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So it’s no secret that I’m a bit of a fan of Original & Mineral. The idea of the brand – that irritants and nasties should be out of haircare without sacrificing on quality and care – is dear to me, particularly now that I’m getting a little older and my skin seems to be getting more and more reactive with every passing month. It doesn’t hurt that the brand is run by some really lovely folks who have patiently looked after my tresses for a year now and answered all my endless silly questions about the hows and whys of styling and haircare.

Before

Which brings me to this little lovestory. A week ago I had to style up for a costume day and to match my gutterpunk leather glam outfit, I created this towering confection of hair with the help of a tail comb, some hairspray and a lot of hairpins. It lasted all day, it looked completely insane, everyone loved it to bits. Nice!

Well, nice until that night when I had to undo all that ratting, spraying and pinning. Original & Mineral to the rescue!

Original Mineral - Original Detox shampoo and conditioner, Frizzy Logic shine serum

Original Detox shampoo & conditioner (AU$29.95/350ml) are designed to clarify hair that is a bit under the weather due to product build-up, salt and chlorine exposure, or just letting your hair go a bit feral and in need of a deep clean. The shampoo is surprisingly gentle on coloured hair, and the fresh-scented gel (cucumber and grapefruit!) lathers up easily. The conditioner is a light creme-gel with a fresh mint and tea tree scent. It’s hydrating without being heavy, but my hair is dry on the ends and needs an extra drink of water. Excellent scent, but not quite enough oomph for me.

After

Which brings us to the after shot! I towel dried my hair and worked a little Frizzy Logic shine serum (AU$31.95/50ml) across my crown, then attempted to blow dry my hair with a little bounce in the ends. My skills at blowdrying leave a lot to be desired, but the addition of Frizzy Logic calmed down a lot of the flyaways around my part and made everything much less of a big dumb mess. Frizzy Logic takes a little bit of practice to get right – lesson one: however much you think you need, halve it – but it makes my fine hair much easier to work with when I get that product sweet spot just right.

In related hair news, next week I’m going back to Robert at Atlantis Hair to start the process of lightening up to strawberry blonde. If everything goes to plan, I’ll look like a whole ‘nother person by Friday! Mucho excitement.

The Skinny:
Original & Mineral Original Detox Deep Cleansing Shampoo – AU$29.95/350ml
Original & Mineral Original Detox Deep Cleansing Conditioner – AU$29.95/350ml
Original & Mineral Original Frizzy Logic – AU$31.95/50ml

original & mineral / atlantis hairTweet

I adore Daphne Guinness. I think she’s fab. My sense of delight every time she appears in the rag press is partially because I’m crazy for her hair but mostly because she epitomizes that brand of otherworldly otherness that most fashionistas can only hope to emulate.

Daphne Guinness for MAC - Hyperion nail lacquer, Warp Speed Pro Longwear Lipcreme

She’s not eccentric. She’s just out of this world.

Daphne Guinness for MAC - Hyperion nail lacquer

Hyperion nail lacquer is a hard colour to describe. It’s not grey, not blue, not duckegg, not Tiffany. It’s a cloudy overcast morning kind of muted grey-blue; a pastel without the twee softness. Think of it as the blue-toned twin to OPI’s Skull & Glossbones.
Application of Hyperion seems to be extremely YMMV from person to person. Some people have said its hard to work with but I found it very easy to apply, and more forgiving to a lot of other pastel shades. I used two thin coats to achieve a full finish and topped it with a gloss coat for extra shine.

Daphne Guinness for MAC - Warp Speed Pro Longwear Lipcreme

Warp Speed Pro Longwear Lipcreme is the love child of a lustre pearl lipstick and a long wear lippie. Despite its otherworldly silver appearance it’s actually a sheer cool pearl glaze, enough to add some pearl sheen to bare lips or add a shimmer to a lip stain or lipliner. I’ve been wearing it with MAC Rebel lipstick, a deep midnight fuchsia. Dabbing a little Warp Speed to the middle of my lower lip adds extra dimension and shine without actually wearing a gloss and losing my lipstick staying power.

Daphne Guinness for MAC - Warp Speed Pro Longwear Lipcreme

Warp Speed Pro Longwear Lipcreme is AU$40 for 3.6g. Hyperion nail lacquer is AU$22 for 10ml. The Daphne Guinness for MAC collection is available now from MAC stores and counters at selected Myer and David Jones stores, as well as from maccosmetics.com.au. Happy lacquering!Tweet

Oh boy. Long time no swatch, hey guys? I’ve been a total slacker when it comes to my nails for the past few months – bare nails clipped back short, or at the most I’ve been sporting a slick of black polish with a glossy topcoat.

I can’t be a slacker forever though, and in that spirit last week I treated myself to a polish from Essie’s new – or at least new to Australia – Braziliant colour collection.

Essie - Smooth Sailing

Smooth Sailing is a dusty denim blue with muted silvery/pearly flakes. Although I’m generally not a fan of blue polishes that aren’t deep inky navy creams, I snaffled this primarily because it wasn’t a super bright blue, and also because there was nothing quite like this cornflower shimmer in my huge lacquer collection.

Application was better than I’ve previously experienced with Essie polishes. Two average coats for full opacity, possibly just one coat if you’re heavy handed. I’ve been wearing this with a glossy top coat to really boost the lustrous quality of the pearl shimmer, but next time I’m going to wear this with Essie’s Matte About You top coat to create a suede effect.

Essie nail polishes are AU$18.95 for 15ml. The Braziliant collection is available from Myer now. Happy lacquering!Tweet

I almost – almost - feel ashamed for making my first post of 2012 feature this kind of shameful confession: I, Swatchgirl aka Lara, am guilty of never cleaning my make-up brushes.

Shut the front door. This is almost a peak irony post because I’m a make-up artist. My working brushes are perfect specimens of impeccably maintained, sanitised, flawlessly clean make-up tools. I’m anal retentive about them being spotlessly clean, and the entire brush roll has a soothing air of Dettol about it when opened. I am hardcore about my working brushes being beyond clean.

I wish I could say the same about my personal brushes. I can’t even make an excuse for it: I am lazy and terrible and don’t clean them until a) my foundation stippling brushes are forever stained and b) I’ve literally run out of eyeshadow brushes that aren’t loaded up with dark charcoal and black eyeshadow.

Lara’s New Year’s Vague Ambitions #1: in 2012 I vow to treat my personal brushes the same as I do my working make-up brushes.

Brush Cleaning 101: spot clean, deep clean, disinfect

Spot cleaning: grab a bottle of MAC Brush Cleaner (AU$22, maccosmetics.com.au) and spot clean your brushes as you use them. A cleanser like this that doesn’t need to be diluted or mixed is perfectomundo for keeping brushes clean on the fly, as it only takes a couple of quick swipes of cleanser to remove liquid and cream foundation, or to remove eyeshadow detritus without amaging the bristles.

Deep cleaning: spot cleaning is useful and an excellent habit, but sometimes you just gotta man up and put aside some time to give your brushes a proper clean. Run a sink of tepid water with a generous splash of gentle clarifying shampoo – I dig Original Detox shampoo (AU$28.95, originalmineral.com) because it clarifies without stripping or over drying natural hair bristles – or baby shampoo if you have some on hand. Dip the bristles of your brushes into the water, being careful not to get the metal ferrules or handles wet so you don’t damage the glue and cause premature shedding, then gently massage the hairs between your fingers. Rinse and repeat until the water coming from the brushes looks squeaky clean, then lay flat overnight to dry.

Disinfect: it never hurts to add a generous splash of Dettol antiseptic into the water when you’re cleaning your brushes. It’ll kill any bacterial nasties that might be lurking in your brushes and remove the damp, musty smell that some cheaper brushes can develop after cleaning.

Oh, and if you’re using sponges? Chuck ‘em out after using them. They’re gross.Tweet

Some people are skilled at nail art. Some people have the coordination and grace to draw cute little scenes and fancy designs on their their nails. Some people do not have shaky hands and the design sense of a small fish.

I am not one of those people. Then again a lack of talent has never stopped me from doing anything before, right?

GlamNails by Manicare - nail art pens

GlamNails nail art pens by Manicare are quick drying, water-based pens that allow you to doodle dots and spots and random squiggles on your nails.

It takes a little effort to get the pens to start working – I spent a good five minutes mindlessly clicking a few of the pens on a blank notebook before they started to flow smoothly – but once they’re running they dispense a tidy amount of colour without blobbing all over the place. They’re as easy to use as a normal pen, aka approximately 100,000 times simpler than using a nail art brush.

GlamNails by Manicare - nail art pens

If you’re a bit of a talentless hack like me, these are maybe the simplest way to do something halfway fancy on your nails. At AU$9.95 each for each 2ml pen, they’re a cheap way to take a tilt at nail art without investing a lot of cashola on fancy brushes. Add a nail sticker or two (AU$6.95 a pack) to hide the inevitable mistakes and you’re sorted!

Glam by Manicare is available at Myer, Priceline,  Target, K-Mart, Big W and good pharmacies. Nail on!Tweet