Hair fun! Jennifer Morrison Inspired Braid

One of my friends is holding her 21st over the weekend, so I've been searching for hairstyles to try. I wanted something fairly low profile, neat and able to be hair sprayed to death so I don't have to worry about is coming undone. I fell in love with this braided updo worn by Jennifer Morrison, so I thought I would give it a shot!





(Yes, I am in my backyard ;) The lighting inside was terrible!)

I think I can safely call this trial a success! I have a few end bits hanging around that I haven't quite worked out yet, and the positions of the braids could be adjusted to flow better, but the general idea worked :) It took me just over an hour including curling all my hair.
It's basically one big plait down the middle, a medium brain down the side, then a mini braid tucked underneath. The plait is wrapped over the medium braid, then tucked in underneath, and the braid ends are pushed behind the plait.

What celebrity hairstyles are you in love with? Any you'd love to try, or see me try?

Review: Revlon Colorstay Rich Raspberry

My Priceline trip yesterday began with good intentions, I swear! I was searching for Revlon's New Complexion powder for my grandma, and of course, they had 3 for 2 on Revlon. Damn. I needed a new base coat, since my old Revlon one has become bubbly and stringy, so I figured I might as well pick up a pretty colour too.



I don't often wear pinks because they're a bit girly, but this one is much more sophisticated than the usual suspects! As you can see, their name is pretty much spot on: this an incredibly rich dark pink with slight purple/burgundy tones. It's even richer in real life-- my camera decided to turn it into a bright Barbie pink in pretty much any lighting :( The first photo is a closer colour, but the second shows off the insane shine.

I used two coats with Revlon's Colorstay base coat and top coat in the shots above. Aside from a few marks I wanted to smooth over, I absolutely could have left the top coat off. The colour on its own is incredibly shiny and even and lives up to it's "gel-like" claims. I quite like the brushes on these as well: they're double-barrelled, which makes for a nice manageable width, however if you apply too much pressure the two halves can spread away from each other, leaving an awkward bald stripe down the middle. I've worn Blue Slate from the same range with the old version of the Colorstay top coat for eight days with a only the slightest amount of tip wear.

Has anybody tried any other colours from the Colorstay range? What did you think?

Look of the Day: 60's Christmas Party

Sunday night I attended my work Christmas party. Every year they do a great job choosing a theme, and this year was no exception: 60's and 70's! As you can imagine, there's a huge range of styles, from mod to hippie to disco, but being the vintage fan I am, I chose to go with the early 60's Mad Men-esque style. I was a little nervous doing this look because I don't usually wear lipstick, but it turned out great!



Face:
Illamasqua Skin Base in 02 mixed 1:1 with Illamasqua Matt Primer
Illamasqua cream concealer in 115 (under eyes and lightly on blemishes)
Almay Smart Shade pressed powder in 010
Illamasqua Cream Blusher in Rude

Eyes:
Illamasqua Cream Pigment in Hollow
Almay Liquid Eyeliner Pen in Black
Essence Gel Eyeliner in Black
Clarins eyeshadow in black (old version of the Graphites quad) to set liner
Revlon Photoready 3D Volume mascara in Blackest Black

Lips:
Models Prefer Ultra Lip Gloss Pencil in Dare to Wear

Nails:
Revlon Top Speed nail enamel in Fire

Overall, it was a great night! All of my friends from work dressed up, and the company did a really nice job theming the venue. Turns out we all know the words to 60s/70s music better than the current stuff!

I'll be back soon with reviews for some of the products I used for Sunday's look!

"Brain and heart, Bones. Brain and heart."

Hello, dear readers! As the very first post on Brain, Heart and Beauty, I thought I would make this a little bit of an introduction. I'm Rachel, a uni student from Melbourne, Australia. I'm studying a double Bachelor of Arts and Science, and I've just finished year two of four. Half-way, woo! My majors are zoology and anthropology, and ideally I will eventually turn all this hard work into a career in physical anthropology. Half of the people I say that to go 'huh?', so I'll wait here while you check Wikipedia :)

Other than studying, my major obsession is the TV series Bones (as you may have gathered by the title). I decided to call my blog 'Brain, Heart and Beauty' because the title quote summarises everything I love about Bones. I'll try to balance my writing between those three categories, so expect plenty of discussions, tips and reviews.

To help you out when I do get to some beauty-based topics, here's a quick run down of my face and skin:

Skin:

• Oily between the brows and across my chin
• Dry across my cheeks, and often on my nose
• Sensitive to sulphates (crazy drying) and the occasional random ingredient

Colour:

• Very fair, cool to neutral base
• Dark circles under the eyes, ranging from average to near-zombie
• Dark grey-green-blue eyes
• Mid-blonde hair
• Fairly pigmented lips for my fairness

So there you have it. Feel free to ask any other questions you might have, and I look forward to seeing you soon for my first proper post!

Rachel