Yay for cute gifts

I have been working very had at something the last couple of months and i am so so so excited for when i will finally be finished probably at the end of the year.
I have been working on a website called Giftgirls and i thought i would give you a sneak peak at some of the gift sets and goodies we have been working on. These are just pics of stock and testing out colors etc but i am sure you get the idea!

These gifts sets are going to be sooo fab and cute and will contain bath goodies, cute ceramic bowls and hearts and yummie biscuits and sweet things.

They will also be very affordable at about R180 ($22 or £13) for a medium sized one with loads of goodies inside!



You can check out the site so long here - www.giftgirls.co.za and be sure to register because once we launch you will be able to take part in the giveaways and get fab discounts!
You can also follow us on twitter HERE

I cant wait to show you guys the finished products!!!

Hit or Miss

Purple lips arent by any means a new thing and people have been loving lavender whip and barrym lilac lipstick shades for quite a while now. The thing is that even though i wanted to i was just never able to let myself like it. I wear pink and red why not purple? Well, i just dont know... I have no idea maybe i am not brave enough or maybe i just know my face and my limits and i dont want to look back ten years from now at me in photos with purple lips.

Anyway just for the sake of a fair fight i put up a few pics at the top of quite nice looking purple lilac lips and then one quite horrible one...

Do you wear purple/lilac lipstick and love it or do you feel the same as me and think it would be a lipstick fail on you?

Perfect Pink Pout

I bought this lip gloss a while back thinking it was a nail polish (yes i really did!) Well its not nail polish but it is a delectable bright pink gloss!
Its Valentina Dolfi by Kejal and i think its an Italian brand so i am not sure where you can buy it but if you do find it i recommend you buy some!

I haven't really used it because it looks so scary and bright pink but when i tried it for yesterday's makeover makeup look i instantly loved it! Its very pigmented and quite thick but not in a bad way. Its like a super glossy lipstick that starts out a bit sticky but then goes dry but still glossy.
I have a very hard time wearing lip glosses sometimes but this one makes it feel like i am not wearing anything at all.

The only bad think about this is it comes off on other things so no kissing unless you want your boyfriend to look like a clown! I suppose most glosses do transfer but i loved this one so much i thought it might be able to perform miracles!

Would you wear bright pink gloss?

Minimize pores and tighten bags!

I have a little (not so secret) secret to share with you guys! Witch Hazel! Yes it sounds scary but its really not. Witch hazel is a natural astringent with soooo many uses!

The two uses i am going to talk about are beauty related (although there are lots of other medical uses) I first bought witch hazel to use in my homemade fix plus but soon found out its great to use by itself as well.

Use number 1!
I put the witch hazel in a little spray bottle (yay for hello kitty) and before i go to bed at night and when i wake up in the morning i spray some on a cotton pad and dab it on areas where i want to minimize my pores (forehead, next to nose) This works a million times better than any toner or pore minimizing cream that i have tried so anyone with oily skin and larger pores should def try this! I havent had any irritation from it and it doesnt make my face feel uncomfortable or tight either!

Use number 2!
Ok this is the (seems like) crazier use for witch hazel. If you didnt know this, haemorrhoid cream is very good for under eye bags as it tightens the skin. Now usually that type of cream contains witch hazel as one of the tightening agents. Therefore you can (safely) use witch hazel under your eyes if you have really bad bags like i do.
I will be trying this the whole week and i will let you know if this really does work.

I bought mine from ebay but you can also get it at the pharmacy!

What do you use to minimize pores and tighten bags?

"makeover" makeup

I have been watching a lot of makeover shows recently. What not to wear and 10 years younger especially. The funny thing is the makeup. It always seems to be the same look on everyone (and mostly it does look good but i think it does because you haven't seen those people with makeup)
Well after watching What not to wear again last night i thought i would do a "makeover" makeup look today!

Basically all i changed a bit was the eyeliner as i like it thicker but mostly the will do a very thing line. They always do the foundation tinted moisturizer etc to "even out your face" oh and a primer to brighten and make your makeup last. Then followed by bronzer "where the sun would naturally hit your face" and pink blusher and highlighter to bring out your cheekbones. They always fill in brows and then apply either just one eyeshadow or a highlighter and then a light golden, brown or peachy shade to the eye. followed sometimes by eyeliner and always a bit of mascara.

I tried to blowdry my (newly dyed! Yes i cant see it either, told you my hair was crazy) hair and not straighten it to give it that shiny bounce but as you guys can see that didnt work out really well for me as it just ended up in my face!

Do you watch makeover shows?

Hair Drama!

Once again i have sneakily gone to the grocery store and bought hair dye... I dont know what is wrong with me but i am addicted to box dye! I told myself this time i will wait till i go to South Africa and then i will get my hair done professionally, but no i cant wait.

I am totally and utterly bored with my dark hair again and i am longing for my golden hair from summer time as well as my tan (which i will be faking shortly...)

I always buy blonde when i want to go lighter because when i buy light brown my hair actually goes darker... (my poor hair is probably confused) Anyway i am not sure when i will be doing my hair, maybe today maybe next week all i know is that i am being very naughty! I will definitely need to pamper my hair with some deep conditioning treatments or it might all fall out before i even get on the plane!

Do you prefer box dye or going to the salon?

Superficial Gift Guide Countdown to Christmas!

A while back i wrote a post about Philosophy's Eggnog multi purpose cleanser. Eggnog cleanser sounded kinda gross to me but today i was browsing their site again and saw loads of other Christmas inspired goodies that i definitely wont mind getting!





Arent these just so cute?

Monday Smiles

I am all smiles this morning! I had a wonderfully relaxed weekend (and i am sad to see it end) I watched 500 days of summer and i am so glad i did because i really liked it and so did my boyfriend! (miracle!)

The only thing missing from my weekend was doing some home decor shopping and and maybe a bit of DIY. My sister is busy redecorating her place and buying chandeliers, pretty pillows and all sorts of things that make me uber jealous! I love decorating and since we stay in a rented furnished flat now that we live overseas i dont get to decorate.

I decided to do a bit of fantasy shopping and went to some of my favorite South African homeware stores online to see what i am missing out on. Well one of my favorite shops is @home and i got the pictures above from their summer holiday catalogue (its almost summer there now)
I love the bright fun colors and the clean lines. Pink is obviously not a color i can use in our apartment because i live with my boyfriend but i wish i could have a deck that i could kit out like that.

My favorite thing though (and this is something i will actually be buying when i go home in two weeks) is the teapot set. Its a teapot at the top that says princess with some bling and then a teacup and saucer at the bottom. If you read my Cup Love Post you will know i have a thing for cups (i actually bought those cups from this store as well)

Do you love to decorate?

Make hazel/amber/brown eyes brighter

Today i wanted to do natural makeup that gives me a summer glow but using fall oranges, golds and coppers. These colors tend to liven up and brighten hazel (more to the red side not green) amber and lighter brown color eyes. I tend to think i have hazel eyes as they change color from reddish brown to lighter gold to sometimes greenish (when i cry!) so i definitely think this livens up the color of my eyes.



Skin:

• I moisterized my face with Nautrogena oil free visibly clear moisterizer (its good to even out your skintone and keep oilyness at bay!)
• Then i put some boots anti aging eyecream which is very important to do from an early age! You might not see the difference now but you will later in life! :)
• I then used Elizabeth Arden good morning skin serum as a foundation base. It makes your skin soft and smooth and makes your foundation go on flawlessly and stay on throughout the day.
• Then with my ELF foundation brush i applied revlon colorstay foundation in sand beige all over my face starting at my nose and working my way out blending very well! (remember blending at your jawline)
• When i finished blending my foundation i applied inglot anti puffiness under eye concealer. (i didnt apply any concealer to the rest of my face as i dont have any noticeable blemishes at the moment)
• I then used my ELF complexion brush and lightly buffed my face with some light bronzer
• After applying the bronzer i put some ELF luminance powder on my cheekbones, down my nose and on my cupids bow.
• I just buffed in some light pink blusher with a sweep of gold bronzer over it to finish my face!

Eyes:

• I used some urban decay primer potion as a base so that my eyeshadow will stay crease free the whole day!
• I used a highlighter from revlon under my browbone and in the corners of my eyes
  
• Then i applied an orange (from my 36 blusher palette) on my lids and blended it upwards a tiny bit.
• I went over that orange with MAC mythology and then made the outside corners darker with MAC bronze.
• Then i just lightly applied some MAC juiced to the middle of the lid area.
• I finished off the look by applying some mascara and filling in my eyebrows a bit!

xx

Hit or Miss

I usually like a black and white combo outfit but i am not sure about this one LeAnn Rimes is wearing... Black eyes, black clutch black shoes all of them very solid and hard looking then soft white dress. I think it would have looked a lot better paired up with gold or pewter colored shoes, clutch and makeup for a sexier look.

What do you guys think? Hit or miss?

Beauty Experiment - SPF vs No SPF

A while back i read that the reason your face sometimes looks white in photos taken at night is that when you wear foundation with SPF in it, the flash reflects light and makes your face look whiter than it is in real life.

Now having had my fair share of white faced photos i was determined to get a no spf foundation to wear at night. Lucky for me i found one and i was actually really excited to use it at night till i did this experiment.

First i took side by side photos of two foundations on my hand.

Then i want into a dark corner and took photos with the flash on. This did not give me any desired results. They both look pretty much the same and they both look very light.


I thought it would be better to actually try it out on my face. The one half of my face (the left side on the photo) has the no spf foundation and the other side has the 15spf. Once again i was really disappointed as they both look the same! :(
Now i am thinking this is a myth... I didnt put anything else on my face except bronzer (checked and no spf) and blush so what could the problem be? Is this just a myth or should the photos be taken from further away?

I will have to ask my boyfriend to take some more photos of me from further away so we can see how that turn out but for the time being this is going to stay a myth for me! :P I know that your face stays nice and brown if you put no foundation on as my sister doesnt wear foundation only bronzer but i am definitely not that brave and i feel naked without my foundation!

Kitchen Scribbles

I have a huge love for cooking and one day (yes when i am big :P) i want the best kitted out kitchen ever! Anyway i was looking at Madebygirls blog and i really loved these photos (above) In the corner of the one photo i spotted a chalk board and remembered my love for them and wanting one in my kitchen one day)

I immediately saved those pics and a few other off the internet into my"kitchen" folder on my laptop so i wont forget again. I think blackboards are such a cute fun addition to a kitchen! You can write down quick recipes, a little love note for your partner or even a to do or need to buy or cleaning list. Sky is the limit and you can change it whenever you want!

The only thing i will be worrying about it chalk dust everywhere... Hmmm i remember that from school but i am sure its a minor detail! :)




What "something different" do you want or already have in your kitchen?

Studio Lust

I am so happy that elf got some new products on their site, especially such cool ones! I have already ordered the HD powder (lets hope it comes today!) and now i have a few more things i am lusting after!
Before i buy though i would love opinions if anyone has these already!

Mineral Infused Face Primer

Kabuki brush (i have the mineral one but it kinda dead...)

Daily brush cleanser

Brush Shampoo

Corrective concealer palette (i am always excited about these!)

Please let me know if you have tried them and which ones are best!

Cup Love

At the moment i am sitting in front of my pink laptop drinking coffee out of my pink and white playboy mug. This is definitely my morning ritual in Malta. Check mails while drinking coffee. The thing is it needs to be a cute mug otherwise it just doesnt feel right...

I have a total obsession with pretty coffee mugs. They just make me feel all warm inside! (and not just from the coffee!)

Back in Cape Town i also have my favorite coffee cups and i miss them dearly! They are cute stackables (shown above) that my boyfriend bought for me with other goodies one valentines day.
They are the perfect size for having coffee (otherwise i leave a bit at the bottom of the cup that drives my boyfriend mad) and they make me smile every time i see them in the kitchen.
Next on my list for cute things to buy is actually a tea pot and two pretty tea cups and saucers.

Do you have a favorite mug or cup?

Inglot Haul

I picked up some foundation (without spf for night time) under eye concealer and face primer. They all look pretty small but because you only need to use a tiny amount It works out quite well. So far i like all the products. I have been wearing all three since about 1 today and my face isnt oily and my foundation still looks exactly like it did when i applied it. :)

(people seem to love the primer - Check out makeup alley reviews)

Reviews to come! :)

Miss Dior...

I absolutely love the miss dior cherie advert. So pretty and whimsical. It has made me totaly want to go buy it even though i dont have a clue what it smells like! Maybe i will treat myself to a little pressie in dubai duty free when i fly home in December.

Does anyone have this? Is it nice?

Twitter Question - Online Gift Shopping

Yesterday i asked a question on twitter - Who buys gifts online?
Here are two of the replies i got

I was a major sceptic of online buying about two years ago. I didnt really want to give someone money and then hope they send my item. Since then i have had a major change in opinion though. When i moved to Malta loads of things were difficult to find so i had to turn to online shopping and when i did oh boy was it addictive!

While its one thing buying for yourself online its quite another thing buying gifts. Now that the silly season is here i can see why lots of people would buy online. I still love going to the shops and looking at everything and seeing all the pretty Christmas decorations etc but sometimes you dont get what you need in the shops, you might not have time to stand in crazy ques and a lot of the time online gifts come wrapped with a card an everything! (haha sometimes i am that lazy!)

There are probably two main places i buy gifts from online and thats ebay and etsy. Ebay because of all the bargains and variety and etsy because of the uniqueness of the items!

Where do you shop for gifts online?
(follow me on www.twitter.com/superficialgirl to take part in the next twitter question)

Superficialgirl Fashion

I feel like...

...having a croissant and some good filter coffee. The thing is i am way to lazy to go out and buy croissant around the corner when its so cold and early! Cocopops and gold blend it is...

What do you crave for in the mornings (and dont say muesli, i know you are lying! lol)

Retouched!

These days everything gets retouched and we know it (even though men sometimes dont! lol) I just did this quick example of what i mean.

Now what i want to know is do you think pictures should be photoshopped because its necessary to sell magazines, beauty products etc or do you think we should see it as it is?