August 31, 2014

August Empties!

Another month, more empties! The theme this month was definitely scents!
 
 
L to R: Clean & Clear Morning Burst Body Wash in Wildberry & Guava, Sensodyne Pro-namel Gentle Whitening Toothpaste
 
Clean & Clear Morning Burst Body Wash in Wildberry & Guava: From this haul. I really like this scent, tropical + berries, very refreshing and fruity! This formula is awesome, and I've already bought a replacement!
 
Sensodyne Pro-namel Gentle Whitening Toothpaste: This is my favourite toothpaste, as I do sometimes have teeth sensitivities when eating candy or drinking something cold.  This doesn't have an overwhelming mint taste, but the taste is pleasant. My one complaint is that this toothpaste isn't as effective at whitening as a lot of other products on the market, so I am taking a break from it and trying new products.  Definitely recommended for those with sensitive teeth.
 

L to R: Scunci No Damage No Metal Parts Hair Elastics, Yves St. Laurent Glossy Stain in No 7 Corail Aquatique, Bath & Body Works Body Scrub in Bali Mango, and Philosophy Living Grace Fragrance
 
Scunci No Damage No Metal Parts Hair Elastics: Hair elastics, not that exciting. But these are really good, they don't have metal parts that get caught in your hair, and they tend not to stretch out too soon after using. A keeper!
 
Yves St. Laurent Glossy Stain in No 7 Corail Aquatique: From this haul. This is a bright coral shade with a hint of red to it. I wasn't expecting to like it on me, as my cool skin tone often doesn't working with corals, but I actually really like this! The formula is fairly long lasting for a gloss and lacks stickiness. The price tag of $30 a gloss is a bit much for me, luckily I have 5 more sample shades to get through!
 
Bath & Body Works Body Scrub in Bali Mango: I love this scent, tropical and fruity. To me the scent is more than just mangos, it has a hint of beachiness to it as well. This scrub is pretty effective, but at the price I'm going to try out a few cheaper brands to see if they compare.
 
Philosophy Living Grace Fragrance: From this haul. Sephora describes this as "fresh neroli, lily of the valley, warm musk". I don't really get the muskiness of it, to me this is a fresh, clean scent, that's only slightly floral. I don't hate it, but don't love it either. I have another sample of this to get through.
 
 
L to R: Elizabeth and James Nirvana Black Fragrance, Elizabeth and James Nirvana White Fragrance, and Make Up Forever Smoky Extravagant Mascara
 
Elizabeth and James Nirvana Black Fragrance: Sephora describes this as "violet, sandalwood, vanilla". I can definitely smell all of those notes, making it an interesting blend of floral, vanilla, and masculine. This scent had just a hint to much masculinity for me personally, but I did prefer this over Nirvana White.
 
Elizabeth and James Nirvana White Fragrance: Sephora describes this as "peony, muguet, tender musk". I was not a fan. Too much powder and floral scent, which to me translates to too mature.
 
Make Up Forever Smoky Extravagant Mascara: From this haul. I didn't get a chance to try out this sample, as when I opened it the product was all dried up in a clump on the wand. Disappointing.
 
 
Top to Bottom: Prada Infusion D'Iris Fragrance, Marc Jacobs Daisy Fragrance
 
Prada Infusion D'Iris Fragrance: Sephora describes this as "evoke the classic ambiance of a luxurious Italian voyage, from the clean freshness of Florentine Iris Padilla to the warm, subtle glow of Sicilian Mandarin. Savor the floral citrus reverie of this scent's unique, elusive essence". To me this is a citrus-y clean scent. And I kinda like it! Not enough to spend $65 / bottle for, but if it's available as a free sample, I won't say no!
 
Marc Jacobs Daisy Fragrance: From this haul. Sephora describes this as "strawberry, violet leaves, ruby red grapefruit, gardenia, violet petals, jasmine petals, musk, vanilla, white woods". To me this is very floral, and not to my taste.
 
 All in all I think this was one of my more successful empties months!
 
What products did you use up in August?
 
Thanks for reading!
 
 

August 29, 2014

NOTD: August 29, 2014

 
A really bright NOTD! This is 2 coats of Sparitual Crystal Eyes (from this haul) over a base of NYC Matte Me Crazy! and under a coat of Revlon Multi-Care Base+Top Coat. On the accent nail I applied a coat of Quo by ORLY (unnamed from this haul) which I've decided to call Lights They Blind Me, in keeping with the Electra Heart Marina and the Diamonds theme! Lights They Blind Me definitely has some duochrome aspects to it, shifting between the white you see in the bottle, to pink and purple. I actually think this complements Crystal Eyes well, but would also like to see what it does to a white or pink mani!
 
What do you think? Crystal Eyes definitely came out more teal and darker than I expected!
 
Thanks for reading!

August 26, 2014

August Haul!

I had some time to kill after work one day, and ended up hauling this:
 
 
Back row L to R: Quo by Orly Mystic Night, OPI Grand Canyon Sunset, Sally Hansen 1derland, GOSH Velvet Touch Lipstick in Nougat
Front row L to R: Quo Electric Eyes Pencil in Charge, Rimmel Apocalips in Nova
 
Everything seen here was on sale, and I picked them all up for a total cost of $26 including tax. Not bad at all!
 
Have you found any great deals recently? Feel free to share them below!
 
Thanks for reading!

August 24, 2014

NOTD: August 24, 2014

As summer starts to wind down, you'll be seeing a lot of summer appropriate polish as I try to fit my mani with the seasons/my mood!
 
 
This is ciate Kiss Chase. My first time trying this luxury brand, and as you can see I ran into some difficulties with the formula.  This is 3 coats of Kiss Chase over and under my Revlon Multi-Care Base+Top Coat. I had some issues with patchiness, which might be my own fault (I might not have waited long enough after applying my base coat) or it could be the nail polish's (as this is the first ciate polish I've tried, I don't want to blame the whole brand, could just be a fluke or the colour).
 
I picked this up at Winners for the steal price of $5 (these usually retail between $15-$17 in Canada). I love the bottle, the bow makes it adorable and the design is easy to hold while painting your nails. This colour is described as a "dreamy pink" on the ciate website, but it's more a jelly coral to my eyes. Perfect summer shade!
 
Have you tried ciate? Any thoughts on the quality of their polish?
 
Thanks for reading!
 

August 19, 2014

NOTD: August 19, 2014

 
This is three coats of an unnamed Quo by Orly polish (from this haul). This is a really pretty peachy pink shade with a hint of metallic.
 
I've decided to name the colours around the Marina and the Diamonds Electra Heart album! I figure this album fits in well with the Sugar theme with the majority of the lyrics.
With that in mind, I'm calling this one Primadonna.
 
What do you think? If you don't know Marina and the Diamonds check her out on Youtube!
 
Thanks for reading!

August 17, 2014

US Mini-haul!

I recently took a shopping trip into the States and picked up a few goodies! Total cost was less than $10! Not bad considering nails inc. polish retails for closer to $12 in Canada!
 
 
L to R: Nails Inc. Gel Effect Polish in Bond Street, elf Essential Lip Gloss Stick in Sangria Starters, elf Essential Jumbo Eyeshadow Stick in Little Miss Thing, elf Essential Eyelid Primer
 
Pretty much everything here was trying out new things, I have more than a few nails inc. polish, but seeing this Gel Effect bright purple for $4 was a no-brainer, hopefully it turns out as super shiny as it advertises! The lip gloss stick I have in a different shade, but wanted to try the non-shimmery colour as well wanting to expand my vampy lip collection! I love eye shadow pencils and figured I'd get this elf offering to compare against Tarte and NYX (nope, not really the same...you get what you pay for here), and I have the elf Mineral Eyelid Primer, so figured why not pick up a backup from their cheaper line?
 
I wish elf was more widely available in Canada, as they do have a number of great products for awesome prices!
 
Have you found any good deals recently? What about products that don't live up to your expectations?
 
Thanks for reading!

August 04, 2014

NOTD: August 4, 2014


Boom! Purple-pink duochrome! One of the colours I was most excited from a recent Julep Maven box (link here) (okay, so it's not that recent as it was the April box, but I've been overwhelmed with all my untried polish and being good about skipping Julep this summer) was Kayla.

Julep describes the colour as an electric iris sheer with violet sheen, and I'll agree with the electric and sheer parts of that description (this is 3 coats over a base and with a top coat, and my nail line was still slightly visible), but the shift on this colour to me is similar of a duochrome, the pink shimmer is stronger in certain lights and vanishes in others.

This mani had me staring at my super bright nails all day, definitely not suitable for more conservative workplaces, but pretty nonetheless!

What was the last Maven box you took?

Thanks for reading!

August 01, 2014

July Empties

Another month...more empties! I think July is make-up remover month!


L to R: Especially Escada, ROC Double Action Eye Make Up Remover

Especially Escada: I received this sample from a Sephora order. Sephora lists the notes as: pear, ambrette seeds, ylang ylang, musky notes. I surprisingly was okay with this scent (I imagine it's the addition of the pear). I found this scent perfect for spring with many floral notes to it. While I wouldn't repurchase this myself, I wouldn't mind receiving another sample, since this scent is great to get into a spring mood!
ROC Double Action Eye Make Up Remover: From this haul. This makeup remover was my "replacement" for LancĂ´me Bi-Facil, however I found it didn't compare to my HG eye makeup remover (LancĂ´me Bi-Facil), it didn't remove makeup as easily (I was left with racoon eyes after washing my face), and this left a greasy feeling afterwards. This also irritated my eyes more than LancĂ´me's. Will not repurchase.


Yonka Non-Comedogenic Cleansing Lotion and Eye Makeup Remover: This is an old product that was put on the backburner until I recently rediscovered it. This is a lotion based makeup remover - which makes those of us with sensitive eyes and/or oily skin nervous. I actually really liked this, it didn't irritate my eyes as much as the ROC remover, and didn't cause any breakouts. It wasn't hugely effective though, so I'm still sticking with LancĂ´me! I will not repurchase.


Clean & Clear Makeup Dissolving Facial Cleansing Wipes Oil-Free: I received this 7 wipe sample for free from a family member at Johnson & Johnson. I personally like the Neutrogena version much better, as this did tend to sting my eyes and wasn't as effective at removing makeup as Neutrogena. Will not purchase.



Ducray Elution Shampoo: see review here. Still love and will continue to repurchase!

What products did you use up in July? Have you ever managed to get through multiples of the same item within a month?

Thanks for reading!