Tag Archives: review

Review: Kat Von D – Mötorhead Studded Matte Lipstick

December 23, 2015 Talyssa Leave a comment

Stepping over to the Dark Side

So..I’ve always wanted to try a dark lipstick but well, I was terrified. I mean this is my face we’re talking about and it’s not like lipsticks are cheap. Would it suit me? Do I need to be more tan to pull off a dark lip? Would I look too gothic?

My advice? Just go for it – and don’t turn back!!

Colour: ✩✩✩✩
Mötorhead’s colour is a cherry red upon first application, but can be built upon for a more intense black cherry-red colour. For me this colour was the perfect vampy cherry-red I was looking for and it also meant on my more shy days I could wear it in a lighter shade, or build it up for a dark look when I was feeling more daring. So yup, I’m in love!

The matte colour is great – no shine and I’m also loving the minty smell. Mmmm…

Texture: ✩✩

Not going to lie, this lipstick is difficult to apply due to its texture. It’s just so patchy that the texture alone has even been enough for some people to search for an alternative lipstick in a similar colour. The swatches above will give you an idea of of how patchy this lipstick can be.

Upon application Mötorhead’s formula feels both dry and sticky and doesn’t glide on with ease. The formula is especially unforgiving to any kind of dryness on your lips and with Mötorhead gliding on patchy and uneven from the get go, it makes it difficult to get an even spread on your lips that you’re almost forced to build it up just to make sure everything looks even. Never fear though you can definitely get an even application, it’s just a lot more difficult to achieve than some other lipsticks – I also recommend a lipstick brush to help you get there.

Packaging: ✩✩✩✩✩

Mötorhead’s packaging is awesome. It’s edgy, textured and the triangle prisms that encase the lipstick capture the light so wonderfully that it’s always shining and looking stylishly chic.

Price: $31 ~

Buy It Here

One special mention: the colour selection on this range of lipsticks was fantastic. Maybe it’s my lack of knowledge in gothic-esque lipsticks, but I’d never seen a range of lipsticks in these colours! There is an amazing purple colour called Wonderchild, which I was too scared to buy, but next time I’ll be taking my own advice and just go for it!

KatVonD3V2 — Oh and if you were wondering, here’s how the lipstick looks on phone cameras!

Australia Food Guide, Greatly Terrific Food Outing

GTFO: Porch and Parlour

December 6, 2015 Talyssa Leave a comment

If you’re in to hispter cafes then the Porch and Parlour’s cafe x night bar is for you. It’s creative, it’s got soul food, it offers vegan and vegetarian options and of course, it’s located in Bondi. Need I say more? Hipsters assemble!

Setting and Atmosphere

★★★★

If you’re anything like me, you’ll breathe a sigh of relief when you hear that the Porch and Parlour cafe is located on the quieter, northern side of Bondi. While the cafe does have open front windows for you to enjoy the ocean breeze, the beautiful view of the ocean is unfortunately obscured by the surrounding buildings – which is a bit of a shame. Nonetheless, the hipster interiors are pretty spech and the cafe plays homage to the all too familiar vibes of ‘refurbished warehouse’ and ‘open industrial roofing’, which actually, I still quite enjoy!

Porch and Parlour is small, cosy and not too overcrowded. I especially loved how all the tables were garnished with a small posy of fresh flowers – it’s the little things.

Food

★★★.5

Porch and Parlour North Bondi — Seared Chicken Breast with Steamed Greens: Broccoli, green beans, peas, fresh herbs, baby spinach, kale and herb pesto. | $22

Porch and Parlour North Bondii — Raw Cosmic Salad with mixed herbs, lettuce, apple, fennel, beetroot, quinoa, sprouts, guacamole, raw sisterhood sauerkraut, sprouted crackers and ocean trout | $25

Both the seared chicken with steam greens and the raw cosmic salad tasted great, as did our mocha. The chicken was organic, cooked well and moist. The steamed greens were well cooked and well seasoned – deliciously lemony. The raw cosmic salad was well dressed, fresh and creative – I really enjoyed the combination of flavours in this dish.

While the dishes and drinks tasted great, unfortunately we couldn’t help but feel a little cheated for our money. The seared chicken dish at $22 was very small with the chicken portion being particularly underwhelming in size. Similarly adding ocean trout to the raw cosmic salad was an additional $7 and unfortunately, the size of the trout was also not the most generous. With the overall salad amounting to around $25 there seemed to be a bit too much lettuce and less of the good stuff – trout, beetroot etc – and for $25 I expect more of the good stuff. I also wasn’t a huge fan of the sprout crackers which for me took away from the otherwise pleasant taste of the salad, and most disappointing of all was the ‘guacamole’. Just because you smash avocado with a fork, does not make it guacamole!!!!

Lastly the “large” mocha would be a regular size in most cafes, especially since it seems to be the trend nowadays to serve mochas in those huge mugs – I like those mugs.

Service

Rating: ★★★★

Good service, fast and pleasant.

Pricing and Value for Money

Rating: ★★★

Quite pricey, small portion sizes, but the overall taste is good.

The Details

Where: 17-18/110 Ramsgate Ave, North Bondi NSW 2026

Opening Hours: Monday – Tuesday 6.30am – 5pm | Wednesday – Sunday 6.30am – 10pm

Contact: info@porchandparlour.com.au

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Beauty Reviews, Makeup

Review: Rimmel Magical Stay Lip Coat

October 23, 2015 Siree 2 Comments

As life has been reduced to my “poor student, no stable income status” existence again, it is a bummer to keep fighting the urge to spend my savings on something cool or chic based on the perfectly logical reasoning that “I must have it because it is so unnecessary” impulsion.

No job, no income and in shopping heaven. I am on dangerous levels of unemployment poverty right now to enjoy much of what Tokyo has to offer unfortunately. It truly pains me! Well, at least for now anyway.

While smart budgeting in the interest of stretching my cash, I discovered this Rimmel Magical Stay Lip Coat which perfectly emulates my current state of penny saving heartache but also, does this thing really work?!

With a promise that your cherry stain will still be there when eating or drinking could one application be the answer to cure all our first world lipstick woes?

Let’s test drive and see!

The Rimmel Magical Stay Lip Coat formula came out quite runny at first, a sign that I didn’t shake the bottle enough so application can be a bit messy if you are not careful and only a small amount is needed which is roughly the size of a grain of rice. All you need to do is rub the formula over your lips evenly and when dry, you are ready to go! I’m using the 3CE lipstick in the shade #cometome since it’s bright and will be easily visible on surfaces.

I was a bit alarmed to see that my lipstick ended up on my fingers when I rubbed the formula on. If first impressions count, I would have thought that the Rimmel Magical Stay Lip Coat failed even before we started! Moving on however, the first claim on the package is the drink test.

Here we go:

And holy crap was I impressed!! As you can see, the lipstick really didn’t transfer much onto the cup and the ring of orange was from the inside of my mouth were I didn’t put the formula. The lipstick was still looking fresh after I drank the rest of the water in the cup so I would say that the Rimmel Magical Stay Lip Coat holds up to its claim after all!

Next up is the food test:

Huzzah! A perfect excuse to eat cake since the package also had dessert on it. Itadakimasu~

And again, the Rimmel Magical Stay Lip Coat has shown its amazing holding power! There was a faint orange tint around the eaten side but it was minimal compared to eating food without it ordinarily. What can I say, I love it!

If you are coming to Japan and are looking for cool cosmetic products to try, definitely give this a go!

Overall: ✩✩✩✩

PROS

Great value for money

Actually does what it says

Can last for 60 applications in a tiny tube

Lasts for 4 hours+

CONS

Application is a bit messy if you do not shake the bottle properly

Be careful when dispensing the product

Price: Around 1200 yen

Until Next Time!

Siree

Australia Food Guide, Greatly Terrific Food Outing

GTFO: Secret Garden

July 16, 2015 Siree Leave a comment

If you find yourself wandering through the busy hustle of Newtown to the quieter edge of Enmore, you are now in the hush-hush circle of some new age food buzz scene going on every weekend.

Newtown might always take the favourite for brunch time, but Enmore is probably one of the most diverse eating areas in outer Sydney you will experience on one street. From African to Turkish ice cream, this place is the eating melting pot that enjoys a little obscurity overshadowed by its big sister next door making it peaceful and quiet – perfect for some late brunching!

The truth of the day was, we were supposed to check out some vegan food but ended up finding Secret Garden and past the vertical flower arrangements and curtained fern vines, was a cozy hole-in-the-wall that was pretty damn cool to walk away from.

Setting and Atmosphere

Rating: ★★★★

First impressions count and Secret Garden sure does welcome you to “smell the roses.”

Every corner to the ceiling is filled with an assortment of plants both fake and real which proves, if you have a theme you better go hard or go home!

Is this a garden or some tropical jungle we stepped into?

However you may define it, the decor is a good transition from the day cafe (7am – 5pm) to the bar at night (5pm – 11pm).

Think small and cozy communal lounging or get intimate in the loveeee seater under the canopy (oh-la-la).

Food

Rating: ★★★

Browsing through the cafe menu, you’ll find your standard favourites of bacon and poached eggs to fancy steak sandwiches.

Until you see dinner.

Have you heard of ‘arepas’ before? Neither have we until we came to Secret Garden.

It’s a Colombian white corn meal pocket with filling and sounds interesting only, they serve it at night. Why?!

We gave up being vegetarians today for you~ sigh

But moving along, we chowed down to some of their other cafe grub to ease the pain.

Talyssa was in the mood for something avocado and light so the “Poached Eggs” was the obvious choice.

Recalling back, I don’t remember seeing or tasting feta or lemon oil which would have been nice.

For $16, I’d would say even with 2 eggs on top, without the other elements, it’s slightly better than your usual piece of toast.

Crushed again to hear that they sold out on the “Black and Blue” (rare roast beef sandwich), I opted for the “Montreal Ruben (typo for Reuben?)” instead and I’m glad I did.

I loved the sauerkraut and pickle combo which cut through the heaviness of the cheese and the swap for smoked wagyu instead of the usual pastrami was a good choice. It really showed off a mature side when eaten.

I wasn’t too sure about the side of Wasabi Potato Salad as I felt it didn’t really match together and the noticeable hit of wasabi was missing.

Service

Rating: ★★★

As with most, if not all order-and-pay-at-the-counter sort of eating services, you’re pretty much left alone after your interaction with the staff which is fine since the cafe vibe is very relaxed.

For the moments of service at Secret Garden, it was a pleasant experience.

Pricing and Value for Money

Rating: ★★★

Price points on the menu would be marked on the average scale for Sydney brunching.

If you want something light and simple for a weekend feed with that true “suburban local cafe” drop-by with change still left in your pocket,

Secret Garden fits the bill.

The Details

Where: 134a Enmore Road, Enmore 2042

Opening Hours: Mon – Tue: 07:00–17:00 | Wed, Thur, Fri, Sun: 07:00 – 23:00 | Sat: 07:00–22:00

Website: http://www.secretgardenbar.com.au

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/secretgardenenmore

Beauty Reviews, Makeup

Review: 3CE Lip Crayons

July 7, 2015 Talyssa Leave a comment

Big Girl Crayons

If there is anything I find myself slightly obsessing over these days it’s lipsticks. I don’t know if it’s a coming of age thing now that I’m past my mid twenties but seriously, give me them all. I have no time for sticky glosses, only a one time intense affair with colour, thank you.

Whilst I feel like a complete poser in the above pout shots, it’s really all for your benefit. Behind the above illusion are naturally thin lips and no one wants to see that in a lipstick review. Just be thankful I didn’t go all Kylie Jenner on you. Besides dear readers, I’m wearing lipstick, let me flaunt it!

Colour: ✩✩✩✩
Intense colour that lasts. A good matte finish but not as good as my MAC Ruby Woo.

Texture: ✩✩✩
Love the light velvety feel of this formula, it’s a pleasure to wear and glides on with ease. My lips feel soft and moisturised, which is refreshing for a matte lipstick.

Unfortunately, this formula is unforgiving if your lips are not perfectly smooth, tending to gather in cracks or dry skin and accentuating them. This formula lacks the coverage that some other lipsticks provide.

Packaging: ✩✩✩
I think the packaging is really cute and funky, and definitely suits a younger vibe well. Whilst I prefer to carry a more elegant looking lipstick on my nights out, there is a nice, casual, everyday feel about this packaging.

My bag tends to be a permanent home for my favourite lipsticks and they are often mistreated in and abouts the other items thrown into my bag. It really is a game of survival for my lipsticks and I typically prefer a magnetic cap (not a feature of 3CE lip crayons) to ensure the lids don’t fall off.

Price: $22 ~

Buy It Here:

#HEAVEN WAY

#PINK LEAVES

#BLUSHED

Beauty Reviews

The Hidden Thimble x Clearasil – Skin and the Sun (Giveaway)

March 24, 2015 The Hidden Thimble Team Leave a comment

Advertorial

Self-conscious. Embarrassed. Gross.

Those harsh and unfortunate words haunt any adolescent’s thoughts and are all too familiar growing up with blemished skin.

I must admit, I didn’t really care for my skin much when I was a teenager, or ideas for “healthy” habits that could help improve skin appearance. My personal treatment of teenage skin was to tackle my facial problems using a facial wash, mainly a gel or a scrub and medical acne treatments. Things like toners, serums, and moisturizing (a very important step always left forgotten) were not in my routine vocabulary and my knowledge of “proper” skincare was still in infancy until I reached past my 20’s. All the effort made since then has dramatically improved the condition of my skin’s appearance by creating a more thoughtful and complex routine for the results I wanted to achieve – and it’s worth it!

As everybody’s body is idiosyncratic, this guide to perfecting a skincare regime is the foundation to exploring your own skin story. Whether you are fighting against hormonal or stressful once off breakouts, there are products out there to help you in balancing your skin’s changing stages from the inside out and fight those annoying little red dots!

A Guide to a Perfect Skin Care Routine

– Cleanse –

First off you want to remove any make-up, dead skin cells and pollutants that might clog your pores. I like to use a facial cleanser sponge to make sure I get into the corners as much as possible. There are a few forms of cleansers such as gel washes (Clearasil Ultra Rapid Action Gel Wash), which are great for easy face rinsing to cream types (Clearasil DailyClear Vitamins & Extracts Wash) which can also double as a mask to penetrate deeper.

– Scrub Off –

Exfoliators stimulate cell renewal and improve skin texture and appearance. As this product can be harsh to use every day on your skin, limit this to only once every other week or once a month. Choose a scrub that has natural ingredients like Clearasil’s DailyClear Vitamins & Extracts Scrub which has Vitamin E and Antioxidants from Avocado and Pomegranate to help keep skin healthy and nourished.

– Tone It –

After stripping away all that natural oil from your face, toners are your best friend to rehydrate and restore the pH level of your skin, avoiding excess oil production and also to shrink your pores.

– Hit the Right Spot –

This is for those miracle working product treatments that come in concentrated forms such as essences, creams, serums, ampoules, boosters – the list goes on! This is where you target the areas of concern so if you have sore acne spots that you want to reduce and can’t pop just yet, use a specially formulated product like Clearasil Rapid Action Pimple Cream to spot treat problem pimples.

– Sunscreen –

The sun is not the kindest to our skin so make sure you stay sun smart if you are doing your skin regime and going out for the day.

– Lock It In –

Moisturize. Moisturize. Moisturize! It’s the key for youthful skin when you are older so do it!

Want to know what products are best suited for you? Check out Clearasil’s Customised Skin Care Guide.

I want to highlight one of the most underrated steps in a person’s skincare regime: prevention from the sun. Let’s face it, how many of you actually include sunscreen into your daily facial regime? I bet not many! Now I could go on about the scientific facts concerning why it’s so important to slip, slop and slap, but all you really need is some hard cold evidence.

You know all that money you spend on formulas with anti-aging? What if I told you that majority of the anti-aging formula secret is sunscreen. Yep that’s right, the skins biggest enemy is sun damage! Think of how much money you could save by just adding sunscreen to your regime!

And for those of you who like the science: ultraviolet light (and in Australia this is even more pronounced due to a giant hole right above us in the ozone layer) breaks down the elastin and collagen in your skin. This causes discolouration, roughness, skin thinning, dilated blood vessels and the most dreaded…wrinkles!

You might be thinking, where in my regime do I add sunscreen? Apply sunscreen after cleansing and exfoliating with a good exfoliate such as Clearasil’s Clear and Refine Daily scrub, BEFORE applying moisturiser. However if you’re anything like me and have oily skin that’s prone to break outs, you can streamline the process by using an oil free combination moisturiser with SPF 30+ or my personal choice – a CC or BB cream with SPF 30+.

For more information, check out Clearasil’s Summer Skin care tips for preventing Sun damage.

After feeding you with so much skin knowledge, guess what? We have a surprise!

We are giving away:

1x Clearasil Ultra Rapid Action Gel Wash, 1x Clearasil DailyClear Vitamins & Extracts Wash, 1x Clearasil DailyClear Vitamins & Extracts Scrub and 1x Clearasil Rapid Action Pimple Cream, all c/o Clearasil.

Here are the details!

Good Luck!

[UPDATE]

We have a winner!

Thank you to everyone who entered! We hope to do more giveaways soon ;)

Run by two travel and lifestyle bloggers, The Hidden Thimble focus’ on creating truthful and in-depth travel guides, food & beauty reviews. Enjoy drool-worthy photography from around the world!