NOTD: October 30, 2014

 

This is 2 coats of Julep Tatum (from this haul). I used a coat of NYC Matte Me Crazy as the base and topped this with my Revlon Multi-Care Base+Top coat.

 

So it's not the first Fall / Halloween shade that comes to mind, but to me green nails with this frostiness to them reminds me of glow in the dark slime or other oozy green stuff!

 

When I picked Tatum I was worried that it would be too similar to 2 other Julep greens I own: Mackenzie and Leah. Luckily I think these are different enough from each other to not be dupes, but I definitely don't need much more in the way of light green polish from Julep!

 

What's on your nails for Halloween?

 

Thanks for reading!

First Indie Polish Haul!

I have finally jumped on the indie polish bandwagon! I'd been ooing and ahhing indie polish from a far, but didn't purchase any until I found out about Harlow & Co a Canadian company that sources and sells over 40 different indie brands! Not only do I love supporting a Canadian beauty business, but for orders over $50, shipping is free! I hate paying shipping on orders so this was another point that helped me bite the bullet and delve into the world of indie polish!

 

L to R: Girly Bits Save Your Scissors, Glam Polish Isengard, Love Thy Polish He Lives In You, KBShimmer Look High and Holo, Lac Attack Moony

Girly Bits Save Your Scissors is described as a "lavender crelly base with neon pink hexes and squares, lavender, plum, and teal hexes, aqua and white dots, and sparks of silver holo". I'm a huge fan of purple polish, and I love how unique this polish is. Plus how cute is the brand's logo?

Glam Polish Isengard was a must-have for me. I'm a huge Lord of the Rings fan and it was hard to decide which polish from this collection was the one I would get (first...lol). I decided on Isengard due to the beautiful purple to blue shift, although I might just have to collect the whole collection since it combines two of my favourite things, Lord of the Rings and polish!

Love Thy Polish He Lives In You is described as a "medium gray base with white, orange, and blue glitters". Plus it's based on Rafiki from The Lion King. No-brainer!

KBShimmer Look High and Holo is described as a "raspberry jelly base loaded with holographic glitter". As you can see, this was my attempt to stray away from purples, blues, and grays!

Lac Attack Moony was my Harry Potter pick. I'm also a huge Harry Potter fan, and was originally going to choose The Brightest Witch, but I read some reviews about it being a bit hard to work with so I settled on Moony instead (and Remus Lupin is one of my favourite characters!). Moony is a "silvery blue foil with tiny flakes in it, some of which flash purple"

 

These 5 polish cost $50.40 before taxes and I am super excited that I get to try out 5 indie brands in the process!

 

Have you tried indie polish? Which indie brand should I look into next?

 

Thanks for reading!

NOTD: October 19, 2014

 

I love this Satin finish mani! This is two coats of Julep Quinn (from this haul), I used my NYC Matte Me Crazy as the base, and didn't use a top coat to keep the Satin Finish effect that was the selling point of this polish.

 

This colour is a bit hard to describe, kind of blue, kind of gray. I like it!

 

Have you tried any Satin finish polish? Do you think this is a passing fad or something that'll stay around for a while?

 

Thanks for reading!

NOTD: October 17, 2014

 

A fun sparkly mani! This is two coats of Sparitual Strike a Pose (from this haul) with one coat of nails inc. Electric Lane (from this haul) as the topper. I used NYC Matte Me Crazy as the base and topped this mani with Revlon Multi-Care Base+Top Coat.

 

I was kind of hoping when I picked up Strike a Pose that as the bottle was matte glass that the polish would be of a similar finish - alas that was not true and it's a basic sheerish pink (two coats still has visible nail line). Luckily, this is still different enough from other pinks I own, and I will get use out of it!

 

Thanks for reading!

Julep September Maven Box

I couldn't resist the colours and offerings from Julep in September...

 

L to R: Quinn, Lupita, Plush Pout Lip Crayon in Aurora

This month I went with Classic With a Twist, my first time choosing that offering from Julep since I joined (the quiz gave me It Girl, but I often order Bombshell if the product is interesting).
I was sold on this box because I love lip crayons - who doesn't they're the easiest lip colour application method! and I really like satin finish polish! Lupita was a nice bonus red nail colour for me!

I have noticed Julep's shipping is taking longer and longer each month, luckily I haven't noticed any change in the quality of the polish.

I skipped October, none of the polish were must haves for me, and I'm a bit polished out right now - I have over 40 polishes I've yet to use once.

Which Maven box did you get for September and/or October?

Thanks for reading!

 

NOTD: October 14, 2014

 

Another NOTD! This is one of my favourite colours - purple! This is 2 coats of nails inc. Bond Street (from this haul) with Julep Queen Anne (from this haul) on half of my ring finger. I used my NYC Matte Me Crazy as the base coat and topped the mani off with Revlon Multi-Care Base+Top Coat.

 

I really like this Gel formula from nails inc. it was quite glossy on its own, however Queen Anne dried semi-matte so I added a top coat for extra shine and consistency! My one complaint was how dark and vampy this purple was, in the bottle it seems more medium purple and this is almost eggplant in my opinion.

 

Have you tried nails inc.'s new formula? What did you think?

 

Thanks for reading!

September Empties

Another month, more empties! I think I did quite well for September!

 

 

Neutrogena All-in-One Make-Up Removing Cleansing Wipes: Same review as April Empties. Can't get much easier than these!

 

 

L to R: Live Clean Argan Oil Restorative Conditioner, Korres Volcanic Minerals Volumizing Mascara

 

Live Clean Argan Oil Restorative Conditioner: I picked this up on sale at Shoppers due to the brand's promise of environmental friendliness and the promise of argan oil. I loved the French vanilla scent this had (reminds me of the old St. Ives French Vanilla Conditioner I used to love, that I can't seem to find anywhere now). This made my hair feel soft and somewhat managed my frizz. I generally flit from conditioner to conditioner, but I like this enough to consider repurchasing.

 

Korres Volcanic Minerals Volumizing Mascara: from this haul. This mascara works really well for me! Not only does it add a lot of volume (without clumps!) it also lengthens and adds the perfect hint of a curl for my lashes! I loved this sooo much I snatched up the full-size version at Sephora that was on sale for $12! This could be my HG mascara!

 

 

L to R: KIT Quilted Square Cosmetic Pads, Dr.'s REMEDY Non-Acetone Enriched Nail Polish Remover

 

KIT Quilted Square Cosmetic Pads: Average, run-of-the-mill cotton pads, however I found these snagged on everything and left behind wisps of cotton. Will not repurchase.

 

Dr.'s REMEDY Non-Acetone Enriched Nail Polish Remover: from this haul. This nail polish remover has a garlicky scent (think garlic-based alcohol) but does the job. Maybe not the fastest to use, but gets even the toughest glitters off eventually. I like that my nails seemed stronger after using this remover, and if the bottle weren't so small I'd consider repurchasing.

 

 

L to R: Secret Clinical Strength Invisible Solid Anti-Perspirant in Completely Clean, Ducray Squanorm Shampoo, Benefit BADgal Lash Mascara

 

Secret Clinical Strength Invisible Solid: I found this anti-perspirant as effective as the gel formula, but it didn't stain my t-shirts! That's always a plus, this is less of a mess to apply as well and I have already purchased a replacement!

 

Ducray Squanorm Shampoo: see review here. Repurchased and will continue to repurchase.

 

Benefit BADgal Lash Mascara: from this haul. This is the middle of the road of the 3 mascaras I finished up in September. This gives the volume and slight hint of curl similar to Korres, but unfortunately by the end of most days, I do have a bit of smudging under my eyes that I don't get with other mascaras. If only Benefit fixed this issue, this could be HG mascara contender! I still have another sample of this mascara, but at this point I will not be repurchasing.

 

 

 

L to R: Yves St. Laurent Glossy Stain in No. 9 Rouge Laque, Tarte Clean Slate Flawless 12-hr Brightening Primer, Buxom Lash Mascara

 

Yves St. Laurent Glossy Stain in No. 9 Rouge Laque: from this haul. This is a bright, orangey-toned red. Similar to No 7 Corail Aquatique (reviewed last month) this is pretty long lasting and lacks the stickiness that most people hate about glosses. I used up the applicator brush last month so used my lip brush to apply it, I definitely found this method much more difficult than the spongey applicator and got some clumping / unevenness. I also hated this colour on me, it was too orangey and bright and I felt a bit clownish wearing this out in public (especially since I couldn't get it as even as I'd have liked). I couldn't even use up all of this sample, and will definitely not purchase in this colour.

 

Tarte Clean Slate Flawless 12-hr Brightening Primer: I got this deluxe size in a kit of minis sold at Sephora two Christmases ago. I find this primer okay, but not the best (I like Too Faced's version much better as it blurs imperfections more). It has a light citrusy scent to it which is pleasant, and feels moisturizing on the skin.

 

Buxom Lash Mascara: from this haul. Of the 3 mascaras I used up this month this was my least favourite. But was by no means a bad mascara. No clumping or raccoon eyes, and definitely elongated my lashes. However, I prefer mascaras that both volumize and lengthen my lashes. I still have another sample of this to get through, but I don't think I'll be buying this again.

 

All in all a pretty successful month of empties for me! 6 full-size items, 4 deluxe-size items, and one sample!

 

What products did you use up in September?