NOTD: December 24, 2014

Merry Christmas! Here's my holiday themed mani! This is two coats of Wet N' Wild SaGreena the Teenage Witch with Quo by Orly Instant Artist Gold on the accent. I used Orly Top2Bottom as the base to keep my nails from staining!

What polish is on your nails for the holidays?

Thanks for reading!

NOTD: December 20, 2014

A silvery blue polish! This is Lac Attack's Moony! Named for one of my favourite HP Characters Remus Lupin! Couldn't resist! This is 2 coats of Moony over NYC Matte Me Crazy and under Revlon Multi-Care Base+Top Coat

My camera isn't quite doing this polish justice as there are smaller darker blue flecks within this polish that add so much depth!

To me this shade not only evokes the moonlight over water, but also the iciness of winter, perfect for late December in Canada!

Do you have any HP nail polish?

Thanks for reading!

Indie Polish Black Friday Haul!

Here's what I picked up during Harlow & Co.'s Black Friday sale:

L to R: KBShimmer Sugar Plum Faerie, Vanilla Fragrance Nail Polish Remover Pads, Kolt HD Key Pad, Arcane Lacquer Erudite Charm

This was only $25! What a steal! Excited to try 2 new indie polish brands! And am hopeful that the nail polish remover pads actually smell like vanilla and also work!

Have you bought anything from Harlow & Co.? Did you buy any indie polish on Black Friday?

Thanks for reading!

NOTD: December 13, 2014

An attempt at some nail art! This is 2 coats of Wet N' Wild in Vain with Sparitual Looking Glass dotted on the accent nail. I used NYC Matte Me Crazy as the base and Revlon Multi-Care Base+Top Coat as the top coat.

This is a pretty crappy purple, still translucent after 2 coats. But I was impressed with how opaque Looking Glass was, definitely will have to see how it works on it's own!

Thanks for reading!

NOTD: December 11, 2014

This festive mani is two coats of nails inc. St. Martin's Lane and Julep Greta (from this haul). I used Orly Top2Bottom as the base and top coat.

Although in the bottle Greta is more of a red with gold shimmer, on the nail it comes across a dark rose gold, but I'm liking it!

Thanks for reading!

20% Off Sephora Haul

Another Sephora haul! This haul took so long to ship that Sephora credited me 250 points (just enough to keep me happy), this is what I picked up in early November when Sephora was running it's annual 20% off event

L to R: Tocca The Naughty List Rollerball Set, Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Cosmetics Color Pencil in Anti-Feathered, Josie Maran Infinity Lip and Cheek Creamy Oil Duo, nails inc. Autumn Winter Collection

I was definitely intrigued to try 3 different scents from a new-to-me brand! The scent descriptions for the Naughty List appealed to me more, being described as more sweet and vanilla than floral. Upon first sniff they're a bit muskier than I'd like, but they just might grow on me!
I love the idea of cream cheek colours and enjoy using Josie Maran's Coconut Gelee formula, so I figured I'd pick up this mini set as well (they're tiny!).
Of course I can never say no to nail polish, and was intrigued by the bright blue and deep burgundy-ish purple in this nails inc. set.
The final item added to my cart was this clear lip liner from OCC, as I've been eyeing clear lip pencils for a while to keep my lipsticks from sliding all around my mouth, and I bit the bullet and decided to start with a good brand whose lip products I've reasonably enjoyed.

Here's a closer look at the products outside of their packaging:

L to R: Cleopatra, Margaux, Colette, Everlasting Honey, Timeless Coral, Regent Street, Old Bond Street, St. Martin's Lane, George Street, Oxford Street, and Kensington Place

Here are the freebies I got:

L to R: Origins GinZing Energy-Booster Moisturizer, Urban Decay Urban Obsessions Set, Becca Ever-Matte Poreless Priming Perfector, Formula X A+, Pharrell Williams GIRL

Here's a closer look at the Urban Obsessions Set:

L to R: Skimp, Bust, Guilt, Oil Slick, bottom is Zero

Overall I think I got good value for my money here! And I'm loving the Urban Decay set!

What did you pick up during this sale?

Thanks for reading!

NOTD: December 7, 2014

This is definitely a classic mani! This is 2 coats of butter London Petrol Pink (from this haul) which looks a bit more silver in the bottle, but more reddish pink on the nail. It's still beautiful though and super flattering for my skin tone!

I started this mani with NYC Matte Me Crazy as the base and topped with Revlons Multi-Care Base+Top Coat.

This look is perfect for a fancy Christmas party or just hanging out around home!

Thanks for reading!

NOTD: December 5, 2014

Here's my second indie polish NOTD! This lovely polish is Girly Bits Save Your Scissors (from this haul). I used NYC Matte Me Crazy as the base, then applied 2 coats of Save Your Scissors and topped it with my Revlon Multi-Care Base+Top coat.

I know this is more of a spring colour, but I couldn't let this beauty sit untested on my dresser any longer!

Next time I'll be more careful with the placement of the large glitters, but overall I'm happy with this mani!

Thanks for reading!

Sephora Sale Haul

This is a bit delayed (partially Sephora's fault for taking 2 weeks to ship me my order), but here's what I picked up recently from Sephora's sale section!

L to R: butter London British Spice Set, Tarte Eye Opening Eyeliner Set, Formula X Hyped, Urban Decay Anarchy Face Case

Here's a closer look at the items:

Urban Decay Anarchy Face Case

Top to Bottom: Super-Saturated High Gloss Lip Colour in Scandal, Eyeshadows, 24/7 Glide On Eye Pencil in Perversion

Eyeshadows L to R: Redemption, Fray, Vaporize, Provocateur, Revolt

L to R: Fetish, Quickie, Craze

Nail Polish

L to R: Tramp Stamp, The 444, Hyped

Eyeliner Set

L to R: Golden Plum, Hunter Green, Chocolate, Navy, Antique Gold, Black, Bronze, Jungle Green, Charcoal, Plum, Nude

Samples

L to R: Make Up Forever Mist & Fix, Dolce & Gabbana Pour Femme, Dermadoctor KP Duty Dermatologist Exfoliating Scrub, DKNY My NY, bareMinerals Best in Show set

Closer look at the bareMinerals Set

L to R: Blush in Beauty, Marvelous Moxie Lipstick in Speak Your Mind, READY Eyeshadow 2.0 in TheTop Shelf

What did you buy during the 20% off sale?

NOTD: December 2, 2014

I've had less free time recently due to an increased workload at my job, hence the lack of NOTD posts. I think I'm starting to balance the increase so hopefully the NOTDs come more regularly!

This is two coats of OPI Grand Canyon Sunset, a perfect orangey pink with a gleam of shimmer in it! I used my Orly Top2Bottom as the base and top coat.

This polish is definitely a fall or summer shade, and although I've never been to the Grand Canyon, this polish lives up to its name of an unreal sunset!

November Empties!

Nothing too exciting in this month's empties, but at least I freed up some space for all the orders I've placed! Black Friday was tempting for me, and I'll be sharing what I bought when they arrive!

But for now here are my empties!

L to R: Neutrogena All-in-One Make-up Removing Cleansing Wipes, Secret Clinical Invisible Solid Anti-perspirant in Completely Clean, Compliments Premiere Quality Cotton Pads

Neutrogena All-in-One Make-up Removing Cleansing Wipes: Yup, I'm still using these Neutrogena wipes! Review is same as April Empties.

Secret Clinical Invisible Solid Anti-Perspirant in Completely Clean: Review is same as September Empties.

Compliments Premiere Quality Cotton Pads: Review is same as May Empties.

KIT Strengthening Nail Polish Remover: This is quite possibly the worst nail polish remover I've EVER tried. Yes. Ever! For average creme finish nail polish I would have to use up about 6 or 7 soaked cotton pads in order to remove the polish. I don't have time for that. I won't even tell you how long this product took to remove glitter and foil polish! NEVER AGAIN!

L to R: Dermadoctor KP Duty Dermatologist Body Scrub, Bath & Body Works Anti-Bacterial Moisturizing Hand Lotion in White Citrus

Dermadoctor KP Duty Dermatologist Body Scrub: I received this foil from a Sephora purchase. This exfoliating scrub is best applied to dry skin and is supposed to treat red bumps. I used this packet on the top quarter of my arms where I suffer from red bumps as well as all over my legs which are dry due to the winter conditions and I'm prone to ingrown hairs. No immediate improvement upon this one usage, but I could feel the beads working and don't think this is the worst exfoliant I've ever used.

Bath & Body Works Anti-Bacterial Moisturizing Hand Lotion in White Citrus: Unfortunately BBW no longer makes this moisturizing anti-bacterial, because these are life savers in the winter! During the winter months I'll use this as a substitute for my usual BBW anti-bacterial gel. The scent isn't my favourite, a bit too floral for my nose, but if BBW brought these back I would definitely purchase more!

What products did you use up in November?

Fav Movies of 2013

I've finally watched post of the 2013 movies that interested me!



10. Warm Bodies: This was a surprise favourite for me! Concept doesn't appeal much to me as I'm not a fan of zombies, but this story was heart warming, funny, and well-executed! The two lead actors are great in their roles, Nicholas Hoult in particular is hilariously awkward adding much of the movies humour. I definitely recommend to fans of rom coms and post-apocalyptic films alike!



9. Star Trek: Into Darkness: Having been surprised by how much I liked the first Star Trek revamp, I was confident that Star Trek Into Darkness would be one of my fav action movies of the year, and it didn't disappoint! While I'm still not a fan of Chris Pine, the villian of the film, Benedict Cumberbatch created new drama, and I still love the supporting cast, especially Karl Urban and Anton Yelchin.



8. The Book Thief: I'm not sure how awards season missed out on this gem. A great story, a great cast, meaningful setting, and visually appealing cinematography! This is a must see, but beware, it's heart-wrenching. Not a lot of big name actors, with the exception of Geoffrey Rush who is perfect as the loving foster dad of the title character. Bring tissues!



7. The Butler: There wasn't a lot of hype for this film, except around Oprah's role/appearance. That's disappointing giving the message of the film, and the fact that the same issues are popping up today. Another film that should have received love from the awards shows, but didn't. Some "missteps" in this film include the casting of iconic American presidents, all 3 choices seem puzzling James Marsden as JFK, Alan Rickman as Ronald Reagan, Robin Williams as Eisenhower, and John Cusack as Nixon. I love James Marsden, but he pulled off his president the least convincingly. Fantastic cast with so many surprise cameos!



6. American Hustle: Finally a film I liked that received recognition! Nominations for acting were well deserved, although the competition was a bit fierce (I believe the ladies had the advantage here, because obviously Best Actor was in the bag for McConaughey, and Cooper was a long-shot for this role). A thriller / drama that keeps you guessing at what the characters are up to, but don't worry the ending isn't much of a surprise. Favourite scene of the movie: Jennifer Lawrence's Live and Let Die lip synching hands down!



5. The Hobbit The Desolation of Smaug: Yes, I'm still an LOTR fangirl, and I actually liked aspects of this part 2 better than part 1 (the Mirkwood storyline, and Bard). I missed the music aspect from the first film, but know that it doesn't fit the darkening mood of Middle Earth. Still loving Martin Freeman as Bilbo and Richard Armitage as Thorin.



4. Frozen: LOVE! Definitely one of my favourite Disney movies of all time. Great voice cast (Kristen Bell, Idina Menzel, Jonathan Groff), but the winner here is the story! Definitely enjoyable for all ages, and those songs will get stuck in your head!



3. Upside Down: Very under appreciated, but so well done! This movie is 100% unique. Jim Sturgess and Kirsten Dunst are separated by fate - gravity in fact, each born on opposite sides of a dual world. I'm a sucker for rom coms but I also love a good sci fi, and this is an inventive combination of the two!



2. About Time: No, this isn't your typical time travelling rom com. It isn't a sequel to The Time Traveller's Wife either. I love this movie! Story is so much more than you expect from the trailers, and rivals Love Actually as one of my favourite films of all time. This isn't exactly a comedy, a drama, a romance, or a family film, but has aspects of them all, perfectly integrated. Cannot say enough good things about this film. Go watch it if you haven't already!



1. Catching Fire: I loved the first film, and this one didn't disappoint! I was disappointed with the casting of Jena Malone. But I knew this book was well suited to become a film, and they did a great job adapting it and keeping the integrity of the story. Also Jennifer Lawrence is so bad ass as Katniss.

So there's my list of my favourite movies of 2013, honourable mention goes out to 12 Years a Slave (so powerful, and such an important story, deserving of all the awards it won).

What were your favourite movies of last year? Any movies I should see?

Thanks for reading!

NOTD: November 11, 2014

 

For my Remembrance Day mani I've used red and gold. This is two coats each of Quo by Orly Mystic Night and Julep Margot. I used NYC Matte Me Crazy as the base and Revlon Multi-Care Base+Top as the topper.

 

I really like this combination together, and it does have a certain solemnity to it appropriate for remembering our lost soldiers.

 

Mystic Night has more shimmer in the bottle than actually on the nail, but I still think it's unique enough to my hoard.

 

Lest We Forget

Sephora Haul!

I noticed a bunch of goodies in Sephora's sale section recently and couldn't resist a haul!

 

 

L to R: Tarte Lipsurgence in Amused, OCC Pro's Picks Lip Tar Set, Korres Volcanic Minerals Volumizing Mascara

 

 

Clockwise from Top: Clear, Radiate, Femme, Electric Grandma, Authentic

 

L to R: Fresh Sugar Advanced Therapy Lip Balm, Fresh Sugar Lip Polish, Fresh Sugar Shine Lip Treatment, Nails Inc Galaxy in Knightsbridge Road, Formula X in Juju

Everything I bought was on sale at the time, I paid $76 for this haul, and used the VIBFRESH code for the deluxe Fresh products!

I was a bit sad that Sephora did not include the 3 free samples with my order, as at the time I'd picked out Kat von D Makeup Removing Wipes and MUFE Eyeshadow as 2 of my 3 free samples, so I missed out on trying out these products.

All the lip products are quite bright, so I've yet to try them all out, but I'm happy to have a backup Korres mascara, and 2 new and unique nail polish!

I put in my order for the Sephora 20% off sale today and look forward to sharing that with you soon!

Did you pick up anything from Sephora during the sale? What'd you get?

Thanks for reading!

 

 

 

NOTD: November 4, 2014

 

Sparkles!!! This is two coats of KBShimmer Look High and Holo (from this haul). I used NYC Matte Me Crazy as the base coat and topped it with Revlon Multi-Care Base+Top coat. I loved this polish! It was a bit tricky to make sure all the bigger glitters were evenly placed so I did have to do some dabbing, but the effort was definitely worth it with this colourful bright mani!

 

Have you tried out KBShimmer? What did you think?

 

Thanks for reading!

BzzAgent Pantene Pro-V Ultimate 10

Please note I received these products free to try from BzzAgent. My opinion below is my own and besides receiving these products for free, I was not compensated for my opinion.

 

Contents of my BzzKit:

 

L to R: Pantene Ultimate 10 BB Cream Shampoo, Pantene Ultimate 10 BB Cream Conditioner, Pantene Ultimate 10 BB Crème

Shampoo: This has the usual scent I've come to expect from Pantene, a bit fruity, a bit floral, but overall a "clean scent". This scent is the same throughout these three products. This shampoo is creamy and lathers really well, leaving hair feeling soft and oil-free.

Conditioner: This is a thicker conditioner, but works well untangling hair and adding to the soft / silkiness of my hair.

BB Crème: This is a leave in conditioner/styling product for use after shampooing and conditioning. I thought I'd review this product around it's 10 benefits
repair for rough hair - can't comment, my hair is quite healthy
strength against damage - can't comment, I have healthy hair and don't usually do anything that would damage my hair
silky softness - I feel that the conditioner does this better than the BB Crème, but when I use different shampoos / conditioners and then the BB Crème it does add silkiness to my hair.
brilliant shine - I'm not sure I would say brilliant shine, but it does add shine
smoothing - it somewhat smoothes my puffy / frizzy hair
moisture - as my hair is quite oily, my hair doesn't usually feel dry so I can't comment on this claim
frizz control - this does seem to help reduce the frizz in my hair
heat protection - while I probably only use heat on my hair once a week, I haven't noticed any damage to my hair after using this BB Crème before a blow dry / flat iron my hair.
manageability - this does make my hair more manageable
tamed flyaways - I tend to get short hairs at the front of my head that stick up and are out of control, the BB Crème doesn't make these go away, but does somewhat tame them.

I have found through using different combinations of these products and products currently in my shower, that the biggest difference to my hair is made when I use both the conditioner and the BB Crème, however I do still notice how silky soft my hair is when I just use the shampoo.

My recommendation if you're interested in trying out these new products would be to start with just the conditioner and the BB Crème and add them into your normal hair care routine. If your hair is quite damaged / rough, then you would maybe want to use all three products together.

Thanks for reading!

 

October Empties!

Another month, more empties!

 

 

Bath & Body Works PocketBac Antibacterial Hand Gel in Harvest Apple: I love BBW's antibacterial gels! They come in such fun flavours and I always have one in my purse. This was a perfect fall scent, with crisp apples! I don't believe this scent is available anymore, but I will definitely pick up more BBW antibacterial hand gels!

 

Aveeno Positively Nourishing Revitalize Shampoo: I was happy to try this out having really enjoyed the Moisturize formula. I found this quite similar to the Moisturize formula in terms of scent and the overall appearance and feel of my hair afterwards.

 

 

Chap Ice Kiwi Lime Lip Balm: I received this in a goody bag when I had my wisdom teeth out. I wouldn't have picked the scent myself, but I actually really liked it! This was the perfect size to pop in my purse and pull out to discretely moisturize. Unfortunately, I've never seen this brand at any drugstores, so I can't purchase this in a full size or I would!

 

Korres Pomegranate Deep Cleansing Scrub: I received this full-size product for free from a family member who works at Johnson & Johnson. J&J have divested themselves of the Korres brand, and were emptying out their stockpile of products. I happily took this having heard great things about the brand, and always on the lookout for a great exfoliating face wash. This was an effective scrub, but the scent was off-putting to me. It's described as pomegranate, however it was more of an olive scent to me - not exactly a typical face wash scent. While this was effective, I do still prefer the Neutrogena Oil-Free Acne Wash Pink Grapefruit Foaming Scrub.

 

 

Secret Clinical Strength Invisible Solid Antiperspirant in Completely Clean: Same as review here.

 

Aveda Tourmaline Charged Exfoliating Cleanser: This was a hand me down from my mom who found the formula too creamy for her. I didn't find this particularly effective on my face - again not enough exfoliating beads, but did like it on my legs. As with most Aveda products, this has an herbal scent to it which is not unpleasant. However, I like my Neutrogena Oil-Free Acne Wash Pink Grapefruit Foaming Scrub much better!

 

Bath & Body Works Paris Amour Shower Gel: I love this scent from BBW! It's both sweet and floral, and I've picked up the antibacterial hand gel in the same scent! I really liked this shower gel formula, however BBW has since reformulated to include shea butter, which I avoid due to allergies. I don't believe any of the shower gels don't include shea butter anymore and as such I am unable to repurchase.

 

What products did you use up this month?

 

Thanks for reading!

 

 

NOTD: October 30, 2014

 

This is 2 coats of Julep Tatum (from this haul). I used a coat of NYC Matte Me Crazy as the base and topped this with my Revlon Multi-Care Base+Top coat.

 

So it's not the first Fall / Halloween shade that comes to mind, but to me green nails with this frostiness to them reminds me of glow in the dark slime or other oozy green stuff!

 

When I picked Tatum I was worried that it would be too similar to 2 other Julep greens I own: Mackenzie and Leah. Luckily I think these are different enough from each other to not be dupes, but I definitely don't need much more in the way of light green polish from Julep!

 

What's on your nails for Halloween?

 

Thanks for reading!

First Indie Polish Haul!

I have finally jumped on the indie polish bandwagon! I'd been ooing and ahhing indie polish from a far, but didn't purchase any until I found out about Harlow & Co a Canadian company that sources and sells over 40 different indie brands! Not only do I love supporting a Canadian beauty business, but for orders over $50, shipping is free! I hate paying shipping on orders so this was another point that helped me bite the bullet and delve into the world of indie polish!

 

L to R: Girly Bits Save Your Scissors, Glam Polish Isengard, Love Thy Polish He Lives In You, KBShimmer Look High and Holo, Lac Attack Moony

Girly Bits Save Your Scissors is described as a "lavender crelly base with neon pink hexes and squares, lavender, plum, and teal hexes, aqua and white dots, and sparks of silver holo". I'm a huge fan of purple polish, and I love how unique this polish is. Plus how cute is the brand's logo?

Glam Polish Isengard was a must-have for me. I'm a huge Lord of the Rings fan and it was hard to decide which polish from this collection was the one I would get (first...lol). I decided on Isengard due to the beautiful purple to blue shift, although I might just have to collect the whole collection since it combines two of my favourite things, Lord of the Rings and polish!

Love Thy Polish He Lives In You is described as a "medium gray base with white, orange, and blue glitters". Plus it's based on Rafiki from The Lion King. No-brainer!

KBShimmer Look High and Holo is described as a "raspberry jelly base loaded with holographic glitter". As you can see, this was my attempt to stray away from purples, blues, and grays!

Lac Attack Moony was my Harry Potter pick. I'm also a huge Harry Potter fan, and was originally going to choose The Brightest Witch, but I read some reviews about it being a bit hard to work with so I settled on Moony instead (and Remus Lupin is one of my favourite characters!). Moony is a "silvery blue foil with tiny flakes in it, some of which flash purple"

 

These 5 polish cost $50.40 before taxes and I am super excited that I get to try out 5 indie brands in the process!

 

Have you tried indie polish? Which indie brand should I look into next?

 

Thanks for reading!

NOTD: October 19, 2014

 

I love this Satin finish mani! This is two coats of Julep Quinn (from this haul), I used my NYC Matte Me Crazy as the base, and didn't use a top coat to keep the Satin Finish effect that was the selling point of this polish.

 

This colour is a bit hard to describe, kind of blue, kind of gray. I like it!

 

Have you tried any Satin finish polish? Do you think this is a passing fad or something that'll stay around for a while?

 

Thanks for reading!

NOTD: October 17, 2014

 

A fun sparkly mani! This is two coats of Sparitual Strike a Pose (from this haul) with one coat of nails inc. Electric Lane (from this haul) as the topper. I used NYC Matte Me Crazy as the base and topped this mani with Revlon Multi-Care Base+Top Coat.

 

I was kind of hoping when I picked up Strike a Pose that as the bottle was matte glass that the polish would be of a similar finish - alas that was not true and it's a basic sheerish pink (two coats still has visible nail line). Luckily, this is still different enough from other pinks I own, and I will get use out of it!

 

Thanks for reading!

Julep September Maven Box

I couldn't resist the colours and offerings from Julep in September...

 

L to R: Quinn, Lupita, Plush Pout Lip Crayon in Aurora

This month I went with Classic With a Twist, my first time choosing that offering from Julep since I joined (the quiz gave me It Girl, but I often order Bombshell if the product is interesting).
I was sold on this box because I love lip crayons - who doesn't they're the easiest lip colour application method! and I really like satin finish polish! Lupita was a nice bonus red nail colour for me!

I have noticed Julep's shipping is taking longer and longer each month, luckily I haven't noticed any change in the quality of the polish.

I skipped October, none of the polish were must haves for me, and I'm a bit polished out right now - I have over 40 polishes I've yet to use once.

Which Maven box did you get for September and/or October?

Thanks for reading!

 

NOTD: October 14, 2014

 

Another NOTD! This is one of my favourite colours - purple! This is 2 coats of nails inc. Bond Street (from this haul) with Julep Queen Anne (from this haul) on half of my ring finger. I used my NYC Matte Me Crazy as the base coat and topped the mani off with Revlon Multi-Care Base+Top Coat.

 

I really like this Gel formula from nails inc. it was quite glossy on its own, however Queen Anne dried semi-matte so I added a top coat for extra shine and consistency! My one complaint was how dark and vampy this purple was, in the bottle it seems more medium purple and this is almost eggplant in my opinion.

 

Have you tried nails inc.'s new formula? What did you think?

 

Thanks for reading!

September Empties

Another month, more empties! I think I did quite well for September!

 

 

Neutrogena All-in-One Make-Up Removing Cleansing Wipes: Same review as April Empties. Can't get much easier than these!

 

 

L to R: Live Clean Argan Oil Restorative Conditioner, Korres Volcanic Minerals Volumizing Mascara

 

Live Clean Argan Oil Restorative Conditioner: I picked this up on sale at Shoppers due to the brand's promise of environmental friendliness and the promise of argan oil. I loved the French vanilla scent this had (reminds me of the old St. Ives French Vanilla Conditioner I used to love, that I can't seem to find anywhere now). This made my hair feel soft and somewhat managed my frizz. I generally flit from conditioner to conditioner, but I like this enough to consider repurchasing.

 

Korres Volcanic Minerals Volumizing Mascara: from this haul. This mascara works really well for me! Not only does it add a lot of volume (without clumps!) it also lengthens and adds the perfect hint of a curl for my lashes! I loved this sooo much I snatched up the full-size version at Sephora that was on sale for $12! This could be my HG mascara!

 

 

L to R: KIT Quilted Square Cosmetic Pads, Dr.'s REMEDY Non-Acetone Enriched Nail Polish Remover

 

KIT Quilted Square Cosmetic Pads: Average, run-of-the-mill cotton pads, however I found these snagged on everything and left behind wisps of cotton. Will not repurchase.

 

Dr.'s REMEDY Non-Acetone Enriched Nail Polish Remover: from this haul. This nail polish remover has a garlicky scent (think garlic-based alcohol) but does the job. Maybe not the fastest to use, but gets even the toughest glitters off eventually. I like that my nails seemed stronger after using this remover, and if the bottle weren't so small I'd consider repurchasing.

 

 

L to R: Secret Clinical Strength Invisible Solid Anti-Perspirant in Completely Clean, Ducray Squanorm Shampoo, Benefit BADgal Lash Mascara

 

Secret Clinical Strength Invisible Solid: I found this anti-perspirant as effective as the gel formula, but it didn't stain my t-shirts! That's always a plus, this is less of a mess to apply as well and I have already purchased a replacement!

 

Ducray Squanorm Shampoo: see review here. Repurchased and will continue to repurchase.

 

Benefit BADgal Lash Mascara: from this haul. This is the middle of the road of the 3 mascaras I finished up in September. This gives the volume and slight hint of curl similar to Korres, but unfortunately by the end of most days, I do have a bit of smudging under my eyes that I don't get with other mascaras. If only Benefit fixed this issue, this could be HG mascara contender! I still have another sample of this mascara, but at this point I will not be repurchasing.

 

 

 

L to R: Yves St. Laurent Glossy Stain in No. 9 Rouge Laque, Tarte Clean Slate Flawless 12-hr Brightening Primer, Buxom Lash Mascara

 

Yves St. Laurent Glossy Stain in No. 9 Rouge Laque: from this haul. This is a bright, orangey-toned red. Similar to No 7 Corail Aquatique (reviewed last month) this is pretty long lasting and lacks the stickiness that most people hate about glosses. I used up the applicator brush last month so used my lip brush to apply it, I definitely found this method much more difficult than the spongey applicator and got some clumping / unevenness. I also hated this colour on me, it was too orangey and bright and I felt a bit clownish wearing this out in public (especially since I couldn't get it as even as I'd have liked). I couldn't even use up all of this sample, and will definitely not purchase in this colour.

 

Tarte Clean Slate Flawless 12-hr Brightening Primer: I got this deluxe size in a kit of minis sold at Sephora two Christmases ago. I find this primer okay, but not the best (I like Too Faced's version much better as it blurs imperfections more). It has a light citrusy scent to it which is pleasant, and feels moisturizing on the skin.

 

Buxom Lash Mascara: from this haul. Of the 3 mascaras I used up this month this was my least favourite. But was by no means a bad mascara. No clumping or raccoon eyes, and definitely elongated my lashes. However, I prefer mascaras that both volumize and lengthen my lashes. I still have another sample of this to get through, but I don't think I'll be buying this again.

 

All in all a pretty successful month of empties for me! 6 full-size items, 4 deluxe-size items, and one sample!

 

What products did you use up in September?