinion, and this scent lasts a couple of days before disappearing.

Love,
Nur x

Disco Ball Nails?! Yes please! - OPI Liquid Sand (Jinx)

What's better than going to club for those disco lights and they party? Bringing in the disco lights and the party with you of course! This weekend is my best friend's birthday party and it's her 21st, so its pretty festive. I was putting together my outfit and makeup ideas for the night and was thinking to myself, I'm coming as the lady in red or 'Lady Danger'! I bought a red dress (or two), new red lippies and the only thing missing was how to do my nails! I thought long and hard before deciding to go red with them too and there is no red shade that is more festive than this one, so I had to use it!

'Jinx' is a gorgeous scarlet/orange toned red polish from OPI's Liquid Sand range. It is a gorgeous shade of red that is flattering on any skin tone which has speckles of gold and red glitter running through it. I absolutely love this shade and this polish! All Liquid Sand polishes by OPI are textured and dry matte. I love that the glitter and sparkle in this polish are so bright and gorgeous that they glow without a topcoat and even though they are supposed to be matte! Another great thing about this polish is that you only need one coat and you're good to go because it is so pigmented and has a great formula, I used two as usual to beef up the intensity! I was initially a little weirded out by the texture - not because it was uncomfortable or drying or really chunky and scratchy, in fact it's definitely none of those things - the polish has a light texture which isn't overbearing or scratchy, just a smooth sandy feeling which I eventually got used to. I'm just someone who takes time to adjust to new things!

Anyway, I basically wanted to say that the polish is awesome and I love it so! If you haven't yet checked out OPI polishes, you definitely should try them out, they're all lovely and are worth the investment. If you have tried OPI nail polishes and are looking to try something new, the Liquid Sand ones are great! I love Jinx and I really want to try more of these! If you have any recommendations, leave it in the comments below!

At the end of the week I will be posting up my make up look for the night and hopefully my 'Lady in Red/Lady Danger' outfit (if I decide on using it on the night of course). I'm someone who always changes my mind on outfits at the last minute so we'll have to wait and see! Even if I end up using a different dress, my nails are staying, even if they clash with the outfit! They're too pretty to go!

Love,
Nur x

Michael Todd Chronicles: Week 2

Hello my lovelies!

It's that time of the week again, the weekly Michael Todd update! Sorry it's a couple of days late. I am pleased to say I had a very eventful week! This included some celebrations, both my brother and sister's birthdays and a couple of makeup and clothing hauls! I steered clear of spending for almost a month then went crazy this week! Hey, I guess a month is still an improvement... right? Anyway, this isn't a haul post (those are to come), this is about my skin, this week.

So let's get straight into the logistics of my skin. My skin this week has definitely not been in the best state! This definitely does not correlate to how Michael Todd has been to my skin though. Aunt Flo was visiting this week and with her comes a wave of trouble, including skin trouble! Basically I was gifted with quite a few spots this week - as I am whenever she comes to town - however, I am pleased to say the spots did not last as long as they usually do, nor were they as large as they usually are! Forgive the derpy face, but this is my skin on week 2 of the regime!

I am pretty sure the breakouts I had this week were significantly reduced thanks to the Michael Todd products I have been using daily. I really hope the regime keeps surprising me and keeps doing whatever it is that it's doing because my skin seems to love it! I really hope the goodness just keeps on coming!

Anyway that's all for this week's chronicle!

Love,
Nur x

e.l.f Australia Blogger Entry - Contour & Highlight Video

Hey guys! I received an email the other day from e.l.f Cosmetics about this Beauty Blogger Competition they were having. I immediately thought 'OMG I MUST ENTER! I LOVE E.L.F!', something you all should know by now!

I decided to film a video on how I like to Contour and Highlight my face, of course using all e.l.f products! I hope this video is helpful to you. Please hit the like button after watching it if you liked the look and love e.l.f and of course to show your support! A million thank you's and all my love for you!

Love,
Nur x