March Empties!

Even more empties this month as I moved last weekend and decided to purge some items! I'd definitely been holding onto some stuff for too long! There'll likely be another purge soon as well since I'm moving outside of Canada and won't be able to bring much with me! More on that later though!

L to R: Nails Inc. Marylebone, Nails Inc. Chester Street, Nails Inc. Porchester Square, ELF Cream Eyeliner in Copper

Nails Inc. Marylebone: Unfortunately this is hard as a rock, which is too bad because this was a one-coater glitter, and I loved the colour combination of purple, pink, and silver! Life is too short to cry over hardened nail polish, and I have plenty more to use before I pick up a replacement / dupe. Click here to see it in action.

Nails Inc. Chester Street: This was a meh polish for me and I'm not too sad it's turned into a gloopy mess. There are more flattering taupes out there for me to try out!

Nails Inc. Porchester Square: Another hardened Nails Inc. mini, definitely a sign that I just can't use these up quick enough and there might be a flaw in their formula / packaging. This wasn't too flattering on me either.

ELF Cream Eyeliner in Copper: I bought this a few years back for $3, unfortunately it's all dried up and unusable now. I liked the shimmery brown shade, but it did take a few passes to build up opacity. I have too many eyeliners already and will not be replacing this with anything! I don't find myself reaching for a gel eyeliner as much as a pencil.

L to R: Ulta Brilliant Color Lip Gloss in 15, Revlon Super Lustrous Lip Gloss in Pink Afterglow, Martina Lip Balm in Vanilla, Bath & Body Works Anti-Bacterial Hand Gel in Maui Mango Mai Tai

Ulta Brilliant Color Lip Gloss in 15: While this wasn't fully used up (it was about 2/3 empty), the container was a sticky mess, so it's being tossed. This was a "my lips but better" lip gloss for me, and I loved the vanilla scent. It was a bit sticky, and there are better glosses on the market so I won't be picking this up again.

Revlon Super Lustrous Lip Gloss in Pink Afterglow: This was only 1/3 empty, but the container was even stickier and messier than the Ulta one. I'd been storing it in it's own ziploc bag for years now and I've decided to clear some space and just toss it! Too much effort to have to wash your hands clean of sticky gloss after using this! This was a glitter bomb high-shine lip gloss. I liked the colour of the gloss, but too much shimmer for 2016 and this is a sticky gloss that tends to migrate all over your face when wearing. Gross. Will not be replacing.

Martina Lip Balm in Vanilla: This was super old and needed to get tossed! While I liked the consistency, the bit of shimmer, and the scent, I'm not a fan of lip balms you use your fingers to apply with! Will not repurchase

Bath & Body Works Anti-Bacterial Hand Gel in Maui Mango Mai Tai: I liked this scent! Fruity and tropical!

L to R: Quo Nail Polish Remover Strengthening, Delon Premium Cosmetic Cotton Rounds

Quo Nail Polish Remover Strengthening: This did a great job removing polish. Will likely repurchase

Delon Premium Cosmetic Cotton Rounds: These are my HG cotton pads! Perfect texture, no fluff, good strength! Highly recommend! I found these at Costco so I have about 5 more packs of them to get through!

I used up 7 full-size products and 3 deluxe-size products in March!

What did you use up in March?

Thanks for reading!

NOTD: October 5, 2015

Another attempt at nail art! And I'm pretty happy with the result!

This NOTD is 2 coats of Sephora by OPI Fit For Royalty (from this haul) with Quo by Orly Instant Artist Foil Gold used to for the art. I used NYC Matte Me Crazy as the base and Orly Top2Bottom as the top coat.

I'm really happy with this result and will definitely try to use my Instant Artist polish is more upcoming nail art NOTDs!

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!

August Empties!

A less successful month of empties, but empties nonetheless!

L to R: Live Clean Monoi Oil Strengthening Conditioner, Quo Cosmetic Pads

Live Clean Monoi Oil Strengthening Conditioner: I really liked how soft and strong this conditioner made my hair feel! The scent was so tropical too, a bit of coconut and something else I can't wrap my nose around. I also really like that Live Clean is a Canadian-owned environmentally company! I will definitely pick up more products from them!

Quo Cosmetic Pads: I think these might be my ideal cotton pads, these are cheaper than the "Luxury" ones, and yet strong enough to handle glitter nail polish removal. Will definitely repurchase!

What did you use up in August?

Thanks for reading!

NOTD: April 21, 2015

The last 2 polishes from my Quo by ORLY Sugar Collection (see this haul). This is 2 coats of Bubblegum Bitch with 1 coat of Liquor is Quicker as the accent. I didn't use a base coat or a top coat for this mani.

I was really impressed with Liquor is Quicker being a one coater!

Are you a Marina and the Diamonds fan?

Thanks for reading!

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!

NOTD: December 24, 2014

Merry Christmas! Here's my holiday themed mani! This is two coats of Wet N' Wild SaGreena the Teenage Witch with Quo by Orly Instant Artist Gold on the accent. I used Orly Top2Bottom as the base to keep my nails from staining!

What polish is on your nails for the holidays?

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

NOTD: September 19, 2014

 

Another pink mani! This is 1 coat nails inc. Devonshire Row (from this haul) on the index and pinky fingers and 3 coats of unnamed Quo by Orly that I'm calling My Heart is Nuclear (from this haul) on the middle and ring fingers. I topped this mani with my Revlon Multi-Care Base+Top coat.

 

I was really impressed with Devonshire Row, there aren't too many one-coaters out there, but with a careful hand this definitely is one of them!

 

What one-coaters do you own?

 

Thanks for reading!

NOTD: September 7, 2014

 

I usually find neutrals a bit boring, but this manicure is oogle worthy! I started with a coat of NYC Matte Me Crazy! and added 2 coats of Sephora Formula X in Invincible (from this haul), then added 2 coats of Quo by Orly that I'm calling Candy is Dandy (the leftmost shade from this haul), I then topped all nails except my ring finger with Revlon Multi-Care Base+Top Coat (it's my goal to empty it out by the end of the year), the ring finger has 4 coats of NYC Matte Me Crazy! kind of proving that the mattifying powers of the formula aren't all that strong in this polish combo.

 

What do you think?

 

Thanks for reading!

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 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!

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!

June Empties

Living Proof No Frizz Nourishing Styling Cream: I got this sample from this haul. This sample was generously sized I got at least 5 or 6 uses out of this on my medium coarse hair. I found this made my hair feel softer but not necessarily less frizzy. I think I still have another sample of this so more time to decide if I like this enough to purchase.

Quo Luxury Cotton Pads: These are super soft and really good quality cotton pads, one side is ridged and the other isn't, making it good both for applying toner (with the exfoliating ridged side) and for nail polish removal (with the unridged side). I do really really like these, but think they're a bit pricey at around $7 a package. I will repurchase, but also really like the Our Compliments ones as well!

Band-Aid Advanced Healing Blister Cushions: These Band-Aids are lifesavers! Totally save blistered feet! Highly recommend for those who suffer blisters on their feet and/or heels! When you take the Band-Aid off after a long day the blister is generally gone or needs one more day to heal! Will definitely repurchase!

Secret Clinical Sport Anti-Perspirant: Same formula as the Waterproof or Lavender scents, but this is more of a powder scent, which I don't love. I don't think this works any better than the other scents, so I tend to only repurchase when this one is on sale.

Andrea Eye Q's Eye Makeup Correctors Oil Free: I bought this from Winners (haul here). I didn't use these up quickly enough and they dried out with the last 10 or so in the container. I liked these particularly for cleaning my eyeliner sharpener after use or fixing an eyeliner mistake. These did feel greasy and I didn't like how quickly they dried up so I won't repurchase.

What products did you use up in June?

Thanks for reading!

Mini Shoppers Haul!

The other day at Shoppers I was perusing the clearance section and I found this baby on sale!

Quo by Orly Sugar set! I'm sad that none of these babies have names, so I'm going to name them myself! Feel free to leave comments with suggestions for names! I'm thinking of a dessert-theme to go with the Sugar set!

Thanks for reading!

NOTD: December 27, 2013

Another attempt at nail art! This is NYC Greenwich Village (from this haul) over Revlon Multi-Care Base+Top Coat with Quo by Orly Instant Artist in Dark Purple used for the stripes on the accent nail.

Not too bad right? I was really impressed by the NYC nail polish, it dried quickly, had great shine and lasted longer than expected!

Thanks for reading!

September Empties

Used up more items this month! *Pat on the back* Without further ado, here are my thoughts on my empty products

Dove Damage Therapy Conditioner in Nectarine and White Ginger: I bought this at least 2 years ago (I'm not a regular conditioner user...bad I know).  I bought this more based on the scent than the actual claims.  My hair is actually pretty healthy and not in need of much damage control.  However, I loved the scent of this conditioner! So fruity and sweet, I even went out and bought the matching shampoo! This made my hair feel super soft, but I don't think it did much to deal with my frizzyness and puffiness (which it doesn't claim to help).  Still I will likely repurchase just based on how much I love the scent!

Softsoap Body Butter Strawberry Scrub: I bought this a year back in the hopes that it would exfoliate and moisturize my body in the shower.  The scent is okay, pretty much as it's described, however I did not find this very effective at exfoliating and it was too harsh to use in conjunction with shaving.  Therefore I will likely not repurchase this product.

L to R: Quo Brush Cleanser, Lancôme Bi-Facil Double-Action Eye Makeup Remover, Smashbox Camera Ready BB Cream in Light

Quo Brush Cleanser: I bought this last summer, and used this cleanser daily for my foundation brush and gel eyeliner brush, and as needed for my other less frequently used powder based brushes.  I thought this did a great job removing dirt and product from the brushes and it doesn't have a strong smell. I have already repurchased this in the bigger size and recommend any Canadian makeup lovers check this out at their local Shoppers

Lancôme Bi-Facil Double-Action Eye Makeup Remover: I received this deluxe sample in my Sephora ItKit order last year (that was one of the best promo codes ever!).  This is hands down the best makeup remover I've tried! Does a great job removing all makeup without too much scrubbing and it doesn't leave behind a greasy film.  I will likely repurchase this in the future (but at $35 I'll make sure there's a good GWP going on).

Smashbox Camera Ready BB Cream in Light: I received this sample free from Sephora's VIB week (haul here).  I got about 5 or 6 uses out of this packet (but I prefer a lighter foundation look, so others might have got less uses).  This was actually the right colour for my skin, and I liked the overall look of this BB Cream.  I also like that this offers SPF 35, with fair skin that burns easily this is a selling feature for me.  I'm not sure yet whether I'll purchase this since I'm looking at trying out a number of other BB Creams and tinted moisturizers before deciding, but I did like the way this looked and felt on my skin, so it is definitely a contender!

What products did you use up in September?

Thanks for reading!

August Empties

Sorry it's been so long since my last post, I've had internet issues and have been crazy busy with work.  I did better this month! Used up 5 full-sized products!

L to R: Quo Luxury Cotton Pads, Bic Silky Touch Razors

Quo Luxury Cotton Pads: these are the nicest cotton pads I've used yet! These have one side without texture (just smooth, perfect for nail polish removal) and the other side with ridges that are great for make-up removal! Seriously soft, no lint (which means no mess from nail removal unless it's glitter) and not bad for the price (I think I got these on sale at Shoppers for $2 for the package). I will definitely repurchase these cotton pads!

Bic Silky Touch Razors: these are my fav razors! It might be because they come in cute colours but I also like that they're only 2 bladed razors since that is generally all I need

Andrea Eye-Qs Makeup Remover Pads in Moisturizing

Andrea Eye-Qs Makeup Remover Pads in Moisturizing: I picked these up from this haul here. Loved the price ($5 for both these and the q-tips!). These are effective at removing eye makeup, but they are very greasy and leave a film everywhere that I need to wipe off with Kleenex and wash my face after using. I think if I decide to pick these up I'll opt for the Sensitive version to see if that's less greasy and irritating for my eyes.

L to R: Sunsilk ThermaShine Conditioner, Bath and Body Works Aromatherapy Stress Relief Body Wash and Foam Bath in Vanilla Verbena

Sunsilk ThermaShine Conditioner: I'm not a big user of conditioner in general, I use it about once a week or before straightening my hair.  I got this a while back (probably 4 years ago....) I don't believe SunSilk is still available for sale in Canada, but let me know if I'm wrong.  This doesn't smell particularly nice, it's just the typical soap smell.  I didn't find this made my hair shiny-er, but I also didn't notice any heat damage to my hair (although the use of heat is quite infrequent). I wouldn't buy this again, but because smell is important to me not because I thought this was a bad product.

Bath and Body Works Aromatherapy Stress Relief Body Wash and Foam Bath in Vanilla Verbena: I got this as a Christmas gift a couple of Christmases ago and finally used it up. I love the smell of this body wash, just pure vanilla.  This lathers well so I used it for shaving as well as normal body wash.  I did find that the smell helped relieve tension and calm me (but who's stressed in the shower anyways?).  I would definitely repurchase this body wash, it's one of my favs!

What products did you love in August?

Thanks for reading!