My Week in Pictures #44; the Theme Park Edition (part 1)

Last week J and I jet-setted off to Queensland for a mini-holiday. We stayed with my mum, who lives about an hour north of Brisbane. It was so great being able to see her after months and months, and check out her new place. We spent two days at Warner Bros Movie World and at Dreamworld, which was the basis of our little getaway.

We started off on Tuesday at Movie World. I last was at Movie World over 10 years ago, and it's a lot more DC-focussed than I remember. I have to say though, I totally commend them on their theme-ing of the park, because they have done an awesome job with that.

The Superman Escape rollercoaster, and the Arkham Asylum coaster (previously known as the Lethal Weapon) were easily the best in the park. Superman Escape had the longest wait time of them all, but even so it was only about 20 minutes. The Superman Escape accelerates from 0 to 100km/h in under 2 seconds which is just so, so much fun. 

I think the funnest rollercoaster of all of them was the Arkham Asylum - it has 5 inversions, reaches speeds of 88km/h with an experience of 4Gs. The track is above you, and your suspended so your feet dangle. This ride is so intense, and I think was my favourite out of all of the ones we experienced. 

The Batwing Spaceshot was a lot of fun - you basically shoot up 61m, experiencing a force of 4Gs while travelling 64km/h. You can see a lot of the park on the ride which is nice, for the views. 

The Green Lantern coaster was pretty fun - not quite as intense as Arkham; if you're after a little thrill but still a bit of a 'fraidy-cat, this would be a great ride for you. The ride reaches speeds of 66km/h, with an experience of 3.5Gs. That being said, I was surprised to learn it does actually feature the steepest drop in the Southern Hemisphere and the second steepest in the world. 

Just chillin' with our mate, the Joker. 

The last time I went to Movie World, the Scooby Doo Spooky Coaster had just been built, and the lines were so long that there was over an hour and a half wait to get in. This time, there was no such line. Unfortunately, the ride was a bit of a disappointment. Towards the end of the coaster part, there was a lot of stop-starting which kind of ruined the experience. The first time we stopped was at the end of the last drop, and I honestly thought the ride had broken and we got stuck. 

Movie World has fun little shows on, which is good to break up the day. The Batman one was pretty good, and easily drew the biggest crowd. Unfortunately the Wild West show got cancelled (but not before we were all standing in the sun for 20 minutes waiting for it to start). The Scooby Doo show was also funny and lighthearted; there were a lot of children at that show.

Movie World is a great theme park; it has an entire Looney Tunes section with rides just for little ones, so it would be perfect for all ages.
Stay tuned for my post later today on Dreamworld!

Have you been to Movie World before? What's your favourite roller-coaster ride?



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Her Fashion Box: September

It's been quite a while since I unsubscribed from monthly subscription boxes. Although I loved getting surprises in the mail each month, I found I wasn't using all the samples I was receiving, so I was essentially just wasting my money. I still have a box of samples on my desk that I'm still making my way through. Maybe once they've run out I'll re-subscribe to the beauty boxes.

In the meantime, I've subscribed to Her Fashion Box. HFB is a mix of fashion, beauty and lifestyle products, delivered to your door every month for $39.95. There's no contracts, and you can cancel anytime. Which is a condition I love, being so fickle and all.

$39.95 is pretty steep, especially since I was paying $30 (combined) for two boxes previously. The difference between this box and others though is that you get a lot more full sized products, thus really getting your money's worth. You get to choose your 'style' as well, and unlike some other boxes that provide the illusion of choice, HFB actually tailors the products you receive to the style you choose. The styles are classic, feminine and trendy. (I signed up to classic)
And if $39.95 is too much, you can sign up to the "Her Fashion Boxette", which is a slightly smaller box at $24.95 per month.

So, I signed up last month, and even though I signed up past the date for September, they sneaked me onto the list anyway, so I got to receive the September box yay!

Here's what was inside:

Black clutch with gold studded detailing (RRP $39.95)

I love clutches, and this one pays homage to Alexander McQueen (only my most favourite designer ever, guys you know me too well!) It's sleek, sophisticated, classic...will go with everything. I'm so in love with it.

'The Midas Touch' Ring (RRP $24.95)

'Androgychic' ID bracelet (RRP $29.95)

Both of these are really cool, real gold-plated pieces of jewellery that I'll actually wear. The ring has little hearts, but is chunky (which is a style that I love, and matches so many of my other rings!) and the bracelet is so effortlessly chic. 

Maybelline Colour Show Nail Polish (RRP $5.95 each)

These are both colours I'll wear, and who doesn't love receiving nail polish? 

Lonvitalite Collagen Firming and Moisturising Facial Mask (RRP $29 for 5 masks)

PureTan Organic Extra Virgin 100% Coconut Oil (RRP $11.95 for 65mL) I received a 15mL sample

I love a good cloth mask, and I especially love moisturising ones given how dry my face is. This mask claims to promote skin renewal to keep 'complexion looking firm, even toned and radiant...smooths fine lines and enhances moisture retention'

I am such a coconut oil lover. Not only is it an amazing hydrating treatment for your skin and hair, but it smells like summer! 

Designer Brands Chubby Lip Crayon (RRP $7.99)

Designer Brands Kohl Pencil (RRP $4.99)

Both of these are soft and pigmented, and easy to apply. I received the lip crayon in the colour 'enchanted rose'. In the booklet that came with the box, it looks like a pretty pinky red colour, but when swatched it comes out fairly neutral. So the colour itself isn't anything amazing, but I'm all about the lips and this is a pretty, neutral colour. I was also in the market for a new kohl eyeliner so I am really happy about receiving this! 

Overall, I could not be happier with what I received in my first month's box. I will use absolutely everything I received, and I genuinely love all of it! I also love that the box comes with a little magazine with details about all the products, and ideas on how to wear and style it all. 

Are you subscribed to any monthly subscription boxes?



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Rimmel Apocalips Swatches #2!

 

I couldn't help myself. I went out and bought the other four Rimmel Apocalips lip lacquers...

C'mon, we all knew it would happen. If you want to check out my original post, to find out more about what I think of the actual lip gloss, then click here.

(side note: I completely understand why priceline puts sticky-tape around the products, but far out is it difficult to remove completely!)

Funnily enough, the colours I was missing from the collection were mostly nudes: Celestial, Solstice, Nude Eclipse and Phenomenon. 

Celestial - is quite a rosy colour; a deep pink but not quite a red.

Solstice - Now, the swatch above makes this colour look like quite a deep red, but because I have quite red lips naturally, this colour is my "own lips but better!" I adore this one on me! (and I think this point indicates how important it is to get lip colour swatches actually on lips!)

Nude Eclipse - a beautiful nude colour. This colour makes my lips pale, which is fantastic for when I have dark eye makeup on. 

Phenomenon - Probably my least favourite colour of the eight, phenomenon is a peachy pink. I think this would look fantastic on someone with darker skin!

 

Have you tried the Rimmel Apocalips lip lacquers? Which colour is your favourite?

 

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Canberra Haul

I did a spot of shopping over the weekend while we were in Canberra... we were out at the shopping centre, and walked past this place called 'House of Cosmetics'. J told me that was where he bought the nail drying spray he got me for Christmas last year, so we went inside to see if they had some. They did! Hurrah!

Quick note: The Apocalips lip lacquers were picked up in Priceline, and I will be doing a post later this week about these colours. If you missed it, check out my original review here. 

Unfortunately they only had the one can left; I would have loved to pick up some more to stash away! :( I also picked up a nail polish removal pen, and a glass nail file. The nail polish removal pen was a slight disappointment. We got home, I opened it up, eager to try it out and the nib was completely dry. I have worked out though, that if you dip it in nail polish remover it works fine (it is also supposedly refillable, however, I am yet to work that out).

I also picked up four O.P.I nail polishes, at 4 for $40. I don't own many blues or greens, so I went with (in order of L-R) Blue My Mind, the top coat, Fly and Ogre the Top Blue

I also re-stocked on some DUO eyelash glue, and got some tip guides. There are three types of 'tips' in this packet, so I thought that would be fun to trial.

I also bought a set of really cute cow egg cups and spoons. (As seen in first photograph) I can't help myself...they were too adorable for me to not pick them up, and they were on sale!

What silly and serious things have you picked up from the shops recently? 




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Review and Swatches: Rimmel Apocalips Lip Lacquers

I can not even tell you how long I have spent trying to source these from England. No, I can. About 6 months. 6 long months, I have been waiting and waiting for these to become available. FINALLY they are in Australia! I picked these four up recently in Priceline, from memory they were about half price. I believe there's 8 in total, but my local priceline only had half of them stocked. Bummer!
I love the name of these lip lacquers...I'm a sucker for a good pun, and Rimmel have continued the theme through the naming of the shades, which I totally respect.

HOW INSANE is the pigmentation in these? That is literally one swipe of product, onto the back of my hand. 

Before we get into the nitty gritty, I will comment on the packaging, like I always do. Quite frankly...I love it They lip lacquers are sturdy, they look cool; the lids are prism-y and kind of crystal looking. Again, dedication to a theme; I totally approve of and respect this. I also love how the bottoms are clear, so you can see the colours without having to search for the names of each shade. I also love that the colours displayed on the packaging are pretty true to the colour of the product. It makes it so much easier for me to decide in the mornings on a colour to wear. 

I love most of the colours I picked out; 

Apocaliptic is a beautiful deep berry, which I'm absolutely loving for winter. 

Stargazer is a gold coloured nude with a heap of glitter in it. Don't love this one on my lips to be honest...it takes a while to blend out into something wear-able. 

Stellar is a cooler-toned red; if you're into corals you'll love this one. It almost seems to have a pinkish base to it too, which is nice. 

Nova is a really pretty pink and I actually like this one a lot more than I thought I would. 

All of the colours dry easily on the lips and the staying power is a couple of hours, less if eating and/or drinking. To be honest, I was slightly disappointed with how long they last. Considering the amount of colour you get in a swipe of product, I expected it to really cling onto my lips and hang out there for a while. I did have to re-apply several times throughout a 9 hour day, with the colour fading off the inner part of my lips first, leaving that ugly ring of lipstick. 

The formula of these is really creamy, albeit quite thick. I personally have found this makes it a little tricky to apply, but I'll get to my tips for that later. 

The scent of these probably won't be to everyone's taste. If you're one of those people who can't handle weirdly scented lipsticks, you'll probably want to avoid these, and in particular Stargazer. I noticed that one had the funkiest smell of all of them. I can't even really describe the scent...it's like cheap, synthetic plastic.

The lip lacquers come with a doe-foot applicator. Honestly, I think the formula is way too thick and wet to apply with one of these and ends up quite messy-looking; especially the darker shades. 

I've found the best way to apply these is by swiping some product on the back of my hand and then applying with a lip brush. This allows for a far more prescise application than you could possibly get with the built-in applicator. If you're in a situation where you don't have a lip brush, just make sure you scrape off any excess product onto the rim of the lipstick and start off with a small application and build up. This is one of those lip products you NEED to blot with, otherwise they will never dry on your lips, and will slip and slide like nobody's business. 

Also; make sure your lips are nicely hydrated and have been exfoliated before you pop some of this on... I didn't do that when I swatched these onto my lips, and as you'll see in the below photos, this is one of those products that clings to the dry patches. 

Top-Bottom: Stargazer, Stellar, Nova, Apocaliptic

The above photos were all taken with the exact same lighting conditions, and applied with the doe-foot applicator. You can see in the first and second swatches where the pigment has grabbed onto my dry patches. You may also notice that the application of stellar and apocaliptic is slightly messy. Like I  mentioned earlier, this can easily be avoided by using a lip brush, but as long as you have a tissue and some make up remover on hand, you'll be fine either way. From normal standing distance, I doubt anyone would really notice the application is less than perfect. 

Overall, I love the colours of these. I think they are fantastic for a liquid lipstick, and I may go purchase the other four shades if I can track them down. This is quite a high maintenance lippy though, so if you're not into that I'd give it a miss. If you love beautiful coloured lips regardless of what it takes, then this is the product for you! 

Have you tried these out yet? Is liquid lipstick something you're into?

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Nails of the Week - Inspired by University

I'm wearing a really simple nail design this week...so simple I doubt you can even call it a 'design'. 

This is such a beautiful, deep shade of green - I think it's a great colour for the beginning of Autumn. Which, by the way, has only felt like Autumn as of today. 

I tried my hand at a gradient glitter accent nail. It really didn't work out that well, and I think it's because the glitter polish I used is too chunky. I feel like it would work so much better with finer glitter particles. 

Uni has made me so scatter-brained at the moment, as I focus on getting my hundreds and hundreds of pages of readings done each week. I really wish that were an exaggeration. So how has studying inspired my nails this week? 

I have a certain system of highlighting my textbooks. Principles in pink, interesting points in blue, case names and legislation in yellow. Case facts underlined in orange, and case decisions underlined in green. 

So yeah, I was inspired by my meticulous underlining. 

What a dork. 

Colours used in thsi one: 

- Revlon: Jaded Night

- Australis: Nail Glitter Top Coat in Shimmy Shake

Where do you seek out inspiration in day-to-day life? 
Are you a crazy highlighter too? No? Just me? I'll show myself out...



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Nails of the Week #6

I have to preface this post by saying that absolutely all credit for this design goes to Jess from Neko Aesthetic. Go check out her youtube if you haven't already - she's a great Aussie youtuber who has some excellent tutorials!

So onto the nail design!

Is that not the cutest design you've seen in your entire life?

If you're an old subscriber to my blog, you may be aware that my nickname is 'Moo'. Don't even ask me why, I've just had it my whole life. This little nickname of mine has since developed into a full-blown collection of cow-related objects. So when I saw Jess' video for a cow print themed nail, I immediately got out my nailpolishes and did it myself!

Obviously this design is really simple - so only black and white is needed, with of course a base / top coat. Jess' video calls for a 'dotting tool' to be used. Now, I've never even heard of such a tool so I got creative and cut one of the ends off a cotton bud and used the stick end instead. It worked great! 

Colours used:

• Revlon - Coconut Crush
• OPI - Black Onyx

I personally love the sheen given by the Coconut Crush. I find it adds a bit more dimension to the design, than if I had used plain old white. 

You can check out Jess' tutorial here. 

Do you have a nickname? If you do - what's the story behind it?

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My Week in Pictures #5

 

Oh Hello there!

Time for my week in pictures update!

 

Finally nailed that pesky handstand! I can still only do it facing away from the pole though...one day I'll get over my fear and be able to do it facing the pole too.

 

Snuggling up to these cuties is literally the highlight of my day. 

Rommy is adorable - and loves pillows. and the crooks of arms to sleep on. 

Caffeine overload! Had a presentation to do for my history class this week, so watching Hitler documentaries at the coffee shop was the way to go. 

(no you're weird)

 

Intense physio sessions for right shoulder injury. I have such a love/hate relationship with physiotherapy. It's so painful, but feels so good at the same time?

And if you follow me on twitter, you would already know this - but I went a bit crazy and died the ends of my hair bright colours. There's pink, red and purple (which you can kinda see a bit better in the right picture). I'm kind of in love with it (even though my parents hated it) and am scared to wash my hair because I don't want it to fade.

Apologies about the gross bleach-stained Muse shirt as well... meh.


Have you ever done anything crazy with your hair? Ever achieved something you thought would be impossible? Let me know below!