My Fav NOTD from 2014

With the beginning of a new year, I thought I'd take a step back and look at my 10 favourite NOTD looks from 2014!
These are in order by age (oldest to newest)

Color Club Lady Holiday with Color Club Savoy Nights (original post). I love how well these colours paired together!

Julep Amy with Julep Marion (original post). I'm a sucker for blue / teal polish and these are 2 of my favourite in my collection.

Color Club Apollo Star with Essie Lilacism (original post). These 2 were paired together at the last minute, and I love how it turned out!

Sephora by OPI Skinny Jeans with nails inc. Soho Street (original post). I was really impressed with the formula of Skinny Jeans, and Soho Street is one of those versatile glitters.

Julep Millie with Dr.'s REMEDY Deserving Diamond (original post). To me this mani screamed class. I felt positively posh!

Sephora by OPI Your Wish is My Command with nails inc. Marylebone (original post). Your Wish is My Command is such a delicate pretty pink and Marylebone is a super attention grabbing glitter, but they worked well together!

Julep Kayla (original post). Probably one of the most interesting polish I bought in 2014, and I love purple!

nails inc. Devonshire Row with Quo by Orly My Heart is Nuclear (original post). These are both gorgeous colours that flatter my skin tone well.

nails inc. Bond Street with Julep Queen Anne (original post). A freehand attempt at nail art that turned out well!

Quo by Orly Mystic Night with Julep Margot (original post). Red and gold are meant to go together and I was impressed with the formula of both of these polish.

I think it's interesting that I don't like my more standard single colour manis as much, only choosing one single colour mani. But it is interesting the colour and finish variety in this top 10, although they are mostly lighter colours.

What was your favourite mani from 2014?

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?

NOTD: May 8, 2014

A switch back to the dark side!  This is 2 coats of Julep Millie with 1 coat of Dr.'s Remedy Deserving Diamond on the accent. I used butter London Nail Foundation as the base and topped the mani with Revlon Multi-Care Base+Top Coat!

I really like Millie, one of my favourite Julep crème finish polish, very close to being a one-coater!

Thanks for reading!

NOTD: January 29, 2014

A blue-ish purple mani for today! This is 2 coats of Dr.'s REMEDY in Lovely Lavender over my Dr.'s REMEDY base coat. I received both of these products from this haul.
I did quite enjoy the colour and that the polish applied easily, however this chipped almost immediately without a top coat.

Are you prone to immediate polish chips?

Thanks for reading!

Christmas and Birthday Haul

L to R: Color Club Savoy Nights, Color Club Lady Holiday, Color Club Sugar Rays, Color Club Apollo Star, butter London Artful Dodger, butter London Primrose Hill Picnic, Nicole by OPI Totally in the Dark, Essie Lilacism

L to R: Dr.'s Remedy Remover, Dr.'s Remedy Base Coat, Dr.'s Remedy Deserving Diamond, Dr.'s Remedy Lovely Lavender

So there you have it! The beauty items I received for my birthday and Christmas!

What items were on your wishlist?

Thanks for reading!