So long 2013, hello 2014!

Hello Beauties!

 

By now you're probably thinking, "who's Crystal Tips?" because I've been gone for so long. Well I'm happy to announce I'm back in the game!

 

I'm really sorry for sort of vanishing into thin air. I guess it was due to a number of factors: School, exams and homework, my new lifestyle, laziness and a lack of enthusiasm. But I've decided to start blogging again and get back into the swing of things.

 

I'm going to make 2014 a good year in terms of blogging and what I write about. I want to inject some fun into my blog and perhaps create a new look.

 

I've set my goal and that's to create a fun, happy and enjoyable blog. So I now urge you to set yourself a major goal for 2014. We all make new years resolutions that we don't stick to, so set yourself one goal that you know you can keep.

It doesn't have to be about blogging. It could be a lifestyle related goal or a personality goal, whatever.

 

I'd love to here what your goals for 2014 are so feel free to leave them in the comments below :)

 

Happy New Year!

 

xxx

Shop My Stash

( Top left to right )

Rimmel Gel Eyeliner- 001 Black

Sephora Eye Shadow- Kiss from No.10

NYC big Bold Mascara

Max Factor Eye Brightening Mascara- Black Sapphire

Essence Long Lasting Eye Pencil- no. 15 Bling Bling

 Collection 200 Glam Crystals Dazzling Gel Liner- No. 7 Rock Chick

I decided I would do a "shop my stash" because there's a few things I own that I have sort of drifted away from.

First on the list is my eye shadow palette from Sephora . I payed €20 for it and I don't think I'll be buying it again.
It comes with four eye shadows and one eyeliner. I haven't used the eyeliner because its very dark for my crease. I did use it to fill in my eyebrows though.

I find the powder to be very dry and hard which makes it difficult to get any product on your brush and therefore difficult to get on your eyes. 

Also when I do a cat eye, the powder falls onto the eyeliner even though I wear primer which means it looks weird and your eyeliner is hidden.

Another thing is that it's quite orange and I'm not a big fan of orange. "Why did you buy it then?" you may ask, well it wasn't as orange on the back of my hand when I swatched it. Perhaps it was the light because it looked more copper

I want to try and use it more because I did spend money on it and I don't want it to go to waste.

Next up are two mascaras. There's nothing wrong with the NYC one apart from the fact you have to wipe it because there's so much excess and if you don't wipe it it clumps like HELL! It does give you volume though and it was really cheap like €3 or something.

I had high hopes for the MaxFactor mascara because it claims to brighten your eyes.

Basically the formula is just a bluey black colour with small glitters in. I bought the one for blue eyes even though my eyes are a mix of a few colours.

If I'm honest, it's pretty crap. It doesn't lengthen my lashes that much and its doesn't brighten my eyes. Maybe it's because I have a mix, I'm not sure. 

Also it doesn't coat evenly. By this I mean that one eye will have black mascara and the other will look blue which just makes you look silly.

Same with the eye shadow, I want to try and make use of them and not let them go to waste.

Finally I have three eyeliners. The Rimmel eyeliner was the only eyeliner I used when I first started wearing eyeliner and I did like it. It lasted all day and was a nice formula. The only downside was that the brush got clogged with the product if you didn't clean it after every use and it went out of shape with split ends.

The only reason I stopped using it was because I bought the L'Oreal Super Liner Perfect Slim and I must say I'm highly impressed by it. It's definitely one I recommend.

(left to right: Collection Glam Crystals/Essence Gold)

I bought the Collection Glam Crystals because I really wanted a glitter eyeliner. The only negatives about it is that it's difficult to take off and sometimes in the day the glitter will just fall into your eye.

I stopped wearing it because I had nowhere to wear it. I don't think I'd be allowed in school. I just want to make better use of it.

Last but not least is a gold eyeliner from Essence. I payed around €1 for it and its quite good. I just wish I'd bought a darker colour so I could see it better. It's quite good though.

Sorry for the long post but its sort of turned out to be a Shop My Stash/Review. I hope I've helped someone or encouraged someone to buy something although I doubt it because it was quite negative.

xxx

Life Lessons #1: Just Keep Swimming

I'm a huge believer in learning as many things from life as I can. Any negative situation I'm thrown into I almost always turn it into a positive.

Recently I went rollerblading with my friends and I've never really been so I didn't know what I was doing. I went whizzing round the rink keeping up with friends. Within the first 15 minutes I'd already fallen over 5 times. I fell and got a massive bruise/lump on my knee (which is still there!) and then smashed my nose on the floor. I got a small bruise from that as well. I'd also fallen on my arse a number of times so that kind of hurt! I was basically in so much pain and we were going to be there for another 3-4hours! I didn't think I wanted to keep going because of the pain I thought I'd have to go through again. I knew that I'd get bored just sitting there while my friends had fun.

 But I continued. I got up, wiped my tears and rolled at my own pace. I took things slowly even though I wasn't with my friends. I eventually got the hang of it and didn't fall over. I will admit I did have a small tumble though and I crashed into some random chick :)

The point I'm trying to make is to try and take your experiences and turn them into a lesson. In a metaphorical term, my skating was like life. If you take things at everyone else's pace, you won't be able to keep up and get hurt along the way. If you get knocked down, don't give up. Get up, wipe off the dust and continue, even if it means leaving people behind. Even if you stop, the world won't; it'll continue. Don't waste your life because you'll regret it later.

xxx

Tattoo Tuesday: Music Staff

Hey Beauties

I absolutely love this idea. I keep finding new music tattoos and it really excites me!!

If you've got any requests as to what type of tattoos you'd like to see, please tell me in the comments and I'll see what I can do.

Maybe you want more of the same designs or perhaps you want a specific area of the body, please let me know.

xxx

L'Oreal Texture Infinium Hairspray Review

Hey Beauties!

Sorry I haven't been blogging that often, I just didn't have much to say and I don't want to write pointless posts.

So a while back I found myself in the situation where I had absolutely no hairspray so, as you do, I went and bought some. I usually just stuck to the one brand, Tesco own brand (livin' life on the edge) and I suppose it did the job.

I picked up L'Oreal Texture Infinium from Chemist Warehouse for about $6 (371ml) I think.

It claims: 

"Dryness with dramatic long lasting results"

''...ability to comb and recomb hair without residue while providing shape memory"

I haven't use a lot of hairspray brands so I can't compare it but I do like it. It doesn't smell like anything specifically but I quite like the smell.

It holds your hair but doesn't leave it feeling hard and crispy like some hairsprays do (although I like that feeling!)

It says that it sprays evenly, which it does, but I find the nozzle sometimes gets clogged which can be annoying and I have to clean it after every 2/3 uses.

I would recommend this hairspray as it holds your hair and allows you to restyle without difficulty.

Any recommendations???

xxx

Zipper Tongue!

I'm apologising  now because you may find this gross but I came across it on Pinterest and, well I really wasn't sure what to think.

I mean I definitely think it's clever but I don't think I could ever do this to my tongue. How would you eat? It must be difficult to speak surely and... I don't know it's just so unusual!

What are your thoughts on it?

xxx

Simple Says...

I've noticed a lot that when beauty bloggers review moisturisers,creams etc, they tend to be the expensive brands. I can understand why but a lot of the time though you can get really good products for half the price.

I'm lost without moisturiser and find my skin is extremely dry without it. I decided to try a new one and chose one from the Simple range.

 I'm not saying this is an immaculate moisturiser or anything but it does the job and it's not expensive.

I'm not an exceptionally spotty person so I can't say whether it helped my spots or not but it definitely keeps my skin soft and moisturised.

Simple claims that you notice result from day one. I wasn't actually paying attention so I'm not sure.

It also says there are 4 spot fighting ingredients, 1 natural antibacterial and no perfume or colour.

So if you're looking for a cheap moisturiser that does the job I recommend this one. My skin always feels soft for the whole day when I use it and it's free from nasty things like perfumes.

Any recommendations for drugstore moisturisers?

                                                                                     xxx

So Long Wantworthy!

So about 6 months back I came across a website called wantworthy.com. 

The idea is that you have a WANT button on you bookmarks bar and if you're shopping online you click the button and it adds it to your wishlist.

I though it was a brilliant idea because it meant I didn't have to copy and paste urls that would eventually get lost or add to a bookmark folder that had way too many things.

When you viewed your list it would show you the product image, the price and would link you to the website.

You could have separate folders which would come in handy if you were shopping for a number of people etc.

I'm really diappointed because they announced that they are no longer running and will be shutting down on October 21st 2013.

I think it's such a loss because it made life easy and I could view all the products I wanted.

If you have a list you can download if so all is not lost.

Has anyone else got a Wantworthy account? How do you feel about it? Is it a great loss or not?

xxx

Tattoo Tuesday: Tree Treble Clef

 

Hey beauties and welcome to Tattoo Tuesday.

I'm quite enjoying this little segment each week. I've been finding so many wonderful tattoos and I can't wait to share everything I've found!

 

This week I found this tattoo. I think it's an excellent take on the classic treble clef design. It's different an I think it's beautiful :)

 

xxx

Beauty Websites

Hey beauties!

Now we all love shopping for make up (duh!) and we all know how infuriating it can be when a blogger raves about a certain product and you can't get your hands on it because they don't sell it in your country!

Since living in Australia I've noticed how a huge majority of the brands I love just aren't available anymore which means I've got to try and replace my old product favourites with new brands.

I've been doing some research and managed to find a number of beauty websites that make some of my old favourites available once more.

I apologize if it doesn't ship to your country but it's more than likely if you're in America or England that it's available on the High Street.

#1 Feel Unique

WHAT IT SELLS:

Feel Unique has quite a range of both products and brands including Make up,hair products, fragrance ,nails products, beauty accessories, body, healthy living

BRANDS:

Ranges from drugstore to high end. Rimmel, Revlon, L'Oreal, Maybelline Benefit, Dior, bareMinerals, Elizabeth Arden, Essie and more...

SHIPPING DESTINATIONS:
Ships worldwide with free delivery.

COMMENTS:
Overall I'm quite excited about purchasing from this website. It has a large range of brands and a lot of products available within that brand. The prices are cheaper to buy from here than on the high street and  it's free shipping! The downside is that it doesn't ship all products worldwide. 

#2 Crush Cosmetics

WHAT IT SELLS:
 Make up and tools. No hair or health.

BRANDS:
Barry M, China Glaze, Beauty Blender, E.L.F, NYC, NYX, Revlon, Sleek, Wet 'n' Wild and more...

SHIPPING DESTINATIONS:
I don't think it ships to Europe but does ship to America, Middle East, Asia-Pacific region, Madagascar, Mauritius. Free shipping does NOT apply to international orders.
Also ships to Australia and New Zealand.

COMMENTS:
It does supply brands that are not available in Australia but there's not a huge range of products within the brands which is disappointing.

#3 Beauty Bay

WHAT IT SELLS:
Make up, Hair, Bath and Body

BRANDS:
Huge range of brands including bareMinerals, Cloud Nine, China Glaze, Elizabeth Arden, Essie, Orly, OPI, Revlon, S Factor, St. Tropez, Two Faced, Urban Decay, Yes To, YSL and more...

SHIPPING DESTINATIONS:
Free shipping worldwide.

COMMENTS:
Not all brands are available to people in certain countries.

#4 Adore Beauty
 WHAT IT SELLS:
Make Up, Hair, Skincare, Bath and Body, Fragrance

BRANDS:
Benefit, butter LONDON, Calvin Klein, Clarins, Cloud Nine, Davidoff,  Essie, ghd, Lancome, OPI, Prada, Vera Wang, Versace and more...

SHIPPING:
Free shipping within Australia but also ships to the USA, Europe and other countries.

 COMMENTS:
Good range of products within each brand.

:

That's just a few websites that I look at when shopping online for beauty products.
I haven't actually ordered anything from these websites because I'm currently broke so I can't say how well they rate in terms of shipping etc.

Anyone got any other wesites to add?

xxx

Favourite Product Tag (Beauty Edition)

I decided to create a tag because I've seen loads floating around. This has probably been created before but this is my version. 

Below I have made a list of the people I'm tagging but if you're not one of them I still encourage you to do it. If you do, leave a link in the comments so I can check it out :)

Favourite...

#1 Foundation

I don't actually wear foundation but the one I'm hoping to purchase and try is the Rimmel Wake Me Up.

#2 Mascara

Maybelline The Faslies Volum' Express Flared

#3 Blush

Because I don't wear foundation, I don't wear blush.

#4 Lipstick (or any other lip product)

I don't own a huge range but my favourite is my Essence XXL lipgloss. It's smells like raspberries!

#5 Eye shadow

Urban Decay Naked 2

#6 Concealer

I don't have an overall favourite because I like all the one I own but in terms of lasting power I'd have to say the Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection.

#7 Eyeliner

L'Oreal Super Liner Perfect Slim

#8 Shampoo/Conditioner

Any Pantene one.

#9  Moisturiser

I quite enjoy the Simple moisturisers.

#10 Hairspray

L'Oreal Texturising Hairspray.

Who I'm tagging...

Jenna from NorthernBeauty85

Anna from Anna Blush

Kerry from Kerry's Habitat

Elle from ElleSees

Kat from Curls and Swirls

Nadja from Throw Me Something Beautiful

 Make Up Monster (I apologise, I don't know your name)

There're so many blogs I follow and love and I couldn't tag them all. Sorry! Just because I didn't tag doesn't I love your blog any less!

Everyone I've mentioned has a lovely blog and recommend you check them out to see what their answers are and to just find another fabulous and interesting blog to follow!

xxx

Industrial Piercings and Monumental Price Tags

Hey everyone! 

Bit of a different post today because I usually don't talk about piercings even though I'm obsessed! 

 I previously wrote one on How to Clean a Piercing but haven't written any since.

I usually find a piercing I like and then get obsessed with it for ages and the two I've got my eye on at the moment are the Helix and Industrial (or Scaffold as some people call it). 

I'm planning on getting my helix done soon but the one thing that sort of gets my goat is how expensive it can be to get a piercing.

Back in Ireland, I got my lobe's done for €15 (I've got two pairs) and my tragus done for  €35/40 and they were including the jewellery.

Over here everything is definitely a lot more expensive, and that's clear, but when it comes to piercings, some places are just ridiculous.

The other day I was in town and inquired in a number of places about prices. One place did your helix for around $60 and I'm not sure if that included jewellery! The place I'll probably go to does it for around $35 but that's excluding jewellery. 

I don't know why it has to be SO expensive. Can they not just do it for free? I mean we're letting them poke a hole through our skin knowing fine well it'll probably bleed and get infected. Is that not enough pleasure for them? Nope, on top of the pain and tears we've got to sacrifice $30-70? And of course there's the after care too.

Don't get me wrong I love piercings but really, do they have to be that expensive?

I didn't actually mean to go off on a rant but oh well :) What I really meant to talk about in this post was industrial piercings. I have a great love for them and this was the picture that got me into them.

You can, if you wear the wrong jewellery, lose your sense of elegance but I find that this type of jewellery brings is all back.

Again I'm off on a rant about prices but so far I've found that industrial piercings bear the biggest price tags reaching $70-90. I understand that it's essentially the cost of two helix piercings but really? almost $100 for a piercing? That's taking the p**s just a slight bit don't you think? A single person could probably buy a week's worth of food with that money.

I'm probably coming off sounding really negative about piercings but in actual fact I love them, I really do. I plan on getting quite a few and I will pay the money I just wish that it cost a little less.

What sort of experiences have you have with piercings and what do you have? (if any)

xxx

Beauty Wishlist #2

Hey Beauties!

Over the passed few weeks I've really gotten into wearing colour on my lips. I own a few lipsticks, lip glosses etc but I never wore them because I found they never stayed in place. I think this is because I have a habit of licking my lips. But recently I've started wearing them more often and have been intrigued by a number of products so no surprises that my wishlist will contain quite a few lip products.

1.Revlon Lip Butters.

The one thing that I aim for (as I'm sure most people do) when buying lip products is how moistursing the they are. I know I'm late jumping on the bandwagon but I really want to try the lip butters. I haven't had a proper look at shades but I know I definitely want some!

2. Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Lip Stain

Another one from Revlon, I know, but I really want to try them. 

3. Rimmel Kate Moss Lipstick

I already own one of these from the red range but I want to buy some fro the black range and perhaps some pinker colours!

4. Top Shop Lipstick

I've heard Zoella rave about these time and time again and I'm eager to try them. I don't know when I'll actually get a chance to visit Topshop though and I don't want to order online.

5. Maybelline Color Whisper.

I actually already own one of these but the shade I bought is practically invisible (One Size Fits Pearl). I like the formula though so I want to try other colours.

So, in conclusion I LOVE LIP PRODUCTS! Any recommendations? colours or products?

xxx

Tattoo Tuesday: Post Stamp

I really like this idea for a birth tattoo; it's unique and thinking outside the box.

 

xxx

Thierry Mugler's Alien

Hey Beauties!

One of my favourite things about airports is the duty free. I LOVE testing make up and drooling over all the high end brands, but my absolute favourite thing is the perfume.Waltzing through, spritzing them here there and everywhere.

This brings me onto one of my all time favourite perfumes, Alien.

I'm not entirely sure when Thierry Mugler brought out this fragrance but all I can say is thank God he did.

I'm not great at describing perfumes, in fact I'm terrible. I know nothing about all the notes etc but I really am in love with this scent.

The first time I found it was when I got it as a free sample from a Sephora in France. It's just, oh I can't explain it but it's just really nice. It's not sweet and it's not fruity. I dunno, you'll have to smell it for yourself.

I've smelled quite a lot of perfumes and this is the one that I keep coming back to and always drown myself in whenever I'm in an airport, chemist etc.

Unfortunately I have never actually owned it and I'm really sad about it. It's great because it's a perfume rather than an eau de toilette which means you get to smell lovely for AGES!

If anyone knows where in Australia I can get it cheaper than $70 (which I think is what it retails at) please let me know. If I have to spend that much on it I will because it's worth it but I'd love to not have to :)

Any favourite perfumes that you recommend?

xxx

Versatile Blogger Award.

It's only been a week or so since I'd been nominated for the Leibster Award and now I'm happy to say that I have been kindly nominated for the Versatile Blogger Award.

I'd like to say thank you to Lindsey from Fair Maquillage for the nomination.

Rules for the Award

Display the Award Certificate on your blog.

Announce your win and thank the blogger who nominated you.

Present 15 deserving bloggers with the award

Link your nominees in this post and let them know of their nomination with a comment.

Post 7 interesting things about yourself.

My Nominees:

Anna Blush

Curls and Swirls

Northern Beauty 85

UNSTITCHEDD

Aztec Doll

British Beauty Addict

ElleSees

MakeUpMonster

Raspberry Cheeks

A Little Boat Sailing

Rambling of a Beauty Blogger

Beauty Guide 101

hugkissmakeup

Polish and Pearls

FilthyFashi0n

7 Facts About Me

1. I moved to Australia from Ireland when I was 15

2. I play the guitar and flute

3. I was in a band for 2 years

4. I've never tried macaroni and cheese

5. I only drink tea at home and coffee when I go out.

6. I love old style things; films, outfits etc. especially from the 50s

7. I love reading and writing.

xxx

Bye Bye Shiny Face!

This was the first primer I bought and as far as primers go, I wouldn't say it's amazing. I've bought a few after it and they work much better.

The reason I'm writing this post is because it's amazing for getting rid of shine. I've got a shiny/oily nose and forehead and I hate it but if I apply this it completely mattes it and I'm no longer shiny! YAY!

So if you suffer from a shiny face, this is something you should try :)
It's quite a reasonable price too!

17 Miracle Matte Skin Primer

Matte Skin Finish

22 hour Shine Control

Oil

xxx

Tattoo Tuesday: Rubik Math Medley

xxx

Lace Me Up

GET THE LOOK!

Sweetheart Bardot Lace Crop- ₤20 Miss Selfridge

White High Waisted Lace Skater- ₤25 Topshop

Black Zip Back Platform Cout Shoes-₤60 River Island

Studded Wrap Around Bracelet- ₤5.50 Forever 21

xxx

My Lip Products

Over the passed month or so I've really gotten into wearing things on my lips so I thought I'd dig up some of my forgotten products and show them to you and hopefully start wearing them more!

1. Essence XXXL Lip gloss-04 Rising Star

2. Rimmel Apocalips-600 Nude Eclipse

3. Seventeen Lip Lustre-Ice Maiden

4. NYC Kiss Gloss-539 Soho Sweetpea

1.The first lipgloss is from essence. The writings all been rubbed off though. I LOVE the smell of this, it's like raspberries. It's lovely. :) I quite like it, nothing bad to say really.

2.I really like the colour of the Rimmel Apocalips. It looks really pretty but I find my lips go dry. I'm not sure if I'm just applying it wrong or what, but that's what happens to me. Its a really nice nude if you're looking for one though.

3. Unfortunately this lip gloss is sticky. I still wear it as it make a good top coat but it's sticky which is disappointing.

4. The Kiss Gloss is not my favourite. I find that it doesn't last that long and mine has ended up smelling really weird, so weird that I almost puke which isn't pleasant.

1. Rimmel Moisture Renew Lipstick- 700 Nude Delight

2. Rimmel Kate-107

3. NYC-438 Candy Rush

4. Maybelline Color Whisper-55 One Size Fits Pearl 

1+2. I quite like both Rimmel lipsticks. I don't really wear no. 107 and have worn Nude Eclipse more, but I'm happy with both of them and they've got good colour pigmentation. My lips tend to get slightly dry though but I could be applying it wrong or not moisturising my lips enough.

3.I think I've only worn the NYC lipstick about twice because it seems to be very glittery and I'm not sure if I like it or not. I can't say much on it really but it is a nice pink.

4. Maybelline Color Whisper, hmmm. I'm not happy with this colour. Literally I'm not even kidding you, there is NO colour. It's practically the same as a lip balm. Like, I have swatched it in the photo but you can't even see it! DON'T buy this colour. I don't own any other ones so I can't give an overall opinion but this colour is just nothingness. 

Has anyone bought another colour? If so, what colour and how did you get on with it?
I talked about the Kate Moss lipstick and Color Whisper a bit more here if you're interested.

So yeah, that's all my lip products. Anyone got any or maybe in a another colour? How did you find them to be?

Any recommendations? I'm always open to new ideas :)

xxx

The Owl Bag

I'm a big fan of owls and I was given this bag for Christmas last year. It's so adorable and I believe it's from Accessorize. I think you can get a fox one too! It's probably not available anymore though. Sorry!
It can't hold a massive amount in side as the sides are sort of tight but it holds what it needs to (purse, phone, lipstick etc) and it's so cute! It would definitely brighten up any outfit.

xxx

A Sprinkle of Glitter

The one thing that grabs my attention where ever I am is sparkly things. Diamonds, glitter the lot. So, when it comes to nails, I love glitter top coats.

1.Mode Cosmetics- Influential Miss

2.Models Own- Freak Out! (Mirror Ball Collection)

3. Miss Sporty- Sparkle Touch

4. Claires Cosmetics

I'm very impressed with this polish. I only paid around $2/3 and it does what it has to. It coats evenly, dries quickly and doesn't chip. I've never seen this brand before so I'm not sure where it's available. I also bought a blue and a matte top coat. The blues very good as well and I haven't yet used the matte top coat.

I'm aware that it looks gold but it's actually silver.

I'm actually quite disappointed with this one. The colours are really pretty but unfortunately it has a few flaws.

Firstly, it doesn't spread evenly which is highly annoying. Because of this, you end up putting on a few coats just to cover your nail.

On top of that, it doesn't dry properly. I find it takes thrice as long and you need to put a clear coat on top to seal it. However, even after doing all that, it still smudges off because you've got too many coats.

So yes, I like the packaging and think it looks really pretty but I wouldn't recommend it.

This is definitely my favourite glitter out of all three polishes. I'm on my second bottle and I find it's BRILLIANT for doing stars on Galaxy nail. So if you're looking for a glitter top coat for galaxy nails, this is the one. I think it looks really pretty, dries nicely and applies evenly. I only paid about ₤2/3.

I got this as a part of a Christmas present at least 3 years ago and it's still not gloopy or sticky yet. Well done Claires! It's really pretty, lasts ages and spreads and dries easily.

So, there are some of my favourite glitter polishes. I absolutely love them and find they always add "spice" to boring nails. Glitter's a killer to take off though!

xxx