Beauty ponders

Lately I've been buying little beauty stuff... mainly because I'm on overload and I do need to finish a lot. But then again, next week it are sales so most likely I will grab myself something extra * just because I've been so good lately. Last week I bought a few things from Tweezerman, an old familiar and a new item as well.
The old familiar is the BrowMousse which I already reviewed and claimed my love for here (this is my 3rd one I think). New are the brow shaping scissors & brush. Usually I use regular small scissors, but this is going to be much more convenient - or that is the plan at least! You will hear about it either way...!

A few months ago I popped into Rituals & decided it was time for me to cave in the whole fragrance sticks madness that has been wondering around and spreading like some kind of *deliciously scented* disease... After sniffing one after anotherI decided for Vanilla Orchid, because I love me some vanilla! It comes in this cute & big packaging, makes for a nice present too - if you are still searching for something to give these days!
The scent contains Vanilla and also Myrrh which is a herb. The scent is unmistakenly vanilla but the herb gives it a little touch. I chose this over the other scents because some of the other scents reminded me too much of a sauna. They say these things last a couple of months, which I can only confirm. I bought mine at the end of August and I still have between 1/3 and 1/2 left.
However, they do advise to change the sticks for optimal results. I haven't done this yet, but I might do it soon because I noticed it is not giving off much scent anymore - even though there is still plenty in it. The instruction manual also says to rearrange the sticks from time to time & afterwards wash your hands - which is no joke because your fingers smell exactly like it if you touch the sticks!
Overall I'm pleased that I gave in & purchased these fragrance sticks, they cost around 22euros but they do last you a long time and I like the subtle effect it delivers to a room - it's not an overwhelming scent but it's definitely there. in the future I would want to put one in the living room & one in the bedroom. They have different scents available (some change from time to time), so be sure to check your favourite one out of the bunch...!

Todays NOTD is my Christmas polish, which wasn't traditional red - as red would not match my outfit - but nevertheless it was a festive polish infused with sparkles. Christmas & sparkles, great combination! As the name says it is a dark violet colour with golden particles in it. In the bottle it appears to be almost black but when held in the light, you clearly see it is violet. The particles show up nicely, even in the bottle - it is not one of those polishes where you have to search for the particles...
Then on my nails... I used 2 thin layers, as I mostly try to do, and it covers up nicely. One layer gives a bit seethrough and I don't like to use one thick layer, I prefer 2 thinner ones for optimal result. The polish goes on smooth and doesn't leave streaks. Like all Avon polishes I like the brush and it works easy. The colour is very dark and at first glance it appears to be black, but when the light hits in you see the violet - although it is a very dark deep violet. The golden particles are easily visible. These are pictures taken on day 3 of the polish on my nails and you can see a little bit of tipwear, but overall I'm impressed with how this dark polish holds up.
This is indeed a dark polish but suitable for this time of year. It's not my personal favourite, as I do enjoy lighter colours more... But I know a lot of people are crazy about them. I'm quite sure I will use this polish again on a certain occassion when suited, but I would not use it for everyday wear... You may have noticed that I have cut my nails a bit shorter: this is better when using a dark polish - if you have really long nails and use a dark polish on them it reminds me too much of a witch-effect and I don't want to look like one :)

A merry Christmas to all my lovely readers, I hope you all had a great time surrounded by the people you love, 'cause that's what matters most now!

I had a nice Christmas evening and for the rest I had to work a lot, so I'v been quite busy. But the goods news is that finally my camera settings and background are all in place now *jump for joy* - after the whole movement part. I've been able to take some pictures today to bring back more articles to my blog! Sounds like a nice present to me...

In case you've been living under a rock, you may have noticed that Urban Decay has released their Naked 2 palette... Now, I absolutely love, or should I say adore their original Naked palette and I use it a lot. I haven't done a proper review on it, because the web is filled with it & I'm pretty sure I would just be one of the countless raving reviews. Nevertheless, I love most colours as well as the packaging. It isn't cheap, but you get a decent amount of eyeshadow in return - I still haven't hit pan on any of them.

So when I heard about number 2 I immediately began searching for information, etc etc. And yes, I think I need it too... It's a cooler palette than the original but there are some lovely colours in that I deseperately need *all of a sudden.

Here's a good comparison video from TiffanyD:

What are you going to do? Buy or not buy (in case you can get your hands on it)?