NOTD: January 16, 2016

This bright pink mani is Sephora by OPI Access 24/7 (from this haul) with Wet N' Wild Party of Five Glitters (from this haul).

I used NYC Matte Me Crazy as the base, 2 coats of Access 24/7 (as the nail line is still visible, I easily could've done 3), 1 coat of Party of Five Glitters and topped it all off with Orly Top2Bottom.

A fun mani and I think the colours went well together!

Thanks for reading!

My Fav NOTD from 2015

Keeping up with the theme of reflecting on 2015, I wanted to pick out my top 10 fav NOTDs from 2015! Again in order from oldest to newest!

Sephora Formula X A+ with nails inc. Old Bond Street (original post). Spunky and fun!

Glam Polish Isengard (original post). Love the name, love the colour, and the holo is breathtaking!

Deborah Lippmann It's Raining Men with Deborah Lippmann Boom Boom Pow (original post). Super classy and can't believe it's a one coater!

Anna Sui Minnie Mouse 300 Nail Colour N (original post). Cute and sweet!

Wet N' Wild Cosmopolitan with butter London Jack the Lad (original post). Surprising that this throwback drugstore polish goes so well with a high end one!

Arcane Lacquer Erudite Charm (original post). Love the name and the combination here!

Sephora by OPI All That Jasmine with Sephora by OPI Havana Dreams with Sephora by OPI Your Wish Is My Command (original post). A super summery skittlette NOTD, plus Your Wish Is My Command has to be one of my favourite colours!

Deborah Lippmann Through The Fire (original post). Classic and elegant. Love.

Color Club Lady Holiday with nails inc. George Street (original post). Color Club Lady Holiday makes the Fav list again! I just love this grey polish, so versatile and understated!

Seche Nostalgic with Julep Judi (original post). Another one-coater makes the list! Vampy purples (or really purples of any kind) are usually my fav once the weather gets cold!

More indies, more single colour NOTDs, more variety in brands! I think 2015 NOTDs were pretty diverse if I do say so myself!

What was your favourite NOTD for 2015?

Thanks for reading!

Sephora Haul!

With all the sales and promos on, I figured it was a good time to pick up some new stuff from Sephora

L to R: Tarte Noir Necessities To-go Kit, Bite Beauty Best Bite Rewind, Buxom Tokens of Temptation Mini Lip Collection, Tarte Power Pigment in True Love, Tarte Easy Glowing Deluxe Cheek Set

Here's a closer look at the sets:

First up Noir Necessities 500 point perk

L to R: Lights, Camera, Lashes Mascara, Opening Act Lash Primer, Best in Faux Extending Fibers, Lipsurgence in Classy, Lights, Camera, Lashes Closeup Lash Liner

Best Bite Rewind: 4 Mini-Matte Creme Lip Crayons

L to R: Aubergine, Coulis, Torte, Cafe

VIBTOKENS Promo Code: Buxon Tokens of Temptation

L to R: Full-On Lip Polish in Erin, Full-On Lipstick in San Francisco, Full-On Lip Cream in Berry Blast

Tarte Power Pigment in True Love

Easy Glowing Set

L to R: Cheek Stain in Dazed, Amazonian Clay Blush in Enthused

Free samples:

L to R: Tokyo Milk Dark Tainted Love, Atelier Cologne Orange Sanguine, Giorgio Armani Fluid Sheer

All in all, I think this was a good haul! Picked up some great products that I really like: Classy, True Love, Dazed, and Torte!

Love the formula of the Bite products, Aubergine lasted almost all day on me - through drinking and eating even!

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!

NOTD: August 31, 2015

This holo spacey mani is Sephora X in Juju (from this haul) with Wet N' Wild Party of Five Glitters (from this haul).

I used NYC Matte Me Crazy as the base, 2 coats of Juju, and 1 coat of Party of Five Glitters on the accent, followed by Orly Top2Bottom as the top coat.

I couldn't quite capture the holographic effect of Juju, it was really strong in natural light, although not as stronger as the indie holos we see.

Thanks for reading!

NOTD: August 28, 2015

My very first skittlette mani!  This perfectly summery mani is three Sephora by OPI polish All That Jasmine, Havana Dreams, and Your Wish Is My Command. All That Jasmine and Your Wish Is My Command are both from this haul. Havana Dreams is from this haul.

I used NYC Matte Me Crazy as the base, 1 coat of All That Jasmine, 2 coats of Havana Dreams and Your Wish Is My Command. I used Orly Top2Bottom as the topper.

Really cute right?

Thanks for reading!

July Sephora Haul!

Sephora recently had some nice promo codes plus exciting deals in the sale section, so I hauled the following:

L to R: Urban Decay After Dark Travel Pencil Set, Tarte Amazon Double-ended Lipstick and Lip Creme in Neutral Peach and Rosy Mauve, Sephora Smoothing Body Scrub in Coconut, Bite Beauty Luminous Creme Lipstick Duo in Fig/Date, and Tarte Magical Moments Deluxe Best Sellers Essential Set

I was so excited to have a second chance at picking up the Tarte Black Friday set that I set my shopping cart up immediately! I've tried Sephora's body scrubs in the past (I had the Mango scent previously), that I had to snatch this up while it was on-sale! The Tarte double-ended lipsticks were on-sale as well with the 2 for $24, I couldn't pass up that deal (they sell for $29 each on Tarte's own website). I've been interested in trying Bite's lipstick formula, having read so many rave reviews, for $12 I figured now was the time to pick it up. And the Urban Decay set I probably didn't need (since I have like 100 eye liners already), but I wanted to hit the free shipping minimum, and I don't have Voodoo or Corrupt, and love the UD formula.

A closer look at the Tarte double-ended lipsticks and UD pencils:

Lipsticks L to R: Neutral Peach, Rosy Mauve
Pencils Top to Bottom: Zero, Voodoo, Corrupt

I've tested out the lipstick side of these and have been impressed. They're creamy and non-drying, with a nice vanilla scent to them! Given my eye liner overload, I've yet to try these out, but I'm sure I'll like them!

A closer look at Bite's double-ended lipstick:

L to R: Fig, Date

Loving the formula of this, super creamy and non-drying! And the colours aren't as dark as they seem here, which is good for a fair skinned girl like me!

A closer look at the Tarte set:

L to R: Amazonian Clay Blush in Magic, Lipsurgence Lip gloss in Magic, Lights, Camera, Lashes Mascara

I like the formula of all three products here having tried them out in the past. The blush is a nice peachy-pink colour, and the lip gloss is light pink with shimmer to it!

I used the promo code JETSET and picked the following three deluxe sized samples:

L to R: Fresh Sugar Lip Polish, Dolce & Gabbana Passion Eyes Mascara, Buxom Full-On Lip Polish in Sophia

I haven't had a chance to try out the mascara or lip gloss, but I've used the Fresh Lip Polish in the past and this deluxe sample will last me a long time!

For my 3 free normal samples I picked:

L to R: Dolce & Gabbana Intenso (didn't choose this, extra sample thrown in), Laura Mercier Foundation Primer in Radiance, Philosophy Live Joyously, and Dior Diorshow Mascara

Super excited to have so many new goodies to play with!

Have you hauled anything recently? Share!

Thanks for reading!

Sephora Haul

Make up addicts will know that Sephora recently had a 15% sale for Beauty Insiders, VIB, and VIB Rouge Members. Not one to pass up a sale, here's what I hauled!

Top row L to R: Omorovicza Queen of Hungary Mist, Hourglass Immaculate Liquid Powder Foundation Mattifying Oil Free, Ole Henriksen Nurture Me Cleansing Cloths: Makeup Removing

Middle row L to R: Kat Von D Lock It Foundation, Sephora Collection Colorful Blush in Raspberry Sheen, Sephora Favourites Lash Stash To Go, Sephora Favourites Time to Prime

Bottom row L to R: Sephora Collection Glossy Gloss in Night Out, Sephora Collection Rouge Infusion Lip Stain in Red Essence, Sephora Collection Glossy Gloss in Berry Shake

This Sephora Collection Set is called the Berry Lip & Cheek Kit, and I thought it was a steal at $20! I have at least 2 other Sephora Collection blushes, and am always looking to expand my blush collection, I also have a Glossy Gloss from one of the lip kits and found it quite good, so I'm happy to have 3 new deeper lip colours!

Lash Stash To Go Top to Bottom: Josie Maran Argan Black Oil Mascara, Lancome Hypnose Drama Mascara, Tarte Lights, Camera, Flashes Mascara, Blinc Amplified Mascara, Too Face Better Than Sex Mascara

I love these mascara sets as you get 3 samples (which last me anywhere from 2-3 months) and a voucher for a free full-size mascara of your choice! Before purchasing this I already knew I liked the Lancome and the Tarte, so it's just a bonus to try out new mascaras! I will say the first one I've tried is the Too Faced, and I'm a bit disappointed, the volume and length wasn't the best I've seen on my lashes and by 5 pm I had raccoon eyes. Mind you the day I tested this was a long and exhausting day, so I will give it another shot!

Time to Prime L to R: Formula X Prime Base Coat, Hourglass Veil Mineral Primer, Smashbox 24 Hour Photo Finish Shadow Primer, Urban Decay Subversion Lash Primer, Bite Beauty Line & Define Primer, Living Proof Prime Style Extender

I was sold on the variety in this collection, a nail base (which I can always use more of!), a face primer, an eye shadow primer, a mascara primer, a lip primer, and a hair product! I'm particularly interested in trying out Hourglass (which I hear great things about), Bite (as anything that makes my lips look better I'm down with), and Urban Decay (who doesn't love a good lash primer?)

So that's what I picked up, I'm happy with the variety and having more new goodies to play around with!

Did you pick up anything from Sephora during their recent sale? If so what?

Thanks for reading!

February Empties!

I would say I had another successful month of empties!

L to R: Dolce & Gabbana Pour Femme, Stila Stay All Day Waterproof Volumizing Mascara, Tom Ford Velvet Orchid

Dolce & Gabbana Pour Femme: I received this as a free sample from a Sephora purchase, This is described as having notes of neroli, raspberry, green mandarin, jasmine, orange blossom, guimauve, vanilla, heliotrope, and sandalwood. I quite like this one, it's a sweet yet seductive fragrance I would be happy to get a full size of! Another winning fragrance for Dolce & Gabbana!

Stila Stay All Day Waterproof Volumizing Mascara: (from this haul). This is a waterproof mascara, and difficult to remove even with eye makeup remover. I found it to be a bit clumpy and it dried out fairly quickly, Will not repurchase

Tom Ford Velvet Orchid: (sample from this haul). This scent is described as having notes of cool citrus, floral petals, honey, and rum. I'd describe it as quite musky and floral (but a heavy floral if that makes sense). I was glad that this was a 1 time use sample as I wasn't a fan and found it to be longer lasting on my skin. Will not purchase.

L to R: Sephora Full Action Extreme Effect Mascara, Make-Offs Hypoallergenic Cotton Rounds, Julep Eden

Sephora Full Action Extreme Effect Mascara: (from this haul). I enjoyed this mascara, however I did find that by the end of the day it would be smudged under my eyes. It didn't clump and definitely volumized my lashes. However I'm not aiming for that raccoon look so I will not repurchase.

Make-Offs Hypoallergenic Cotton Rounds: these are just your generic cotton rounds, bought at Longo's because of the price. These did have a lot of fluff making them unideal for nail polish removal, will not repurchase.

Julep Eden: One of my first Julep polish (I think it came in my second Maven box), Eden has unfortunately separated past the point of being fixable. The brush is gloopy with polish, and the consistent of the polish has become thinner than nail polish remover, I shook and shook and no luck. So this is the end of Eden. 

Have you had to throw out any nail polish?

Thanks for reading!

NOTD: January 12, 2015

Today's mani is a long untried polish that really surprised me!

This is Sephora by OPI Never Enough Shoes (from this haul) with Julep Gianna (from this haul) on the accent. I used Orly Top2Bottom as the base and top coat, with 2 coats of Never Enough Shoes and one coat of Gianna.

This photo doesn't do Never Enough Shoes justice, so here's another attempt

This captures more of the sparkles in Never Enough Shoes's black base, here it reads mostly red but in person its bronze and a bit of green that I detect most.

I'm really liking Never Enough Shoes, despite my bias against dark nail colours. Gianna is just meh to me, nothing too special.

Which polish have surprised you recently?

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!

Sephora Black Friday Haul!

A bit delayed, for that I apologize, but here's what I hauled from Sephora's Black Friday sale!

Deborah Lippmann Party Mix Set L to R: Fashion, Whatever Lola Wants, Let's Go Crazy, Between the Sheets, Good Girl Gone Bad, 99 Luftballons, It's Raining Men, Through the Fire, Boom Boom Pow

For freebies I received my Sephora birthday gift, the Pampered Party Prep Code, as well as the usual 3 free samples. There were so many freebies that I had to take 2 pictures!

L to R: Viktor & Rolf Flowerbomb, MUFE Rouge Artist Natural in N9, MUFE Smoky Extravagant Mascara, Benefit Stay Flawless Primer, CoverFX Calming Primer, Glamglow Powermud Dual Cleanse Treatment, Lancome Advanced Genefique Youth Activating Concentrate, Dermadoctor KP Duty Exfoliating Body Scrub, BECCA Ultimate Coverage Complexion Creme in Fair and Light

L to R: Living proof Satin Hair Serum, Laura Mercier Flawless Skin Face Polish, Fresh Seaberry Moisturizing Face Oil, NUDE Perfect Cleanse Omega Cleansing Jelly

I also picked up some gifts for friends and family for Christmas! I'm definitely excited for expanding my DL nail polish collection, and actually like all of the shades! I'm also excited to have a new lippie to play with as well as a few more primers to try!

Which sample should I focus on using up first?

Thanks for reading!

20% Off Sephora Haul

Another Sephora haul! This haul took so long to ship that Sephora credited me 250 points (just enough to keep me happy), this is what I picked up in early November when Sephora was running it's annual 20% off event

L to R: Tocca The Naughty List Rollerball Set, Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Cosmetics Color Pencil in Anti-Feathered, Josie Maran Infinity Lip and Cheek Creamy Oil Duo, nails inc. Autumn Winter Collection

I was definitely intrigued to try 3 different scents from a new-to-me brand! The scent descriptions for the Naughty List appealed to me more, being described as more sweet and vanilla than floral. Upon first sniff they're a bit muskier than I'd like, but they just might grow on me!
I love the idea of cream cheek colours and enjoy using Josie Maran's Coconut Gelee formula, so I figured I'd pick up this mini set as well (they're tiny!).
Of course I can never say no to nail polish, and was intrigued by the bright blue and deep burgundy-ish purple in this nails inc. set.
The final item added to my cart was this clear lip liner from OCC, as I've been eyeing clear lip pencils for a while to keep my lipsticks from sliding all around my mouth, and I bit the bullet and decided to start with a good brand whose lip products I've reasonably enjoyed.

Here's a closer look at the products outside of their packaging:

L to R: Cleopatra, Margaux, Colette, Everlasting Honey, Timeless Coral, Regent Street, Old Bond Street, St. Martin's Lane, George Street, Oxford Street, and Kensington Place

Here are the freebies I got:

L to R: Origins GinZing Energy-Booster Moisturizer, Urban Decay Urban Obsessions Set, Becca Ever-Matte Poreless Priming Perfector, Formula X A+, Pharrell Williams GIRL

Here's a closer look at the Urban Obsessions Set:

L to R: Skimp, Bust, Guilt, Oil Slick, bottom is Zero

Overall I think I got good value for my money here! And I'm loving the Urban Decay set!

What did you pick up during this sale?

Thanks for reading!