Art break - The Man in the Iron (red) Mask

One of my colleagues held a masquerade themed birthday party earlier this month.
I asked one of my friends at work if he received an invite, the following conversation then took place:

Me - Do you have a mask?
Lakai - No.
Me - Well, I know a few shops nearby that you could get one...
Lakai - I don't think I want to do that.
Me - Or you could make one, it wouldn't be hard. You just need some paint and...
Lakai - *Looking at me*
Me - ... Or I could make you one?
Lakai - Now you understand my thoughts.

So I asked for the colours of the clothes he planned to wear (which started a discussion on dress codes) and set to work.

I had black and crimson/wine, with white accents to work with. I wanted something that looked a bit fancy (it is 'Masquerade' after all) but still understated and manly (I don't feel like being beaten up).

So this is what I came up with:

I used cord under the paint to create some interesting texture, arranging it in an asymmetrical starburst shape.
The white beading stops it from being too dark.
Each bead was placed individually O.o

Verdict from Lakai: He said he meant that he wanted to make it together (why he didn't say that, I don't know... I think he just felt bad and said this), but he liked it! :)

Maybelline - Master Precise Liquid liner

I wanted to like this... but for some damn reason, product hardly came out when I used it near my eyes.
I can draw lines on my hands too my heart's content, but the minute I try to use it as intended, it failed :(

Whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy?
Perhaps it has to do with natural oils made by my eyelids.

"I need an eye liner that works" Solution:

Currently loving the 'Eye of Horus' eye liner!

Price: 3/5 (rrp $14.95 for one pen of disappointment)
Scent: 2/5 (not much of anything)
Effectiveness: 0/5

L'Occitane - Amande Shower Oil

This is a LUXURY product! Silky smooth oil that lathers up beautifully and smells like a cyanide-impregnated cloud (but in a good way?... I have a thing about almond, I can't even eat marzipan without freaking out).

This almond-scented shower oil will leave your skin feeling and smelling fantastic!
It contains sweet almond, bergamot, sunflower and rosemary.

If someone gives you a bottle of this, it means they love you! (I gave this to myself, so I guess I love me :D)

Get a travel bottle and try it!

Price: 1/5 (rrp $36.00 for 250mL)
Scent: 5/5 (heaven)
Effectiveness: 5/5

Oral B - Satin Tape dental floss
.

You may think, "Why review a dental floss?"... well, you should all floss and not all flosses are created equal.
This dental floss is wider than most and I don't quite know how I feel about it... it is probably a good thing.
Because it is so wide, it is less 'cutting' than other floss (less like a garrote for your gums) and it feels like it covers more area.
There is just something about the design though that makes me wonder if a wider tape is actually better or if it is just a marketing gimmick and may be worse for my mouth.

It doesn't splinter/fray though, which is always good.

I will probably buy it again. If you try it yourself, let me know what you think.

Price: 4/5 (rrp $3.99 for 25m)
Scent: 4/5 (minty fresh)
Effectiveness: 3/5

Sally Hansen - Insta-Dri Top Coat

I love Sally Hansen products, they are usually quite reliable.
This top coat was both good and bad. 
It was great to go over the top of my Revlon Gel Envy top coat (can you say overkill?) to get a great, professional finish (look).
It did dry quickly, but there in lies its downfall... because I could only use 3/4 of the bottle before it became gluggy and impossible to work with.
But that is the only negative, I love it otherwise and will probably repurchase it!

Price: 2/5(rrp $15.45 for 13.3mL)
Scent: 2/5 (not offensive beyond normal nail polish level)
Effectiveness: 4/5

Same Product, Different Scent: The Body Shop - Satsuma Body Butter

This scent of body butter was a bit thinner than others I have used, which is disappointing. I love the thickness of Body Shop body butters, and this felt like more of a lotion (such was the viscosity).

The scent is great though: orange, peel, zesty... great for summer!

Selsun Gold

This one is for you, Pumpking!

This is a more potent version of Selsun blue. This can be used as a topical treatment for rashes (my doctor said that to me, but check with yours before you do, mine may just have been messing with me... the Hippocratic oath is now optional... Never mind, it says you can do it on the bottle, sorry for doubting you, Dr S!)

This soapy-scented shampoo beauty contains 25mg/mL of selenium sulfide, is yellow in colour (truth in advertising!) and works a treat when my scalp is derping it up.

Price: 2/5 (rrp $12.99 for 200mL)
Scent: 2/5 (not pretty, not gross)
Effectiveness: 5/5

Mena facial cream

Yes, another whitening cream, I'm still dealing with my shoulders.

I don't like this cream as much as the Dermisa cream. It leaves a chalky residue on the skin which you really need to scrub off.

As far as removing my stupid tan, this doesn't seem that effective, but I'll use up what I have (may as well), so I clearly don't find it offensive either.

Be warned, the amount that comes in each jar is TINY. Tiny jar,  tiny product amount (3g). It is just a disk of product, it really didn't need the jar.
The packaging, in addition to being mostly air, looks quite childish and has very little information on it... not loving it, Mena!

Price: 5/5 (rrp $1.39 for 3g)
Scent: 1/5
Effectiveness: 1/5

Masquerade! - Fuss Free Facials - No Dirt on Me

This lovely thin mask (that is almost like a layer of skin) comes with not one, but two of those stupid plastic backing sheets.
With aloe, pineapple and 'citrus', this mask smells like a KFC moist towelette, but leaves your face feeling fab!

***This is my 100th post!***

Art break - part 6, the ground

I did initially do the ground just grey, because I had to wait for some inspiration as to what to do with it.

When I was next walking outside, I noticed the algae on the ground... So the painting has an old stone wall, why not some algae?

Also pictured, my tiny feet.

So, with that in mind, I added some algae and rolling fog.

Can you see the added life when you compare this to the plain grey ground I had before?

The fog looks more prominent in real life, promise! 

What really helped with the fog part was using linseed oil to thin the paint.

Next, the background figures!

Also, if you have nice straight, thick hair, cut off five strands (at least 6cm long) and send them to me. I want to use it as a brush for ultra fine details.

(I also accept human teeth... for other art projects XP) 

Art break - part 5, the wall

For the wall, I was thinking a stone wall would be pretty cool. Something like this:

I was thinking of a blue/purple stone wall, like this:

But with the yellow hills and red in the sky, it would look too much like colour-blocking.

Colour-blocking in fashion. Note how it doesn't f**king match or look like it belongs.

So I was thinking of a grey/brown. Also, you will notice that in this example, the stones have different colours:

So, I tried to make each stone different:

Not sure how I feel about it thus far, but I can always change it.

Is this level of self-doubt normal? Do I always experience this?

I will sleep on it and look at it with fresh eyes! :D

Revlon - Colorstay Gel Envy - Diamond Top Coat

I live for this!

This is my favourite top coat of all time. Before this, I didn't like wearing nail polish because it would chip too fast (can't handle the chipping when I am out and can't fix it).

This top coat ensures I will get at least 5 days of nail perfection! (bear in mind, I'm a rough person who has a few tactile hobbies)

It is easy to apply with the doubled up brush, can be used with nail colours which are not in the 'Gel envy' range and dries pretty quickly.
And when you are ready to redo your nails, this is easy to remove with normal nail polish remover.

I must stock up on this so I don't run out for a long time, because I can't imagine a better top coat!

Price: 2/5 (rrp $16.95 for 11.7mL)
Scent: 2/5 (relatively non-offensive and mild for a nail polish, don't sniff nail polishes!)
Effectiveness: 5/5

Versace - Versense - Eau de Toilette

This was a little sample bottle I had, I don't normally buy designer things, just to make that clear!

To me, it has notes of lime, green foliage, woody notes and a little bit of coconut. This is a morning, spring scent to me, with only a short lasting time and small sillage.

Fragrantica places the notes as follows:
Top notes - bergamot, fig, green mandarin, citruses, pear
Middle notes - lily, jasmine, cardamon, narcissus
Base notes - sandalwood, Virginia cedar, olive tree, musk

Price: 1/5 (rrp $110 for 50mL)
Season: Spring (this is my own opinion in this section)
Weight: Light (I mean as in the 'weight' of the scent... does that make sense?)
Overall possum liking: 4/5

The Body Shop - Smoky Poppy - Body Butter

I love the body butters from The Body Shop... but this scent is the business!
It smells SOOOOOOOOOOOO good!

This was a limited edition scent (I think for Valentine's day) and is so sensual!
To me, I detect notes of incense and red flowers.
As far as formula, it contains shea butter, soybean oil, cocoa butter, sunflower oil, brazil nut oil and poppy flower extract.

I loved this so much, I went out and bought two more containers the day after the first one!

The usual Body Shop body butter rules apply as well; rich, thick, soaks in well, leaves your skin feeling great.

Price: 2/5 (rrp $23.95 for 200mL)
Scent: 5/5
Effectiveness: 5/5

Masquerade! - My Scheming - Gold Bird's Nest Hydrating Black Mask

This mask was on a black sheet! How cool! 
It smelled like medicinal cherry and contained collagen, gold foil, carrageenan (red seaweed), aloe and cucumber extract.

Freeman - Facial Clay Mask - Avocado & Oatmeal

The tube of this sitting next to me is still half full, that should give you a hint of the review to follow.

This mask pulls all (ALL) the oil out of my face, which leaves it itchy and red, without cleaning my pores at all.
As it dries, it cracks and falls off your face, going everywhere.

To put this on your face, it makes a bit of a mess and makes me think the tube packaging was a poor choice.

This product and I were just not meant to be.

Price: 2/5 (rrp $10.99 for 150mL)
Scent: 1/5 (smells like bland dirt, and not that nice, nutrient-rich soil, either)
Effectiveness: 0/5

The Body Shop - Drops of Youth, Concentrate

I started using this after my bff used it to help heal an infected sunburn wound.

This is a favourite of mine. I use this nightly, before I put on my nighttime moisturiser.

You only need two drops to cover your face and it soaks in within seconds.
It has a fresh, green scent, comes in a lovely glass bottle with glass dropper and  I do believe it has improved my skin a little.

The only negative is the price, but like everything, looking youthful comes at a cost.

Would consider a deal with the Devil, but you can't really make a deal with yourself

Price: 2/5 (rrp $49.95 for 30mL)
Scent: 4/5
Effectiveness: 4.5/5

Bioré - Pore Unclogging Scrub

This contains those stupid plastic beads which do exfoliate, but also build up in the environment.

This is Captain Pollution, for those of you who didn't watch 'Captain Planet'

Aside from this massive negative, this product worked pretty darn well.
It didn't lather (because it is a scrubs, and scrubs often don't), but gave a good clean (I used it with my Avon Clarisonic knock-off) and left my face feeling fresh and not shredded.

It contains 2.0% salicylic acid, which helps prevent pimples and smells fresh and soapy.

The only real negative was when I occasionally got one of the little beads in my eye (but that is probably more user error than the product's fault)

What it feels like

"I don't want to hurt the Earth with tiny, immortal plastic beads" Solution:

Just add some sugar or salt granules to your favourite face soap!

Price: 4/5 (rrp $9.99 for 141g)
Scent: 3/5
Effectiveness: 4/5

Art break - part 4, admitting a weakness

So, I purchased something today and in doing so, have to admit a limitation... my left eye is not great at doing the eye thing.
Not "I need glasses" bad, but "I know I have a limit on how small a thing is before it is blurry" bad.
The point is, I bought a magnifying glass for some of the finer details on this painting.

This lens offers a 3.6x magnification. It also lights up!

I will get an eye patch soon and exercise my eye, but until then I accept my biological short-coming.

(five cents)

Cussons - Imperial Leather - No. 42 Rockpool Hand Wash

This blue beauty caught my attention with imagery of mermaids, beautiful corals and ocean foam (all things I just projected onto the product).

So with such poetic thoughts in mind, how could I not try it?

The scent is listed on this bottle is Indian lotus and waterlily. To me, I smell is a clean, white floral (makes sense with the lily) with a hint of marine scent.
I would have preferred more salt and oceanic for a "Rock pool" name, but you can't win 'em all!

I really liked the blue colour and the lather was superb, needless to say it cleaned the hands well.

Will I buy this scent as a body wash (which I can do), probably not (I want more ocean and less white floral, damn it!), but it's a fun little kitchen/bathroom addition.

Price: 4/5 (rrp $3.99 for 250mL)
Scent: 4/5
Efficiency: 5/5

Art break - part 3, the hills

I am feeling the smoothness of these hills!

I went for burnt sienna moving down into yellow ochre, as I wanted the hill colour to complement the fiery sky and I didn't want them too look too dark.
If it wouldn't make it too dark, I was considering making the hills purple/blue.

I was inspired to use these colours by paintings like "Dulle Griet" by Pieter Bruegel the Elder:

I am tempted to redo the sky, make it smoother... I need to think about it.

On the topic of the sky, there was one negative, some of the paint from the sky (from the palette) got on my hand, then on the canvas:

Red paint, you butt!

Art break - part 2, the sky

For the sky, I wanted it to look like the Earth was burning, as if there were horrors in the distance that we don't yet see.
I went for orange and purple for this:

And here is a close up of the sky:

Next step, the hills!

Masquerade! - Angel Beauté - Whitening Moisturizing Mask

I love the silver packaging of this mask! 
It contains pearl, arbutin, vitamin c, collagen, hyaluronic acid, rose water, aloe, elastin, honey, seaweed and witch hazel. (quite a formula)!

Masquerade! - Baroness Co-enzyme Q10 Mask Sheet

I only just realised the typo on the package XD

In addition to co-enzyme Q10, it also has honeysuckle and liquorice extract.

L'Occitane - Crème Divine - Immortelle Divine cream

I LOVE this cream! If I had sufficient funds, this would be my night cream, forever!

I love the smell (flowers, lemon, honey, spring, joy), the oils in it, the texture, how it soaks in.... I love this.

The only thing I don't love is the price :(
I will confess, I purchased a full size jar once as a gift to myself, but it will be a while before I can do that again.

What more can I say? I'm in love <3

Price: 0.5/5 (rrp $145 for 50mL)
Scent: 5/5
Effectiveness: 4.5/5

Masquerade! - Baroness Collagen Mask Sheet

This paper mask was pretty dry, I don't know if it was just mine or all the collagen ones from this brand, but it spoiled the experience.

In addition to collagen, it also has apple and oarweed extract.

Original Source - Skin Quench - Moisturising Shower Blackcurrant & Moringa Oil

This shower gel smells like blackcurrant lollies! 
I loved the little oil beads as well, which dissolve (!!!!) and don't go on to accumulate in the environment!

It was both moisturising and cleaned well, with a good lather.

And I have another bottle from my Bellabox!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D

Price: 3.5/5 ($4.99 for 250mL)
Scent: 4.5/5
Effectiveness: 5/5

Xeomin (botulinum toxin)

Don't judge me!

I have this nasty little biological habit that I can build muscle too well (I am definitely a mesomorph)... the only problem is that it isn't just limited to my limbs.

About two years ago, I started getting tension headaches and  (when I looked in the mirror) I could see the distinct lines on my brow where I had been frowning.

I tried to get out of the habit, but I couldn't, it was a subconscious reaction.

Mine were a very muscular scrunch... my doctor was even impressed!

So, instead of taking pain killers all the time, I decided to get the muscles paralysed.

The injections last about 4 months and I get 30 units in my brow. I tried just 20, but it wasn't enough.

The good thing about this is over time, the muscles will atrophy and I won't need as much.

It is an expensive treatment, at  $15 a unit ($450 each 4 months for me), but it works so well.

It takes away the stress headaches and that is perfect.

Price: 0/5 ($15 a unit, you need many units)

Pain of procedure: 1/5

Effectiveness: 5/5