John Frieda's Frizz-Ease Favourites : Nourishing Oil-Elixir, Original and Perfect Finishing Serum

John Frieda Frizz-Ease favourites Nourishing Oil Elixir $16.99,  Original 6 Effects Serum $16.99 and Perfect Finishing Polishing Serum $16.99 all available at www.priceline.com.au

John Frieda's Frizz-Ease range has had a major make over, the new candy coloured packaging made me swoon just a bit and the range has been expanded to include some great new products. The new look packaging is bright and fun, with each product colour coded making it easy for you to pick out your favourite on the sea of white and beige shelves of Priceline. I was lucky enough to be able to try out the complete range for review, I've picked my favourite products to share with you and a few tips and tricks on how make them work with my hair:

Frizz Ease Nourishing Oil Elixir
This is the oil of the gods, if you have dry or over processed coloured hair this is like giving your hair a zap of hydration whilst also treating your ends to a bit of TLC. It is best to apply this oil when you are straight after of a hot shower, towel dry your hair warm two pumps of oil between your hands and apply to hair in a finger combing motion - oil loves warmth to thin it out and apply more evenly. After you have worked the oil through evenly pop your towel back on your head to allow it to penetrate into your hair even more. If I am having a lazy then this is all I will do and let my hair air dry, the oil gives great shine and controls fine fly aways and frizz like a pro.
Original 6 Effects Serum
The Original Serum is still as amazing as ever, best applied to semi dried hair and then brushed through with a bristle brush to allow for a more even coating of the hair. If I am blow drying or straightening my hair then this is an essential, it protects against heat styling and controls my very fine hair from being a static mess, without weighing it down or becoming too oily. If you are looking to try John Frieda's Frizz Ease line start with Original and the best.
Perfect Finish Polishing Serum 
This product has been a revelation for me in attacking helmet hair! I love putting loose waves in my hair but it can look a bit too 'done' and like a helmet if I don't add a bit of slip and movement to it I end up looking like I am wearing a wig. After curling my hair I spritz with a small amount of John Frieda Sheer Blonde Crystal Clear Hairspray (amazing for blondes!) then brush through to loosen the curl, 2 pumps of the Polishing serum rubbed between my palms I finger comb the serum through - magic! It breaks up the wave and gives an amazing finish to your loose curls

If you are looking to try a new serum, the new candy coloured John Frieda range cannot be missed, and with a serum for every kind of hair woe you can imagine from major frizz to minor John Frieda has got your back!

xxx Nella

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** I was kindly gifted these products for blog consideration. This did not, in any way, influence my opinion on the product. Please refer to my policy and disclaimer for more information.

D.I.Y: How to easily remove Gel or Shellac nail polish at home!

Are you an obsessive polish picker? Me too! Picking off Gel or Shellac polish is one of the most damaging things you can do to your poor defenseless nails. But once I've got one little chip in my polish then I just can't stop picking and having to waiting to get to a salon to have it removed by a professional will drive me crazy. So removing at home is the only way I will save my nails from being picked to death. Here are my full proof removal steps for Gel and Shellac polish:

-Scissors

-Acetone (found at beauty supply stores or buy online)

-Aluminium foil

-Cotton rounds

-Nail file and buffer

-Glass jar (I used an old candle jar)

Time to PREP!Cut up 10 Aluminium foil into 15cm x 10cm pieces and cotton rounds into triangles, doing this will save you faffing about and mess.

1. No matter how grown out do not attempt to pick and peel off Gel or Shellac, you will ruin your nails!

2. Using a coarse nail file, file off the topcoat layer of the polish. Making the surface of your nails is rough to the touch. This allows the acetone to break down the Gel or Shellac polish more easily. 

3. Place cotton triangles into the glass jar and add 30mls of Acetone, pop an acetone soaked cotton triangle on a nail. (Acetone will melt plastic so that is why a glass jar is important)

4. Place an aluminium foil square under your finger.

5. Wrap up your finger in the aluminium, keeping the cotton triangle on your nail.

6. Continue wrapping all your fingers up carefully, this can be a little fiddly but take your time. Leave nails wrapped up for 20-30mins. Pinch and wiggle your nails whilst they are in the wraps to loosen the polish off your nails.

7. This is what my nails looked like once wraps came off, although it looks like they haven't taken off the shellac with a gentle buffing nail file the rest of the polish comes off very easily. A final wipe of an acetone soaked cotton round and any remnants of blue shellac is gone.

8. TAADAA! Shellac free nails! 

Please comment down below if you are a fellow polish picker and if you attempt my at home DIY Gel or Shellac removal!

xxx Nella

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OUTERGOLD! An interview with Carney Nir co-founder of Outergold the Australian online luxe beauty emporium.

Outergold is an Australian based online Beauty emporium which stocks lust worthy brands with street-chic-cred like Rodin, Uslu Airlines, Kester Black, Lurk and Embryolisse to name a few. 

I discovered Outergold on Instagram and instantly connected with their love and dedication to finding new and beautiful products for the store, every item is handpicked for its unique qualities. Outergold is a rare gem and is one a kind in the Australian beauty market, a rebel amongst the monopoly of department stores in the beauty game. Carney Nir Co-Founder of Outergold answered a few questions about where and how Outergold started and also gave me a few of her own beauty tips and tricks....

How did you start Outer Gold? Was there a catalyst or frustration which lead to the beginning of the site?

It started the way all great ideas start - over wine. My business partner Bridget and I both have busy full time jobs, and were doing a lot of online shopping. We were chatting about how there's no beauty website that looked like the kind of store we like to shop at for fashion items. We also couldn't work out why you can't buy some of the amazing brands we'd found on our overseas travel in Australia. So we decided to start our own! 

www.outergold.com

The brands which you carry all have cult status or luxe-cred in the beauty world, how do you decide which brands to stock and where do you find out about them?

It's a mixture of brands we've found overseas, brands that our friends have told us about...it's an ever evolving learning process, and nearly every week we find another brand that we love. Over the next year you'll see a few more new amazing brands added to the mix, which we're super excited about. 

Outer Gold is one of the only independent online beauty stores in Australia, do you think there will be more starting to compete with the major department stores and other high end retail outlets with the changing economic climate of the beauty retail? (i.e. the mark up on products that majors put on products and the import tax on cosmetics) 

Thank you! It's obviously a consideration for us, but we have such a specific customer in mind that so far it hasn't really been a major concern. Our objective when starting the site was that we wanted to stock brands that were niche and hard to find and to make sure that we had the best customer service for girls like us that love music, art and travel as well as fashion and beauty. Being small allows us to do that and to listen to our customers and adapt to what they want and need. 

What is your favourite form of social and online beauty media? Do you keep up to date with beauty bloggers through social media? And who are some of your faves? 

Yes absolutely, we're inundated with it! We work closely with beauty and fashion bloggers and beauty editors - we have too many faves to name! 

Holy Grail product time, what products can you not live a day without and how do you use them?

Any type of oil! I'm obsessed with oils for skin, oils for hair, oils for body...the top shelf item is RODIN olio lusso which is definitely worth saving up for. I also love Earth Tu Face's Face Serum with Blue Chamomile and Carrot Seed. It's completely natural, super hydrating and I always look like I got a few extra hours of sleep the next morning when I use it at night! 

What was your first beauty purchase and what has been your latest beauty purchase?

My first beauty purchase was probably either some lavender-scented product or in all likelihood some sort of Red Earth lipstick (it was the 90s!) My latest purchase has been a couple of Lurk Beauty fragrance oils. They smell amazing and don't have any alcohol or water in them, which is great for me as I have sensitive skin and am pretty much allergic to everything! 

Which is your favourite and most referenced era of beauty and who are some of your all time beauty icons?

I love the 20s and the 60s if I had to pick. Our favourite ladies include Debbie Harry, Kim Gordon, Linda Rodin...the list goes on. All very different, all amazing. 

What are your go to 'party girl' products for a night out dancing?

Eyeliner and bright lipstick. You don't need anything else! 

www.outergold.com

Any unique and weird beauty tips and tricks?

Bridget and I always say, when in doubt throw on a bright lip. It takes 2 seconds, brightens your mood and you don't need to have any sort of special beauty know high to do it. I always have about 15 different colours floating around in my bag. 

Finally, how would you spend your last $100 ever in an afternoon?

I feel like you can't go wrong with a bottle of champagne.

Thanks Carney! 

xxx Nella

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Sephora Favourites 'Meet your Match' Value Set - Is it worth it?

Sephora Favourites 'Meet your Match' Value Set $25.00 available from www.sephora.com 

If you're an avid reader of Beauté Gazette then firstly - Thank you so much and I hope you continue to read and support my beauty adventures! Secondly you would know that I live in Australia, which sometimes feels like I am living on the moon, we don't have access to amazing US based stores like Sephora and to make it worse they wont even ship their amazing products to our shores if you shop online. *Bangs head in frustration*

So whenever family or friends go to the States I ask them to pick me up a value set from Sephora because they are easy to find instore and are compact to pack. The packs are usually a great deal and I get to try a bunch of different products which aren't available locally. When my main buddy and tumblr partner in crime Greta returned from NYC on Sunday with a very anticipated as a pressie from Sephora, I was so so so so excited to try out all the products. The box she picked up for me was the 'Meet Your Match' box set which features 'A lip and nail set that features the most covertable lip and nail hues'  says Sephora. Here is my review of all 6 mini sized products packed into this cute little box:

Bite Beauty Lip Gloss in 'Lush Fruit'

I have been very curious about the Bite lip products they've had great reviews online. This lipgloss is just a very standard lipgloss, nothing fancy or out of the norm, when on the lips the pigmentation is sheer and it is quite thick in consistency. I love the colour, it is a muted magenta which is really really pretty on the lips.

Hourglass Extreme Sheen High Shine Lipgloss in 'Child'

The texture of this gloss is really comfortable on the lips, it glides on and isn't sticky at all. The colour is a bit meh on the lips not pigmented at all and you can see your natural lip colour under the gloss, but gives a nice glossy finish. I am definitely keen to test out this gloss in the different shades available.

Tarte Lipsurgence Lip Tint in 'Elite'

I totally love the Tarte Amazonian Clay Blushes and was really excited about trying the Lip Tints. This is very similar to the Revlon Balm Stains and even has a minty scent too. Because it is so similar other formulas I have tried before and so it kind of feels a bit  been there done that with this product.

Deborah Lippmann Nail Polish in 'Girls just want to have fun'

When Greta handed me the box this was the first product that jumped out at me, the colour is perfection! I have always loved Deborah Lippmann's formula polish. Orange based red coloured polishes are my go to pedi colour of choice, and I am desperate to get this colour on my toes STAT!

Nails Inc Nail Polish in 'Devonshire Row'

Nails Inc has been a hot and miss brand for me with the products I have tried previously, it gets talked about alot by UK bloggers but every colour I have tried has been a fail. The colour is ok but nothing special and the formula isn't the best. This is the biggest disapointment in the 'Meet Your Match' box. 

Sephora Formula X Nail Polish in 'Invincible'

Why oh why isn't there Sephora in Australia? Apart from stocking incredible premium brands, Sephora's own brand of products are one of my favourite lines instore and especially their nail polishes. Formula X is the latest realese and I love it!  'Invincible' is a bone coloured nude which takes 2-3 coats like a standard nude polish does but I love it.

So is it worth $25.00? Yes! I mean there are some misses in the box but trying out products like this is a great way to know if you would like to buy the full sized product.

Sephora Favourites 'Meet your Match' Value Set $25.00 available from www.sephora.com 

xxx Nella

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