Lab Muffin’s top beauty products of 2012

2012 is nearly over, so here’s a round-up of the beauty products that got the most use this year (nail polish excluded): Skinfood Pineapple Peeling Gel (reviewed here) – My go-to exfoliator when my skin feels like it needs a good scrub. It’s a mix of physical and chemical exfoliant, and it lives in my shower caddy pretty much permanently.PVA …

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Artsy Wednesday: New Year’s Eve

Since Artsy Wednesday is doing New Year nail art a week early, I actually wore these for Christmas – lucky they work, and are a pleasant change from the wonderful Christmas tackiness I’ve been rocking recently! I used Face of Australia Colour Pro in White Gold as the gold shimmer base. This is a new-ish quick-drying line from FoA, and …

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Orly Hope and Freedom swatches and review – Coachella Dweller and High on Hope

Today I have two shades from Orly’s forthcoming limited edition Hope and Freedom collection. It’s predominantly a range of pastel shades, with a dark navy shimmer thrown in the mix. They have very hippie names, and the shades remind me of faded 70s psychedelic album covers. Coachella Dweller is a pale green creme, with a slight yellow tinge. I love …

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CoverGirl Lash Blast Volume Waterproof review

CoverGirl Lash Blast Volume Waterproof in Very Black has been my default mascara of choice for a while. No matter how many high end mascaras I try, I always end up reaching for this funky orange tube. I use Very Black, which is… very black. Pros: – Drugstore, so pretty cheap and widely available (RRP $17.95 in Australia grrr, but about …

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Artsy Wednesday: Santa nails

I love Christmas nail art – it’s one of the few things this Grinch loves about Christmas (the others are food and holidays). Today’s AW theme is Christmas, so here’s my third and most ridiculous Christmas design, a bit different from the sophisticated tree/jelly sandwich design I posted yesterday. Enough Santas for you?   This design was pretty easy – …

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Christmas tree jelly sandwich nail art

I’m a bit of a Grinch at Christmas (crowded shops, buying presents for people you don’t really like, overindulgence guilt, family dramas, endless gift guides – bah humbug!) but I can’t resist a bit/lot of Christmas themed nail art! This is a simple, rather elegant design I did. I love jelly sandwiches, and Revlon Sheer Sugar has become my favourite …

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How to curl thick Asian hair with a hair straightener

I love romantic curly hair, but I’m scared of my curling iron – too much exposed metal! I recently discovered that you can curl hair quite well using a hair straightener, which is a lot less scary for a butterfingers like me to use on the back of my head where I can’t quite see it (I’ve also been thinking …

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OPI Mariah Carey Liquid Sand polishes – this time glossy!

I swatched and reviewed some of the OPI Liquid Sand polishes earlier here, and a few people requested glossy swatches. So here are Can’t Let Go, Got Your Number and The Impossible again, this time with a thick layer of Essence Gel Look Top Coat, followed by Seche Vite. Can’t Let Go when glossy has so much added depth. It’s …

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