mermaid

I have been neglecting OPI for a while – the OPI Mermaid’s Tears from the Pirates of the Caribbean Collection reminded me of how much I used to love them. Mermaid’s Tears  is a sophisticated seafoam green that mimics the color of Jade. It is neither too bright nor too muted, versatile enough to wear to the office to add a pop of color to the usual boring work attire, or for a casual day out. Two words – love it! A must have for those of you who like greens.

Swatched with 2 coats

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Comparing it with the greens from Essie, you will see Mermaid’s Tear is more dusty than the Essie Turquoise and Caicos and is brighter with a stronger turquoise tint than Essie Da Bush.

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For those of you who are into keeping up with the makeup trend and colors, you probably would know that the Tom Ford Lip color Hiro is one of the hottest shades to own. It was originally released in the mini lips & boys version, but since the shade has been a huge success Tom Ford has released the Hiro in the full-size version (bought mine here with worldwide shipping)!

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The beauty of Hiro is that it has a beautiful and flattering metallic finish with rose gold shimmer. It looks warm and orangy from the tube, but once it is applied, it translates to a soft peachy pink with rose gold sheen (like peachy mermaid color).  The warm lip tone also compliments the warm eyeshadow look perfectly which is trending all over the world. The lipstick has medium color payoff so the finish is soft and pretty without looking too frosty. In a way, it reminds me of the NARS super orgasm but better!

closer look – taken in the sun

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As usual, Tom Ford lip color has a luxurious texture that glides on creamy and it doesn’t feather with a long lasting finish.  Here are some swatches.

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closeup

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The Tom Ford Hiro tends to sell out fast as soon as it is replenished. It is still not available on Tom Ford.com and Net-A-Porter but you can check out their swatches for different skin tones. In the US, you can still find them on Nordstrom and Beautylish. I bought the full size exclusive version on Selfridges. It is also available here in Australia.

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I am so excited that I finally have the CLOUD NINE Hair Curling Wand which has been on my wishlist for so long! And I cannot be more happy with it – it is worth every penny and it does everything I ever wished for a hair curling tool can do. Prior to this I have tried tons of mid range curling tongs, and although they function as expected, the Cloud Nine Wand just completely blows the others out of the water in terms of design and performance.

For those of you who are not familiar with the brand Cloud Nine, it is a company that makes professional and revolutionary hair styling tools. The founder of Cloud Nine is actually the creator of the legendary GHD straightener, and they have established this relatively new brand after the huge success of GHD. So as soon as I heard about this I just knew their products would wow me.

CLOUD-NINE-Wave-Curl-Wand-review-1Packaging is sleek and modern, it also comes with a glove to protect your hand

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What is CLOUD NINE Wave & Curl Wand:

It is a hair curling/waving wand that has 3 heat settings.  The barrel is coated with their signature ceramic finish which is designed to give your hair added shine and smoothness. The tapered barrel design also gives you the freedom to create different sizes of curls. When I first received the wand, I was quite surprised at how big this wand is compared to others.

The Wand comes with a protective heat guard in frosted finish

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Compared to the other large hair curling tongs

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Why should you have it?!

1. It heats up within 2 seconds. The design is very sleek and it looks and feels expensive.

2. I normally use the highest heat setting which works magical for my hair type. I have naturally frizzy medium/coarse hair which is very curl resistant. The problems I had with my other ordinary curling tools is that they take a long time just to curl one small strand of hair. Since I have so much hair, by the time I reach the other side of the head, the first section of hair became straight again! So I always had to go back and re-curl some hair over and over, and  the entire process was very time consuming and frustrating. With the Cloud Nine Wand, it takes literally no effort to curl the hair – I can just grab a large strand of hair and wrap it around the wand and take it off immediately (without holding it for seconds). And voila the curl looks smooth and stays in its shape all day! It allows me to curl all my hair within 10 minutes with very minimum effort.

3. I have previously mentioned in my other hair tool review posts that I am very bad with hair styling, especially with curling my hair. This wand is a life changer for me as it is definitely designed for novice users like me. The tapered design of the barrel gives you the freedom to create all types of curls, and the extra large size is also a bonus for people with long hair. I can easily create the looks below in a short time:

  • Wrap a small section of hair around the thinner end of the barrel to create tight and mermaid-like curl.
  • Wrap a medium section of hair around the whole barrel to create voluminous Victoria Secret like waves.
  • Wrap a large section of hair around the whole barrel to create an effortless beachy waves.

Bottom Line: When it comes to electronic beauty items, I am a firm believer in what you pay is what you get. The Cloud Nine Wand is a life changer for hair curling for me. If you are frustrated with the fact that you can never achieve the “magazine perfect curls” as you’ve seen on celebs/models with the tools you have, then I highly suggest you give this one a go. It works with all hair types, and it will blow you away at how easy and fast to use. The CLOUD NINE Hair Curling Wand is available here (currently on special!) with more information on the product.

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Ever since I missed out on the infamous Chanel Jade Le Vernis (which was all sold out during pre-order!) I developed a quite odd addiction for green nail lacquers. Unquestionably, the Dior Le vernis in Waterlily 504 was on my must have list for this spring.

Waterlily contains a very subtle degree of emerald green shimmer that I did not even notice until I inspected it closely under the direct sunlight. Dior normally makes the best formulation for nail polishes in my opinion. With waterlily, unfortunately I thought the formula was little on the thick side, so I had to add a few drops of nail polish thinner as I personally prefer to apply 3 thin coats rather than 2 thick coats.

picture 1: taken under direct sunlight

dior-le-vernis-waterlily-504The color is a leafy green on me. Picture was taken with 3 coats of waterlily without a topcoat.

dior-le-vernis-waterlily-504-swatch-notdCompared to OPI Mermaid’s Tears (reviewed here) and Essie Turquoise and Caicos which lean towards the cool side of green, Dior Waterlily appears very warm when swatched against them.

dior-le-vernis-waterlily-504-swatch-2Bottom Line: Store your usual vampy and dark shades for now, Spring is all about pretty pastel hues, and Dior Waterlily is one of the most unique shades this season! Dior Le Vernis retails for AUD$39 in Australia.

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