Following my post yesterday about the fabulous Lipstick Queen range by Poppy King, here are the details for the VIP nights & in store events:

VIP NIGHTS

Bookings are $45, redeemable for product purchased on the night. These events are literally first in, best dressed, so book your seat now to avoid missing out.

VIC

Kit at Chapel St
Wednesday 4 March
6.30- 8.30pm
P: 9287 5988

QLD

Kit at Myer Brisbane
Tuesday 10 March
5.30- 7.30pm
P: 3232 0168


IN STORE

Poppy will be conducting “Lip Readings” to determine your ultimate lip colour, plus you’ll learn all about her new products and be treated to a lip application by the kit creative team.

NSW

Kit at Myer Sydney
Thursday 12 March 12-3pm and 4-7pm
Friday 13 March 12-3pm and 4-7pm

Kit at Paddington
Saturday 14 March 12-4pm

VIC

Kit at Myer Melbourne
Thursday 5 March 12-3pm and 4-7pm
Friday 6 March 12-3pm and 4-7pm

Kit at Westfield Doncaster
Saturday 7 March 1-4pm

I’ve had this product since the day it was released, and completely forgot about it. It’s not that I didn’t have faith in it, I just got caught up in other things (MAC, impending world financial doom, apocalyptic conditions here in Australia etc.) as I tend to do.

If you are an Aussie girl as old as me, you’ll remember the days back in the 90’s when Poppy King reigned supreme in the school yard. Everyone wanted her matte lipsticks & Shine lipglosses (I think I still have a jar of that somewhere) and all the cool kids were seen with the best lips in town. Sadly about ten years later, the Poppy King brand was no more. She moved to New York, worked for the Estee Lauder company and we thought that was the end.However, in 2008, Poppy launched her new brand, Lipstick Queen - an even better range of products, still with the old Poppy King sensibility.

So let's get started by reviewing the Lipstick Queen Oxymoron Matte Gloss in Minor Crisis.


The colour payoff is AMAZING. I haven’t seen such amazing pigment in I don’t even know how long. It can be layered by dabbing on with a finger for light colour, or applied with the brush for a stronger look. While the label says matte, it still leaves my lips soft, with a light sheen.

Using either your fingers or the brush supplied (which is actually pretty good), the colour sinks into your lips giving them a rich colour using very little product.

Want to use it on your cheeks? No problem, just rub some on your index finger and dot 3 times on your cheeks in the area you want the colour applied. Then blend. Use incredibly sparingly as the colour is so rich.

The simple disc fits easily into almost any bag or pocket, which is means I can slip it into my pocket when I leave the bag at home.

The downside is that there isn’t a downside. It really is that good. I'm having to hold myself back from buying the whole collection. If you have seen my picture of currently unloved products waiting to be reviewed, you’ll understand why, but it is at the top of my list to buy more of.

The great news is that Poppy King will be in town next week to launch more Lipstick Queen products. I'll post these shortly.

Available in 4 universally flattering shades from Kit Cosmetics for AU$34.95

Stay tuned for more Lipstick Queen by Poppy King reviews coming soon!

MAC Cosmetics is offering free shipping until March 1.

Hmm, so many things to choose from...My pick is the Cremesheen Glass in Creme Anglaise or Partial To Pink, but I am trying to patiently wait for Hello Kitty.

Simply use the code SUMMERFS when you checkout.

Happy shopping!

Loving this Chanel Zip Flower brooch!

The mix of the girlyness of the leather and flower design mixed with the toughness of the zip feature makes this such a gorgeous piece.

Handmade and only AU$1690.

Would I buy it? Not for that price, but I’m sure there is an ‘inspired’ version out there somewhere for about 100th of the price which is more in my budget.

Image taken from Life & Leisure magazine

Have you signed up yet? Get thee to MAC stat! Chances are that 30 seconds after these products are uploaded, they will be gone so you need to be in the know.

Dear Anne,

As you have such a strong eye area, having a more subtle lip would create a bit more balance. I suggest a muted/ more sheer red colour or a dusty pink. Alternatively, choose a light wash of colour over the lids with a small line of eyeliner and keep the lips.



And the dress, well, it would have looked better in another colour. I'm no expert though.

K? Tks.

Love Naomi

Image: pop sugar

FACT: Miley Cyrus' belt probably costs more than my house. Is it made of diamonds and a massive pearl? Let's just say it is so my fact is still er, factual.

I'm impressed with the dress, very pretty and age appropriate with a southern belle twist. No splits, massive boobage or inappropriate makeup.



The makeup is simple & refined. Is she being styled by someone new?

Images: NEWS, BBC

Feeling particularly blurgh on Saturday, but desperately needing to go Medicare to claim some of my hard-earned money back, I took a visit to Warringah Mall.

Since I was right next to Myer, I figured it was the perfect opportunity to stop by the cosmetics floor and see what was new. It was a sad, sad sight.

The entire time I was there, I managed to see only 1 sales person, who looked completely disinterested. There were women walking around aimlessly looking for someone to serve them at any counter with no luck until they went to the bag counter. I know retailers are going through a rough time financially (I'm one myself), but surely you would have some sales staff manning registers for the people who actually want to buy from your store?!

It also seems the brands that don’t have their own counters, like Bloom, Trilogy, Jurlique, MOR Cosmetics etc seem to get left to fester and look fairly disgusting. The testers were dirty, empty, or had product oozing from them. I doubt anyone even looked at them in between the times when the brand rep comes to visit.


I don’t know if this is consistent across all stores, but I do know that the non-prestige brands are always treated as the poor cousin to the major brands.

By the time my OCD kicked in and I started arranging the products so they looked more pleasing and less like a Priceline bargain bin, I knew it was time to leave.

I took some stealth photos on my way out, but they don’t really do the grossness justice.


There was one brand that had a fantastic display that was really eye catching:



What is your experience of the cosmetic floors of department stores?

There are a lot of schools of though over what the correct way to apply mascara is. Like skincare, I don't think there is necessarily one way that is best for everyone. It depends on the length of your lashes, the shape of your eyes, and how thick or sparse your lashes are.

So what I have done is reviewed a bunch of video tutorials that detail different ways to apply mascara & here are my findings.

Some talk about using the window-wiper technique, moving the wand back and forth across the lashes to get maximum coverage. I think this can lead to clumpy lashes as it moves them all in the same direction without separating.

Others use more of a swipe, just brushing it on from root to tip, kind of like brushing your hair. Its a good way, but won't give you full lashes that make your eyes pop.

My personal choice is the wiggle. Get your wand right down into the roots of your lashes and then bring the wand up (while giving the wand a little twist) to the tips so you get thick, evenly separated lashes that look awesome.

Cheri has a great video on YouTube which details it:



All suggest applying mascara to both the upper and lower sides of each lashes (on both your top & bottom lashes).

My final tip is to use multiple coats. Apply each coat just before the other one has dried or they may clump and give you more of a Tammy Faye Baker than foxy femme look.

If you are looking for a new mascara to test, you MUST try the Lash Me mousse mascara from Australis, it is FANTASTIC. Can't say enough nice things about it. In fact, I said lots of nice things about it right here.

Image: Getty

Not saying I am behind in my reviewing or anything, but I do have a *cough* small pile of items waiting patiently to be critiqued by yours truly. *sheepish look*



Any requests? From what I can see I have items from MAC, Cargo Plant Love, Natio, Laura Mercier, La Clinica, Akin, ModelCo, Lipstick Queen by Poppy King, Bliss and the list goes on...

Ever wanted to dress like Hello Kitty but found the clothes a little bit small? If you are a sample size and have a bit of cash to burn, this may just be your lucky day.

30 designers from around the world have designed one off pieces for a very special MAC Hello Kitty collection to celebrate the launch of their collaborative makeup collection. Some are horrific (yes, I'm talking to you Zac Posen), while others are quite beautiful.

I just transferred 10% of the money we made last week to the Red Cross to help those who lost their homes & families in the Victorian bushfires. It isn't much as we are a small business, but every little bit counts.

Alegorie, the accessories boutique is donating 10% of all their sales for the entire month of February to the Bushfire Appeal.

If you know of any other stores doing something similar, please let me know and I will give them a shout out here.

And for those who didn't get enough cute koala pictures last time, this is for you:







And my favourite:

As I am writing this, 108 people are confirmed dead and over 750 houses have been destroyed in what is the worst bush fires ever in Australia. It breaks my heart to see so many people losing everything that they have worked for over their entire lives. I can’t even begin to imagine what it is like. Unbelievably, it is now being reported that arsonists are going back and re-lighting fires that the SES have put out.

I know this is meant to be a beauty blog, but if I can get the word out to donate what you can, whether it be money, clothes, blankets or blood, it is the least I can do.

I have decided that 10% of all sales from my business will be donated to the Red Cross organisation to assist those people who have been affected by this terrible (and in many cases man made) disaster. I will be sending off a cheque on Monday of next week with the money along with my matching donation.

One word of caution: there is always a bunch of losers who will go out there and fleece money from people pretending to be from a registered organisation. To prevent this, only donate to a known charity.

You can make a donation online with the Red Cross here: https://www.redcross.org.au/Donations/onlineDonations.asp

Or give them a call on 1800 811 700

Australia Post offices are also accepting donations (along with their very generous $1m pledge).

If you feel the need to help out while doing a bit of retail therapy, head on over to www.addictedbeauty.com where 10% of all sales this week will be donated to the Red Cross.

images: news.com.au

That's all.

Care of Natalie Dee

I was just sent the cutest thing in the mail.

Here is the back story:

In Victoria the temperature has been above 44 C degrees all week and they are forecasting another week of 40+ temperatures. Power is failing, trains have stopped running because tracks are buckling under the heat. It's just scorching.

And it seems that the people are not the only ones suffering.

Check out these photos of a little Koala which just walked on to a back porch looking for a bit of heat relief. The woman filled up a bucket for it and this is what happened!


__________________________

For those of you outside of Australia who aren’t familiar with koalas, this is fairly unusual as they don’t normally drink. They get their water from gum leaves which are usually 40-60% water. Koalas are generally grumpy, stinky little things (but very cute looking) that can cause some serious damage if you get too close.

Here’s hoping for some less crazy weather soon!