Fingr'rs Nail Makeup Review

I was fortunate enough to be sent a few nail products by the kind people at Fing'rs Australia via a social networking competition (yay, thank you!).

These goodies arrived for me promptly, and needless to say I was excited! I am a self confessed nail product addict and I love delving into anything fun and creative to make life a little more interesting in the nail department.

This afternoon I decided to change things up on my tired, chipped, post-holiday polish and give the brightest, most eye-catching Fing'rs product in my stash a go.

Introducing Fing'rs Nail Makeup.

22 ready to stick, pre-designed decals, that according to Fing'rs makes it "easy to swap out and change your designs instantly". 

These babies retail at $9.99 AUD.

 

The first thing you need to be aware of is that these are decals. In other words, stickers, designed for temporary wear and easy removal. So you aren't going to get the same result as using a nail polish strip or transfer (eg. Sally Hansen or Revlon).

Regardless, I found the stickers to be made of quite a durable material that I am guessing will probably last longer than expected. So kudos in the durability department!

The design that I received is called Hollywood and I love it! But if you aren't pink-crazy like me, they do have quite a few others to select from.

Application was easy enough, very similar to the application you would need to do for a nail polish strip (peel strip off, place onto nail, file excess off).

 As well as being durable however, being made from plastic rather than polish does have its limitations, and I found this to be the case during application - there is hardly any room for adjustment (eg. stretching out the strip like you can with polish strips) and filing the ends off was kinda tricky. 

Overall, I would say these are a cute and fun way to brighten up those fingertips of yours, but don't be expecting the same quality and result as a nail polish strip. Nail polish strips seem easier to work with to me, last a couple of weeks, and have a more professional finish.

For what they are though (a temporary and removable sticker decal), they do a great job and I expect it to last at least 2 days which is pretty good if that's what you're after.

I would probably recommend these to parents as a gift for younger girls who are just beginning to take interest into beauty and nail products. These Nail Makeup strips are just as bright and colourful, take less time to apply than liquid polish + no dry time, they look just about the same as polish, but you have the freedom to simply peel off  if a change is wanted or boredom occurs (and what tween doesn't want constant change and excitement these days?).

I would purchase these again, mostly because I'd love to try out a couple more of the cute designs available. I think these would be great to use on accent nails as well, because they're so easy to apply and give that little something extra to your manicure.

If you would like more information on the fantastic work Fing'rs are doing to encourage us all to beautify our nails, then head on over HERE.

Fing'rs Nail Makeup - great end result

J xx

Mini Shopping Haul and Elf Cosmetics Arrives At Kmart!

Firstly, can I just say how irritating iPhone's have become since the iOS 7?

I am included in the pool of people with a long and growing list of problems ever since the update. No sound from the speaker, woke up one morning with all my contacts deleted, and the latest - WiFi no longer functions on my iPhone 4S. If you're having these problems too, let me know!

This all leads me to the fact that yesterday, I was trying to conserve as much Optus data as I could, as without WiFi I am going through my data FAST. 

In my new-found state of pure iPhone data stingey-ness, I was apprehensively about to turn off my Cellular Data usage. No internet for a week. No Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Email, Safari, Uno With Friends.... Scary. But absolutely needed if I didn't want to have a massive phone bill (This dramatic tragedy was almost going to be made into a blog post, but it didn't eventuate. See why below).

Finger on the Off toggle button, I saw that my sister mentioned me in an Instagram post. Just this once, I thought. I'll switch the internet off straight after, I told myself.  (**Side Note** no one will be shocked to know that this lasted a mere ONE day. It is amazing how much we rely on the internet on our phones! I couldn't believe it how weird it felt. Optus gave me a $10 1gb top-up of data for two weeks. Insert sigh of relief. Resumed use of Cellular Data immediately, and tragedy over).

The Instagram picture was a Kmart somewhere in Australia which stocked Elf Cosmetics! I had no idea that Elf was coming into Kmart. I think it was briefly at Target (same as in the US), but they stopped stocking it in Australia. Either way I'm glad it's back.

A lot of the beauty community are aware of Elf, but us Aussies have trouble getting a hold of it except online or overseas. In no way is Elf a high end brand, but from what I have seen and heard, it is great value and pretty good quality for the price.

V, The sister mentioned above, brought back an Elf eyeliner & lipgloss from the US a few months ago for me. I plan to do a US Make-Up Review in a new blog post soon, so keep your eyes peeled (Elf and Urban Decay). I'd say I was pretty happy with both products, not my absolute favourites, but if you're after some decent stuff at an affordable price, Elf is great. Really excited to get my hands on the products and review them!

Elf shelves empty at Kmart

Obviously I had to go and see this for myself, so I went to my local Kmart. Sadly, no stock as of yet, but the shelves were ready to be stocked and had the Elf labels everywhere. I went and asked an employee and she said that it would probably all be shelved by the weekend. My store is in QLD so you may want to check with your local Kmart and find out when/if you will get stock.

Anyway, with no Elf products in hand, I went out and searched for a few things I needed.

Here's my mini haul from today, I managed to get a couple of bargains!

Picked up this cute floral print playsuit / jumpsuit from Myer. I had a $20.00 voucher from Myer One rewards, plus it was reduced to $45.00. Then it was a further 30% off already reduced prices!!! 

I will be going away to Hervey Bay in two weeks for a belated Valentines getaway. So I thought this would go nicely with the location, lazy beach days and casual poolside relaxation.

Store: Myer

Original Price: $80.00

Total Paid: $11.50

Brand: Quirky Circus

IN LOVE with these coral pink sunglasses! Have been looking around for an affordable pair for a few months now. I already have two pairs of standard sunnies, so I didn't want to overspend with these ones, just love the idea of something bright in the Summer and Spring, and I can't go past pink.

These were on sale 50% off. Love me a bargain! Luckily they're also a category 3 lens protection, so definitely bringing these on my mini holiday for beach/poolside eye protection ;)

Store: City Beach

Original Price: $20.00

Total Paid: $10.00

Brand: Karyn In LA

The pens!! Ooooh the pens. I want to be a bit more organised with things at the moment, so I'm using my daily planner a lot more. I wanted a practical pen that was able to do what it needs to do, but something cute and not boring!

Enter White Rabbit Pen and Pencil Pen. 

Store/Brand: Typo

White Rabbit Pen: $3.95

Pencil Pen: $1.95

Pencil Pen is shaped (yep you guessed it) like a pencil, but inside it is a pearly/shimmery pink pen.

White Rabbit Pen's ears can both be pushed down, revealing either a black or blue pen. I love how adorable this is, but I also love that it is a dual colour pen that I can switch between when writing.

Uncapped and Pushed into action!

So that is it for today, I managed to pick up some really good items. Nothing too crazy but all were needed :)

Stay tuned for a blog post from my Hervey Bay Getaway Weekend, the US Make-Up review and many more things to come!

J xx

Oreo Cheesecake Truffle Balls

I never resist chocolate, and if I ever do, you know that something is wrong.

Good enough for me!
Source: Google

I came across the picture above a couple of days ago and I couldn't help but laugh! Any excuse will do when it comes to chocolate! In moderation... plus extra ;)

Every chocolate lover has a favourite, and I thought I'd share a recipe that has become highly requested from me by friends/family/colleagues over the last couple of years, involving a world-wide favourite: OREOS!!!

I was so excited to find this recipe for Oreo Truffle Balls online. Over a couple of years, I have tweaked it to my own preferences, but it is seriously so easy to make that you could add/deduct whatever you want and it would probably still taste as good. The next time I make them, I'd like to experiment with textures a bit more (e.g. add some bigger chunks of oreo into the batter), but for now, enjoy my current recipe!

Let me know if you give it a go, and if your alterations were a hit or miss :)

My Oreo Cheesecake Truffle Balls 

INGREDIENTS

2x 150g packet of Oreos

250g of cream cheese (I use Philadelphia)

Dark/White/Milk chocolate for topping or

Desiccated coconut

METHOD

- Crush Oreos (you do not need to take the cream filling out, use all of it) in a food processor until it comes out as crumbs  

- Soften cream cheese and combine with crushed Oreos using mixer (make sure cheese is softened, otherwise it's harder to mix together)

- Take portions of the combined mixture and roll into balls (these balls are pretty rich so bite sized is best, probably just a bit bigger than a Malteser would do)

- Place balls on a baking paper or aluminium foil-lined tray and put into the fridge for an hour or so

- Melt whichever chocolate you chose as topping, and dip the balls in (use toothpicks to make it easier). If you want an extra design, after dipping in the first chocolate, put the balls back in the fridge for 15mins to set. Then melt white chocolate or an alternating coloured chocolate, and use a fork to create a streaky decoration

For coconut covered ones, you do not need to put balls in fridge for an hour first - just simply roll them in coconut straight after rolling into balls

- Once you are happy with the design, put it all in the fridge for another hour or overnight to ensure they are set

ENJOY!!!

J xx