The Bay Mini Beauty Haul!

Recently The Bay had 10-20% off all make-up items, being the hoarder that I am, I couldn't resist!

L to R: Si Giorgio Armani, Always Red Elizabeth Arden, Clinique Cheek Pop in Heather Pop, Philosophy Renewed Hope in a Jar

As everyone is raving about Clinique Cheek Pops I had to try it out for myself! Not only is it the prettiest blush I own, it lasts long and I love the earth-tone pink of Heather Pop! Win!

Did you pick up anything from The Bay recently?

Thanks for reading!

September Empties!

I'm proud of myself this month! A solid month of empties!

L to R: Quo Brush Cleanser, ROC Double Action Eye Make-up Remover

Quo Brush Cleanser: My review of this product has changed since last time (see previous review here). I have since tried another brand of brush cleanser as well as regular old baby shampoo, and this no longer stacks up! While this is perfectly acceptable at cleaning brushes used with powder products, I don't feel it is that effective at cleaning my foundation brush. Will not repurchase as I'd like my cleanser to be effective at all types of cleaning.

ROC Double Action Eye Make-up Remover: Despite my previous review (see here), I did repurchase. It still does the job, but is greasier than I'd like and not as amazing as Lancome Bi-Facil.

L to R: Secret Scent Expressions Antiperspirant in Ooh La-la Lavender, Clinique High Impact Mascara

Secret Scent Expressions Antiperspirant in Ooh La-la Lavender: See original review here. No change to the review, like that it's clear, don't like that it doesn't keep my sweat and odour free!

Clinique High Impact Mascara: from this haul. I actually really really enjoyed this mascara! It was non-clumpy and added volume and length to my lashes! It also managed to last well without smudging throughout the day! I will try to pick up another one of these once my mascara stash diminishes a bit!

L to R: Ole Henriksen Nurture Me Cleansing Cloths Makeup Removing Moringa and Borage Seed Oils, Prada Candy, Ducray Squanorm

Ole Henriksen Nurture Me Cleansing Cloths Makeup Removing Moringa and Borage Seed Oils: from this haul.  These cloths have a gorgeous and refreshing citrusy scent to them! They are passable at removing eye makeup as well. However at $10 for 10 cloths, I'd rather stick to my Neutrogena favourites. These were fun to try out, and maybe I'll pick up when I need some pampering.

Prada Candy: from this haul. See review here. I still love this fragrance, and will keep my eyes open to purchase it on sale!

Ducray Squanorm: Still using and loving! See review here.

Not bad! 4 full-size, 2 deluxe, and 1 sample products down!

What products did you use up in September?

Thanks for reading!

NOTD: August 18, 2015

This is Clinique Hot Date (from this haul). I used NYC Matte Me Crazy as the base, followed by 2 coats of Hot Date, with Orly Top2Bottom as the top coat.

This was a bit on the sheer side, and I might have to try using it for a jelly sandwich!

Thanks for reading!

Makeup Haul from The Bay

I was tempted by several items on sale at The Bay recently and put in an online order!

Top L to R: Illamasqua Skin Base Foundation in 07, Lancome Visionnaire, Shiseido Benefiance Extra Creamy Cleansing Foam, Calvin Klein Enless Euphoria

Bottom L to R: Origins Let Us Glow Set, Clinique Party Lips and Nails Set

Here's a closer look at the sets:

L to R: Chubby Stick in Pudgy Peony, Different Nail Enamel in Hi Sweetie, Different Nail Enamel in A Hot Date, Chubby Stick in Voluptuous Violet

L to R: GinZing Energy-Boosting Moisturizer, GinZing Refreshing Eye Cream, DrinkUp Lip Balm in Berry Splash, and GinZing Brightening Mascara

I'm saving the foundation for the summer when my skin is a bit darker, as the shade looks darker in real life than it did online. I love the Clinique set - chubby lip pencils + nail polish - I'm always in! And the bag is super cute! Also I love that the Origins set is the same cost as just the GinZing moisturizer is normally - what a deal!

Have you picked up anything recently?

Thanks for reading!

NOTD: February 14, 2015

Happy Valentine's Day!

Isn't this cute? This is 1 coat of Clinique Hi Sweetie with 1 coat of Julep Hartleigh - quick and cute! I used NYC Matte Me Crazy as the base and Wet N' Wild Fast Dry as the topper.

I did have to fish and place the heart glitter, but I love the holographic aspect of this glitter! Find myself just staring at my nails!

What are your plans for Valentine's Day?

Thanks for reading!

March Empties

One of my best months for empties!

Cartier Baiser Vole: I received this sample in 2012's Sephora ItKits, this is a bit too powdery for my taste, but I managed to use it up! Definitely not a repurchase.
Apple & Cinnamon Bath & Shower Gel: the third of 5 no-name brand shower gels, this scent was nothing special, and as I've said before (here) this is nothing special, and I won't repurchase.
Givenchy Black Dahlia: I received this one-use sample from this haul, didn't mind the scent, although maybe a bit musky for my taste, hard to give a good review on this with only one use.

Cetaphil Oily Skin Cleanser: the best cleanser I've tried! This is almost my HG cleanser! I love Cetaphil, it's perfect for oily, sensitive skin like mine! Have repurchased the Costco size!

Clinique Even Better Skin Tone Correcting Lotion Skin Types 3, 4: from this haul. I got about 6 or 7 uses out of this foil packet. I liked this lotion enough, but didn't find it hydrating enough for my winter dry skin. Will not repurchase.
Bath & Body Works Berry Twinkle Anti-Bacterial Hand Gel: another hand sanitizer used up! I really liked this berry scent, however it did become a bit discoloured, which was worrying. Will purchase but in a different scent.

Algenist Multi-Perfecting Pore Corrector Concentrate: from this haul. This was probably only 5 uses, I didn't dislike the primer, but it isn't as nice as other primers (Tarte, Smashbox, to name a few), so I won't go out and purchase this.
Givenchy Very Irresistible Electric Rose: received in this haul. The scent is more floral than I usually like, I think I like the original version better.

Lancôme Aqua Fusion Teinte (Continuous Infusing Tinted Moisturizer): This is quite old (gross I know), this is probably my first beauty splurge, back when tinted moisturizers were rare, I heard rave reviews about this one from Lancôme so shelled out $32 on it. It wasn't a great colour match (much too yellow for me), and it didn't provide great coverage (I was delusional when I bought it thinking it would cover all my acne, even though it was light coverage, lol, beauty noob). I do like the feel of this on my skin, but I don't think I'll splurge on this again due to the lack of shades offered.
Chapstick Cherry: a classic beauty item! Who doesn't have a chapstick? The cherry scent is nice, but the colour does come off a bit clownish on me. I will repurchase in a different flavour.
Buxom Amplified Lash Mascara: I bought this here. Well the two wand options was novel, I found that I only used the one option, since my eyelashes don't curl well and volume and length are more important to me. I liked this mascara, but not quite as much as other mascaras I've tried (Lancôme Hypnose Star, CoverGirl Lash Blast Fusion), so I will not repurchase.
Ducray Elution Shampoo: the follow-up treatment to Ducray Squanorm Shampoo. This is a creamy, restorative shampoo that heals the scalp. I really enjoy this shampoo, and haven't found a better dandruff treatment than Ducray Squanorm used in combination with Ducray Elution.

What products did you use up in March?

Thanks for reading!

March 23rd Haul

Yet again another item I could not pass up at Sephora...

As an avid reader, I loved the series Divergent and couldn't make to combine two of my loves into one with this gorgeous Divergent Multi-Piece Collector's Kit!

Inside L to R: Face palette, 3 palettes, 4 lip gloss, double-ended brush

Face palette L to R: Obscure Coral, Misty Rose, Gleaming Pearl, Intelligent Bronze

Eye palette L to R: Transform, Bold Espresso, Intrepid Moss, Golden Honesty, Altruistic Almond

Eye palette L to R: Diverge, Dauntless Ink, Abnegation Stone, Erudite Sapphire, Serene Vanilla

Eye palette L to R: Choose, Burnt Mahogany, Radiant Initiation, Peaceful Shimmer, Humble Sheen

Lip gloss L to R: Supreme Ritual, Fear Not, Natural Virtue, Temptation's Choice

Double-ended brush

I have been loving playing with this so far! The eye shadow that I've tried have been smooth and easy to work with!

I also added a polish to get up to the free shipping amount

Nails Inc. Sweets Way - definitely looking forward to this cute polish, I've been on a real Nails Inc. kick recently!

I used the mystery bag code on the order (sad that the VIBLUXE code was out of stock), here's the sadness that was inside:

L to R: Philosophy Daily Age-Defying Serum, Lancôme Teint Idole Ultra 24H, Sephora Full Action Extreme Effect Mascara, Clinique for Men Face Scrub, Givenchy Black Dahlia

Not a great code, one single use perfume packet, a foil packet, and a men's product, definitely not one of the better Sephora code's I redeemed.

The free samples were even better, they include the 3 I chose plus 2 additional ones!

L to R: Fresh Soy Face Cleanser, Yves St. Laurent Rouge Pur Couture in Rebel Nudes, Marc Jacobs Daisy, Kate Somerville Oil-Free Moisturizer, and Buxom Show Some Skin Weightless Foundation

All in all, lots of new stuff to play with!

Have you read Divergent? Will you pick up any of Sephora's Divergent Cosmetics?

Thanks for reading!

Freebies Haul!

I got some great freebies last week! Check them out!

L to R: Dior Make-up bag, Clinique Make-up bag, Bath and Body Works Coconut Lime Verbena Body Lotion, Bath and Body Works Coconut Lime Verbena Volumizing Shampoo

Back row L to R: Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion+, Clinique All About Shadow Duo 16 Day Into Date, Clinique Colour Surge Eye Shadow Duo Daybreak
Front row L to R: Clinique High Impact Mascara Black, Clinique Almost Lipstick Luscious Honey

So how did I get this all free?

Dior: my mother and I attended a Dior event at The Bay in which I learnt a lot more about make-up, the mua running it was definitely knowledgeable.  My mom ended up making a pretty large purchase (and me the make-up addict of the family restrained herself) and received this gorgeous bag (it has charms on it!) along with several deluxe samples.  I allowed my mom and sister to keep the samples and I scored with this bag! It is likely one of the more high quality make-up bags I own!

Clinique: my friend is a Clinique devotee and after her last purchase I had asked what GWP she'd received, she made another purchase soon after and I ended up with this GWP! Isn't she the best friend?!?

Bath and Body Works: I stayed at a Holiday Inn for a friend's out-of-town wedding and noticed that BBW were the makers of the shampoo and lotion so I snatched these up to try later!

Have you made any great finds, trades, or found freebies recently? Share!

Thanks for reading! 

August Sephora Haul: Part III

To finish up this haul, here are the freebies I got! (Part I and Part II)

Back row L to R: Marc Jacobs Honey
Middle row L to R: bareMinerals Ready Eyeshadow 2.0 The Perfect Storm, Clinique Even Better Skin Tone Correcting Lotion Broad Spectrum SPF 20, Philosophy Living Grace Fragrance, Prada Candy
Front row L to R: Aquolina Pink Sugar, MUFE Smoky Extravagant Mascara

bareMinerals Ready Eyeshadow Duo

Pics of the duo opened. Isn't it pretty? I got this free with the code VIBREADY (I believe this only works for Canadian shoppers, $25 value!)

Clinique Even Better Skin Tone Correcting Lotion Broad Spectrum SPF 20. As I have Combination Oily skin, this should work out well for me, look for a review in an upcoming empties post!

Philosophy Living Grace Fragrance: I wasn't expecting to like this, as I'm not a fan of floral scents.  But I've actually really liking how clean this is. And not too floral or powdery!

So this is kind of a cheat, because I actually got this from Shoppers Drugmart (only interesting thing from that trip). I like the sweetness of this scent, with some musky overtones that add sex appeal.

I have been loving trying Pink Sugar, so sweet, both fruity and with vanilla scents to it. Might have to buy a full size of this one!

MUFE Smoky Extravagant Mascara. I was disappointed that this is a one-time use sample, but maybe I'll be able to figure out a way to get more uses out of it and keep it from drying up? Any suggestions?

Thanks for reading!