March 23, 2016

NOTD: March 23, 2016


I know you know I love me some purples! Here are two lavenders in 1 mani!

This is Barielle Rain in Spain with Barielle Jess' Champagne Toast (both from this haul). I used NYC Matte Me Crazy as the base, 2 coats of Rain in Spain and 3 coats of Jess' Champagne Toast and topped it off with Sparitual Multi-Tasker Base and Topcoat.

I thought I'd like Jess' Champagne Toast more as there's pink shimmer in the bottle, on the nail however it falls a bit flat and looks like your typical lavender metallic. Rain in Spain on the other hand is a difficult to define polish with purple, blue, and greys!

Thanks for reading!

March 21, 2016

NOTD: March 21, 2016


This vampy and very glam mani is China Glaze Seduce Me (from this haul) with Deborah Lippmann Boom Boom Pow (from this haul)

I was surprised by how much I like Seduce Me, it's a great dark pink / red combo.

I used NYC Matte Me Crazy as the base, 2 coats of Seduce Me, 2 coats of Boom Boom Pow, and Sparitual Multi-Tasker Base and Topcoat to finish it off.

Thanks for reading!

March 19, 2016

NOTD: March 19, 2016


This is Julep Paula (from this haul). It's a Persian blue with purple shimmer through it! Very rich and pretty!

I used butter London Nail Foundation as the base, two coats of Paula, and I topped it off with Sparitual Multi-Tasker Base and Topcoat.

I like it!

Thanks for reading!

March 17, 2016

Winners Haul!


L to R: Zoya Crystal, China Glaze Seduce Me, Zoya Anastasia

Look what I found! More pretties to play with! Gotta love Winners! These three were only $15 including tax!

Expect some NOTDs featuring these coming soon!

Have you found any great deals recently?

Thanks for reading!

March 07, 2016

NOTD: March 7, 2016


This spring-appropriate NOTD is Julep Julep (brand name then polish name, not a typo) with Julep London as the accent!

Julep is the perfect orchid, a very flattering shade for most, and a happy medium between pink and purple!

London surprised me with more depth on the nail than in the bottle, and I'm happy it isn't a complete dupe for Sally Hansen Lacey Lilac or one of my many (mani) lighter purples!

I used NYC Matte Me Crazy as the base, 2 coats of both Julep and London and topped it off with Sparitual Multi-Tasker Base and Topcoat!

Love this one!

Thanks for reading!

March 05, 2016

NOTD: March 5, 2016


I finally caved and bought from the OPI Gwen Stefani collection! This pretty pink is Hey Baby! I used NYC Matte Me Crazy as the base, 2 coats of Hey Baby, and topped it off with Sparitual Multi-Tasker Base and Topcoat

While this wasn't a unique colour, it was good quality! Everyone needs a basic pink mani every now and then!

Thanks for reading!

March 03, 2016

NOTD: March 3, 2016


This sparkly mani is Julep Delores (from this haul)! I used Butter London Nail Foundation as my base, 1 coat of Delores (AMAZING!) and I topped it all off with Orly Top2Bottom.

Easy, fast, and gorgeous! Super happy this polish, although I will say the holo doesn't compare to Glam Polish!

Do you love holos?

Thanks for reading!

March 01, 2016

February Empties!

Another great month of empties! I'm on a roll!


L to R: Dr. Scholl's Odour Destroyers All Day Deodorant Spray Powder, Secret Clinical Strength Clear Gel with Olay Beauty Anti-perspirant, GlamGlow ThirstyMud Hydrating Treatment

Dr. Scholl's Odour Destroyers All Day Deodorant Spray Powder: See review here. Have already repurchased!

Secret Clinical Strength Clear Gel with Olay Beauty Anti-perspirant: This is probably my favourite scent and formula from Secret! It just works! And this "Olay Beauty" scent is the most to my liking. Clean without powder!

GlamGlow ThirstyMud Hydrating Treatment: From this haul. I've been reading rave reviews about GlamGlow for a while now, and with my skin so parched I pulled this out and gave it a go! I got 2 uses out of this packet. This is not a typical mask and shouldn't be treated as such. This is more of a leave on treatment and is probably best to do before bed. I loved the scent of the mask, luxurious and delicious (seriously I considered eating it!), it smells of honey with sweet coffee and something else I can't quite put my finger on. Anyways, after using this treatment my dehydrated skin was soft and rehydrated for 2-3 days afterwards. I also liked how easy this was to use, put it on clean skin and just leave it on. Easy peasy! I will consider buying this once I'm through my mask / treatment hoard.


L to R: Clean & Clear Advantage Blackhead Eraser Scrub, Selection Organic Makeup Remover Pads, Bath & Body Works Peach Bellini Gentle Foaming Hand Soap

Clean & Clear Advantage Blackhead Eraser Scrub: There was nothing special about this facial scrub, it didn't "erase" my blackheads, and I didn't love the cream texture with the exfoliating beads. I prefer Neutrogena Acne Wash Pink Grapefruit. I will not repurchase.

Selection Organic Makeup Remover Pads: Standard no-name brand cotton pads. These are thinner than some, but still do a good job at toning and nail polish removal. Truth be told these are tied for third place cotton pads for me: first is an as yet reviewed Costco brand that will likely be in my March empties post, second is Quo, and tied for third with Selection is Compliments. They do the job and are cheap! Will repurchase if the first and second choices aren't available!

Bath & Body Works Peach Bellini Gentle Foaming Hand Soap: Love the subtle and lingering scent of this BBW soap! It's like fancier peaches! Also who doesn't love a peach bellini - they're pretty much the only decent item at Milestones! Well I like this formula, foaming hand soap doesn't do me any favours during the dry winter months, every time I wash my hands with these I feel the moisture sapped right out of them. I will repurchase, but only during Spring and Summer!


L to R: Buxom Lash Mascara, Orly Top2Bottom, nails inc. Stratford

Buxom Lash Mascara: Same as previous review here. This is from this haul, and I believe I now have no backups of this mascara. I will not repurchase and I will not use my Sephora Lashstash coupon to get the full-size.

Orly Top2Bottom: From this haul. This lasted me a looonnnggg time. And it's the teensiest cutest bottle. I used this primarily as a top coat. But it did a good job of drying quickly, not bubbling, and adding shine! If I didn't have 5 or 6 other bottles of top coat, I would repurchase. I need to use up at least 4 of those bottles before contemplating buying a top coat, so we'll see how this stacks up then!

nails inc. Stratford: From this haul. Sadly this is dried to the bone with no hope of salvaging (plus with 200+ nail polish, this one just isn't special enough to make a trip to a beauty supply outlet to buy nail polish thinner. Harsh but true). This looks more interesting in the bottle than on the nail. As you can see from the NOTD below, it's just a plain old gold on the nail:



Life is too short to keep dried out nail polish, so Stratford is getting the boot!


L to R: Secret Scent Expressions Antiperspirant Va-Va Vanilla, Smashbox Jet Set Waterproof Eye Liner in Vamp, Calvin Klein One

Secret Scent Expressions Antiperspirant Va-Va Vanilla: See review here. Probably won't repurchase.

Smashbox Jet Set Waterproof Eye Liner in Vamp: I bought this for $10 on sale at Sephora a few years ago. Sadly it's dried up and unusable now. It was a unique purpley brown with shimmer in it. It wasn't the creamy gel eye liner I've tried, but it was the most unique colour! I've come to the realization that I just don't reach for gel eye liners as often as my pencil eye liners, so I likely won't repurchase. If you are a gel eye liner aficionado I highly recommend this shade! Perfect for those with brown, green, or hazel eyes!

Calvin Klein One: I received this deluxe size fragrance for Christmas MANY years ago. It took probably more than 5 years to use up. This is why I like fragrance sets better than full-size bottles, fragrance lasts forever! Sephora lists the notes as bergamot, cardamom, fresh pineapple, papaya, jasmine, violet, rose, nutmeg, and musk. I interpret it as more of a citrus-y fresh fragrance. Really reminds me of Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue. I liked this well enough (even though it wasn't my typical sweet and fruity fragrance), but I have too many perfumes on the go to contemplate buying anything!


L to R: Stila Stay All Day 10-in-1 HD Illuminating Beauty Balm, Balea Defrizzing Hair Mask Mandarin & Grapefruit

Stila Stay All Day 10-in-1 HD Illuminating Beauty Balm: From this haul. First up, this is the only shade offered by Stila, and it isn't a one-size fits all situation. It worked nicely for me, and I liked the light coverage it provided, but those with medium or dark complexions would be out of luck. As I mentioned in January, my hoarding situation is out of control, so I will revisit whether or not to repurchase once I've used up 5 face products.

Balea Defrizzing Hair Mask Mandarin & Grapefruit: I bought this on a whim at a Shoppers trip a while back, and finally put it to use! I found this easier to use than I expected (although it's hard to rip open while you're soaking wet in the shower!). I didn't notice an immediate change in my hair - I'd say it's still as frizzy as normal. It smelled divine while I massaged it in - very citrusy and fragrant. The smell did stay while my hair dried naturally, however after blowdrying the scent was gone. Maybe I will venture out and try more hair masks after this one! Will not repurchase, but it's opened my mind to more hair care choices!

That makes the total count 7 full-size products, 5 deluxe-size products, and 2 foil packets! Another great month! Hopefully I can keep this up in March!

What products did you use up in March?

Thanks for reading!