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!