Revlon Colorstay Longwear Nail Enamel

I don't think that I've bought drugstore nail polish in ages.  I first saw these at Superstore and was kind of interested but didn't pick them up at the time.  But then my girlfriend bought a few colours that weekend and she wore them.  She wore that colour all week and no chipping, no nothing.  Well, nothing but regular nail growth.  She also has a 2 year old, so she's very active and was able to really test out the polish.  I was completely amazed.

They are supposed to be "gel" based, but not like full on gel nail polish like gelish or CND where you need to cure it.  This just air dries like regular polish and applies like regular polish.  They also advertise it to last 11 days, but that doesn't really mean much.  I mean, I could make my other polishes last 11 days too, but they'll be awful looking.


My first impression of this product was that this STINKS - literally!  I normally don't mind the smell of nail polish, but this stuff gave me a headache.  Imagine, you have the base coat, two colour coats and then the top coat.  YIPES!  


Second, it's really a thick formula.  But that's the beauty of this particular formula.  You normally only need the one thick coat.  It does spread well for such a thick product, but be careful, if it's too thick, then it'll kind of cause bumps on your nail surface.  Not air bubbles but actual bumps. I also found it a little slow drying.  I had to make sure I gave it a little time in between coats, otherwise it would "smudge".  Weird thing is, it didn't smudge like regular nail polishes.  As it dries (and it must be something with the formula),  it creates a weird skin.  It's like the skin that occurs when you let hot milk sit out for a little bit and it forms that weird layer of skin.  You can smooth it back out without having to redo the whole nail, but for myself, I can see the "smudge".  The look of the application looks very much like gelish - where you can see (if you look closely) each and every layer.  Well, at least for myself - the nail polish beginner!

I purchased mine from Wal-Mart for $7.49 each.  I don't know if you can use other base coats and top coats.  I'm assuming that you can, but it may not be as effective.  I put on the base coats, two colour coats and then the top coat.  I have this other top coat that my friend bought this for me from Lebanon (it's this really awesome thick 10 second drying top coat that smells similar to these polishes) that I add on top of the top coat just so I don't have to sit there and wait for the polish to dry and set.

Overall impression: I like them.  I like them a lot.  Mine has lasted me for a week already, whereas with regular polishes, they are usually only good for a couple of days before they start chipping and etc.  This is perfect for people like me, who like the finish and look of nice nails, but are really lazy to try and keep them in good shape (i.e., touch ups, changing polishes and etc).  The polish is a little harder to remove.


There isn't much in the way of selection, there's about 32 colours on the website, but most of the stores seems to only carry about 15 of them.  The colour ranges anywhere between summer brights and muted fall shades.  If you check out the Canadian website, it doesn't even list this product, but if you go the it's American counterpart, it will list all the colours available.

From Left to Right: Wild Strawberry, Marmalade, Stormy Night, Top Coat, Red Carpet, Midnight, Bold Sangria, Blue Slate, Base Coat, Stiletto and Passionate Pink.

The same girlfriend is heading to the states in a few months so I'm going to see if she can get me a few more colours because they have this beautiful light yellow colour and this gorgeous mauve-y purple.  YAY for long wear polishes that actually wear for long periods of time!!!

Another Mini Haul!

I know that most of the sales are over by now, but heck, when I see a really good sale, I need to stop in!  You don't have a soul if you don't stop for sales!  This is a collective haul of things that I've purchased/ordered online over the past week or so.  I hope that you enjoy!

First stop was back at the Body Shop.  I was there the previous weekend where I picked up the rest of their tea tree oil line (for acne prone skin). On my receipt, there was a little coupon for spend $40 and save $15, which was stackable with their buy 3, get 2 free and also with their membership card (save 10%).  I went home and found my receipt from my previous mini haul and I had a coupon on there too!  As I walked in, I spotted another great deal - all of their body butters were on sale for $10 (all except their largest size).  I LOVE their body butters.  They are pretty much the only moisturizer that works on my skin.  Then I went around picking up stuff from their Seaweed line (which I believe is for sensitive skin?).  I picked up the pore perfecter, day cream, clay mask and toner.  I picked up the exfoliator from the tea tree oil line because I didn't pick it up last time.  Since I had the discount card, I actually had to spent $44 in order to be able to use the coupon, so I picked up the Lychee perfume.  I really like it.  It's nice and light.  Fruity with a cherry blossom undertone.  I totally made out like a bandit there.  One thing that was funny though and what I thought was a little strange was that the woman checking out before me probably purchased about $15 worth of stuff and got something like a dozen samples.  I purchased like $60 (this is after all discounts) worth of stuff and I got two.  One of them being the super stinky and gross chocomania lotion.  I apologize if you like it, but this is just not a smell that is for me.  I know that I should be grateful that they even gave me samples, but it makes me a little undervalued as a customer when I see that kind of uneven treatment.

Second and Third stop - Walmart and Shopper's Drug Mart.  Actually, I made like two or three stops there.  I have one that is super close to my work and then one that is super close to my home.  LOL.  Here's a funny story.  I have a MAC blotting powder at work that I use in conjunction with my blotting papers.  I had dropped about 6 inches and one part of it cracked (like a teeny, tiny "corner").  I didn't think anything of it.  Then, they other day when i went to use it, it was really crumbling.  So I turned it upside down over my garbage and tapped.  The whole pan dropped into my garbage.  *sigh*  BUT...one good thing to take out of this story is that I maintain that it counts as hitting pan!!!!  Anyways, I didn't want to go out and buy another one, lest this happens again, so my girlfriend recommended that I try the Physician's Formula powder.  It just so happened that Walmart had this two-pack deal going on.  You purchase the powder and you get the blush for free.  I purchased that and the light bronzer.  The blushes are different in each pack.  It truly was a good deal because the two pack was approximately $19.00, but if you were to buy the items individually, it's $20 each.  I also wanted to try the Mineral wear airbrush powder, so I picked one up.  And the rest is self explanatory.

Fourth - Nailpolishcanada.  This is an online store that is based out of Richmond, BC.  The shipping was super fast and it's free shipping over orders of $29 or more.  I ordered an Orly Love Mini Kit (pinks and red), an Orly mini glitter polish, Essie Luxeffects glitter, Essie Matte top coat, and receive two free Deborah Lippman nail care samples.  I have a lot of pinks and reds, so I don't know why I decided to pick up the Orly Love Mini Kit, but it was my intent to pick up the Essie Matte top coat.  I had seen this black matte base with shiny black tips manicure on a blog and decided that this was what I was going to try.  Man, it was hard!!!!  The matte top coat is weird.  I think that it thins out the polish or something like that.

February Luxe Box

This month's box was red HOT!  Luxe Box and Flare magazine teamed up to put together this month's box and let me tell you, it was FULL of goodies.  So full in fact, I had a hard time trying to open the box up.  Think of a little kid trying to get at a toy that is in a box but doesn't have the dexterity to open it.  Yeah, that was me.

Redken Color Extend Shampoo and Conditioner - Full Size Shampoo 300ml ($15), Conditioner ($17).

I received three of each.  They were the size of the same packets that you would get in a magazine...which is a little ironic....  I don't have colour treated hair and I know that I didn't choose that in my beauty profile.  I think that I actually purposely did not pick things related to hair care.  

Moroccanoil Treatment - Full Size 100ml ($40).

Sample Size - 25ml ($10).  I must admit, I have never tried Moroccanoil before.  This treatment can be used as a conditioning, styling and finishing tool.  You apply a small amount to clean towel-dried hair and style as normal.  Why do companies always assume that people take showers in morning?  Essentially, this sounds like a leave-in conditioner...only better?

Mereadesso - Beautiful Body Balm - Full Size 200ml ($54).

Sample Size - 30ml ($8.10).  WOW!  This is a pricey product.  Honestly, I have never heard of this company before, so I don't know how good this product is.  It seems like mint with oat undertones.  Okay, so maybe I'm not the best at describing this, but it's a unique smell which isn't all too bad.  It applies and spreads easily, even after 5 minutes, it's still a little greasy and sitting on my skin.  After Edit: it took about 15 minutes for the product to be fully absorbed into my skin, which could have been due to many factors.

Mereadesso - Face + Neck Toning Gel - No pricing (perhaps this is a little bonus?)

It's a fair sized sample.  7ml.  I didn't open this because it didn't come in resealable packaging.  I'm not too sure what benefits this gel is supposed to provide or what age group it's aiming for, but I shall try it nonetheless!

Lise Watier - 24 Hours Glam Mascara - Full Size 8ml ($22).

Sample Size - 5ml ($13.75).  I can't wait to try this mascara.  I don't really know why, but I am!  It comes with a a rubber brush - which I have never tried before,  Since I've been using Latisse, I've been looking for that one perfect mascara that I can wear everyday (without costing me a fortune) that will give me those huge doll eyes.  I do have raccooning problems, which is awful because it only accentuates the dark circles (unfortunately for me, going waterproof doesn't stop this problem).  BUT...this mascara is supposed to last all day and all night for an astonishing 24 smudge-free, waterproof, sweat proof, humidity proof hours.

Total Value of Box - $38 (I did a little bit of estimating and rounding to count for the two products that I didn't have sample size values for)

Overall, I'm once again on the fence about this box.  The mascara has got me all hot and bothered, but everything else....I mean, I gave away the shampoo and conditioner to my mom.  It seems like I'm giving away stuff every box.  *SIGH*  To add insult to injury, they got my name wrong!!!  Not like totally wrong, but spelled wrong.  They got it right last month - I think....

Mark: 3/5.

Lise Watier Portfolio Professional Correctors

FACTS: 25g for $31.00.  I purchased mine from London Drugs.  This is a beige corrector.  There are three types, their regular award winning Portfolio Professional Corrector, this new Beige one, and one for Dark Skin - with the latter two being fairly new.


Unfortunately, this is just one of the many products that I purchased without looking up any reviews or doing any research.  It's an okay product.  It's got a great variety of shades, but I don't think that this palette is really meant for my skin tone.  The only colour I mainly used was the Beige Rose corrector (top triangle).  Apparently rose/pink is supposed to be the colour I should be using underneath my eyes to hide those nasty dark circles.  


It's a cream based concealer that applies very well.  I used my fingers to apply this product and it worked great.  It nicely filled in the lines underneath the eye and it illuminated the area slightly.  I did have to apply a few layers of this product to get the desired effect and coverage.  I also used a concealer brush to apply this product and I didn't really find a difference between the two.  Well, no, I guess that's a lie.  I was able to get right up to the lash line with a brush.  But even after a few layers, it didn't get cakey or clumpy - even after I added the concealer and setting powder.  It's quite lightweight for such a thick cream product.


I found that this product was a little pricey for what I was able to use it for (the one colour).  I did like it.  It was very light, I didn't feel it.  I still had to put regular concealer on top of it and set it.  It lasted all day and didn't move.  It also didn't pull my mascara down.  


Overall, I do like the product but I probably won't purchase this product again, just because there was only one colour out of the five that I was able to use.  If they sold the Beige Rose on it's own, I'm there!

Happy Valentine's Day!

I've never been one for fancy pants words and stuff, but I hope that you're all having a good Valentine's day (now, if they made it into a stat holiday, I might be a little more enthused!), no matter if you're a single lady or a taken lady, you're all beautiful and I hope that you get spoiled or spoil yourself today!

First GLOSSYBOX!

Hi All!!!  The battle of the boxes this month has a new competitor!  It's Glossybox.  It originates from the Germany but offers their services world-wide.  I couldn't contain my excitement when I found out that they were expanding to Canada.  This box contains 5 deluxe products (and the occasional something-something!) and is a little more expensive than the rest at $15 per month but this supposedly includes everything from shipping to taxes.  This makes every province's boxes priced differently.  Which to me is weird.  So, for myself, living in Alberta, with only 5% GST, my box is approximately $14.29.  But for someone out east, it's quite possible for their boxes to be $13 (sorry, I don't know what the PST and GST are for the other provinces, but you get my point).  Shouldn't all the boxes be the same price?  Just food for thought.  Enough rambling, here's the GRAND UNVEILING!!!!!!

First impressions: the outside package is great.  It has this tab that you just pull on and it rips across the front of the box and it opens.  I really hate having to use scissors or a knife to open the box - I have fear-of-cutting-myself-and-bleeding-to-death issues, okay?  Don't judge!  The box containing the goodies is a pretty pastel pink with Glossybox's black logo in the middle.  The packaging is black with a pastel pink ribbon.  I like that this ribbon doesn't  have the logo or name of the company on it because then I can reuse it.  There was an envelope on top. Inside was just a couple of cards with product information.  The box itself is very sturdy - way sturdier than Glymm, which says a lot.

In this box, I received...
Ahava Mineral Body Cream - Full Size 250ml for $28.00
I love Ahava, and I think that in my December Glymm box, I got the Mineral Hand Cream.  The hand cream is perfect for my needs, but I don't think that the body cream will be thick enough.  It has the same distinctive smell that I quite enjoy.  



Elizabeth Grant Skin Care Moisturizing Stick - Full Size 5g for $12.00
To be honest, I've never heard of Elizabeth Grant before, but since I'm a huge chapstick fan, I'm happy to receive this product.  There isn't a particular smell to it.  It seems to be a light moisturizing stick.  This reminds of the Dior (I think) moisturizing stick that my mother used to use when I was small and that I would steal from time to time and put on thinking that I was glamming it up and putting on lipstick!


Wella Professionals Brilliance Shampoo for Fine or Normal Color Treated Hair - Full Size 300ml for $13.99
This is definitely a blast from the past.  I remember my grandma using this brand when i was younger and I associate this more with being a perm-shampoo.  I don't have colour treated hair, nor is my hair fine, so I'm not sure I'm going to be using this product.  I'll most likely give it away.  It has a great scent that definitely reminds me of the salon.  



Live in Love from Oscar de la Renta - Full size 30ml for $62.
Sorry I didn't take a picture of the bottle, but this is a substantial perfume sample.  It is very much like the YSL perfume sample that I got my December Glymm box.  It's a mature scent.  One that I would wear to a banquet or fancy dinner.  Lots of people have been saying that it's an "older" scent (like for 40-50 year olds...sorry, but I didn't realize that scents could be categorized as such, but hey, each to their own!).  I wouldn't say that I like it, but it's not gross like the Paco Rabanne ones I've been receiving from Luxe Box. 


Elizabeth Arden's Prevage Day - Full Size 50ml for $160.
This is an intensive anti-aging cream for the day time.  It contains SPF 30.  Helps fight the visible effects of environmental damage and enhances skin's natural moisturizer.  It looks like it's lightly tinted.  There is a strong sunscreen smell to it.  When I first applied it to my hand, it felt very greasy, but applied quite well, but it absorbed quite quickly.  I think that I'm going to try this product out during the weekends, just in case I have a reaction to the product.  At the same time, I'm not sure I need anti-aging products yet, so I might give this to my mom.
The "special" extra goody that I got was a product that I was wanting to try for a while, but it's always been a little on the pricey side so I've never purchased it.  It's the Beauty So Clean sample wipes and mini spritzer.  This product sanitizes your beauty products.  So if you are sharing your powder with your girl because she needs it bad, you can just spritz it on and it's clean and good to go!  At London Drugs (the only place that I've seen this product), the 8ml spritzer sells for $12.50.  I received a full sized product.
My goodies were worth approximately.....
Ahava - my size was 40 ml/$4.48
Elizabeth Grant - my size was 3.5g/$8.40
Wella Shampoo - my size was 50ml/$2.33
Perfume - my size was 4ml/$8.27
Elizabeth Arden - my size 7ml/$22.40
Beauty So Clean - $12.50
For a grand total of $58.38.


My overall impression of the box itself is kind of meh.  It had some good products, but at the same time, it had some "what the?" type of products.  I was disappointed about the travel shampoo...it was for the wrong hair type - I mean, what's the point of taking the survey if they aren't going to send me items that fit my type?  Besides that, I think that there were many growing pains with this box.  I just figured that they would have their stuff straight come the first box because they have been doing such a great job in all the other countries that offer Glossybox.  For starters, when I first signed and received my invoice, it said that I would receive a tracking number with my first box.  No tracking number.  Instead, I had a girlfriend creep on Facebook (this was before I signed up) to see what was up.  To my surprise the boxes had shipped.  And I haven't received my 200 Glossydots for signing up early for "VIP" status (whatever that means).  Secondly, I wasn't happy that I was seeing reviews nearly a week before I even got my box.  They should take a couple of pointers from LuxeBox and their new shipping policy.  I mean, it's fine for some people to get their boxes a couple of days apart, but it's been nearly a week!!!!  Grrrr!  Thirdly, the reviews that I saw were the press boxes.  PRESS BOXES.  And they were fantastic!  They had Essie nail polish, larger deluxe perfume sample...instead we got the shampoo and a smaller size of the perfume.  When people started to complain about the inequality, Glossybox's response was that they didn't want to ruin the surprise, so they made the press boxes different.  WHAT????  I can understand not wanting to ruin the surprise, but don't make the press boxes (that we are coincidently subsidizing) spectacular and everyone else's boring and sub standardly different.  This isn't the way to impress the "other" folk who have to pay for their subscriptions.  I think that I'm going to give it a couple of months and see how it goes, but I think, if I'm disappointed again, I'll have to drop this box.  Seeing how this is the most expensive out of all of them.

Physicians Formula Gentle Cover Concealer Stick in Yellow.

Physicians Formula is a brand that I quite like - for a drugstore brand.  Since I was looking for a colour corrector under my eyes, I was looking for something more on the organic side and just generally healthier/safer for my skin/eyes.  I have the Gentle Cover Concealer Stick in Green (to combat redness) and I love it.  It's great.  You never need a lot and it's nice and creamy.  So, when it came to looking for another one, I instantly thought of PF.  I bought mine at London Drugs for $7.99 (for 4.2g).  It wasn't too pricey like most PF products can be, so I picked it up.


It comes in a lipstick like format.  You can either use a concealer brush to apply (I use a lip brush) or you can apply it directly onto your skin like a lipstick.  Remember to use a primer.  I usually use my eye primer (Urban Decay) under there.  You'll need something that is fast drying and dries with a powder like consistency.  I think that face primer might be too thick of a product and face primer has a tendency to stay a little "wet" even though it's been "absorbed"/sitting on the skin.


My first impression was this was very creamy.  It was also very thick.  It spread well, but it also had a tendency to clump up.  Eeewww...right?  You're probably thinking, "Oh, well that means that you put too much product on".  Nope!  It's really the product itself.  I think, as it warms up, it starts to stick together and hence the clumping.  So you always need to ensure that you get the right amount of product on your skin the first go around.  You also have to be quick when blending it in, otherwise, that will cause the clumping too.  

Since you only need to use a tiny, tiny amount, this product will last you forever!  It has no smell to it, has great coverage, and is easy to remove. 



Would I recommend this product?  I don't know.  I mean, it works and I'll definitely keep using mine until it's done, but I probably wouldn't repurchase it.  Perhaps this was meant more for dry skin?  I definitely don't have dry skin.  I don't hate it, but I also don't love it.

Random Thoughts

Hi Everyone!

I joined...the evil Facebook!  Funny story is..not really knowing how it all worked, I joined up using my real name instead of say, First name: Beauty and the  Last Name: Gamer - which I would have been much more comfortable with, but what's done is done.  So...if you want to add me to your fb or you want me to add you to mine, let me know!  I've always been of the mind of if there were people that I wanted to keep in touch with, I would have, and if there were people that i needed to message, that was texting is for...or calling.  And since I'm old fashioned, and if there's a party, I expect at least an email, not group invite via fb.  But...I am on it and I think that i'm beginning to get addicted.  I'm trying my hardest NOT to sign up for apps like Farmville and the like.  Otherwise, I'm going to have to quit my day job.  To be honest, I actually joined up so I could provide feedback and keep track of my glossy box, in particular. 

Speaking of Glossybox.  I think that everyone and their dogs have received their Glossybox.  They are looking a little like how Luxebox first started out.  People around their closest distribution areas (Toronto) got their boxes first and everyone else last...in particular those that live on either ends of the country.  So I'm not quite happy about that.  In addition, from what I read on Glossybox's wall, they are justifying the difference between the press boxes and the "regular" boxes as not wanting to spoil the surprise for everyone....Well, the inequality between the two boxes is quite something and I'm sorry, but that reasoning isn't cool.  I mean, if they wanted to make them different, then they should have both been equally as good.  If the press boxes had two full sized samples, then the boxes that everyone else gets should have two full sized samples.  I guess I'm just confused how their marketing department could have overlooked something like that, or even thought that there wouldn't be any kind of backlash?  Not a great start.  Oh well...I'm going to try and be patient and reserve my judgement because who knows, maybe my box will be awesome - or not.

I'm also on twitter, but I'm not good at understanding how it all works, but you can follow me at jjquan79.  I've only ever tweeted twice - by accident!  LOL!  But I intend on trying to tweet more.

I hope that everyone is having a good weekend and relaxing!

BIG! HUGE! Smashbox Giveaway!!!

The lovely ladies over at Beauty Crazed in Canada are having a HUGE Smashbox contest!! Sneak on over there and check it out!  Don't worry if you don't have a favourite Smashbox product, just tell them which one you'd like to try the most!  Clicky clicky on either of the links to take you there!

To have 200 subscribers!

I know that I just started blogging, but I couldn't imagine having 200 subscribers!  I remember my reaction when I got my first one - Jayne @ Cosmetic Proof!  I kind of freaked a little.  I  mean, I started this blog pretty much for myself.  Like a little beauty diary for myself and my friends.  And I'm really grateful for everyone who stops by!  But could you imagine?  200 people who religiously stop by and see what you have to say?  Starry Eyed Beauty has hit that amazing milestone and much congratulations goes out to her!!!!  Stop by her blog and enter her Cocoshine Chanel Lipstick giveaway.

Hope everyone is having a great Wednesday.  All that I can say is that I can't wait for this week to be over.

Mini Haul!

I seriously haven't been shopping since Xmas.   I mean, really go shopping.  I've been on this self imposed buying diet.  No, wait, correction.  I've been on this husband imposed spending diet.  We kind of have a couple of big vacations coming up and another big expense in the next couple of months, so we've been saving.  Or at least, I've been trying to spend less.  And man, I can tell you, it's been VERY hard.  I've been trying to limit myself to what I truly needed, like stuff that I had run out of...like mascara. I was looking for a new everyday mascara and it looks like some other things followed me home!  I was like the pied piper....and these were little delightful rats (okay, bad analogy).

First, Wal-Mart.  I work out in a new suburb and there's a London Drugs and Walmart within walking distance to my office.  I hit there after work with the intention of picking up a couple of the new Revlon Colorstay Longwear Nail Enamel and a couple of mascaras for every day use (translation, not the expensive ones!).  I walked out of there with the nail polish, mascaras and then some!  From left to right: Top Coat, Base Coat for the new Revlon Colorstay Longwear polish, Maybelline Illegal Lengths (waterproof) mascara, Cover Girl Lash Perfection, Hard Candy Undercover agent (I love cute names!), XXXXXX Revlon Colorstay Longwear polishes (l to r: Wild Strawberry, Marmalade, Stormy Night, Top Coat,Red Carpet, Midnight, Bold Sangria, Base Coat, Blue Slate, Stiletto and Passionate Pink), Garnier's new BB cream (I've never been a fan of BB creams because they provide too light of a coverage or weren't the right tone, but I thought that I'd give it one more go), Revlon's Colorstay Liquid Liner in Blackest Black and Revlon's Colorstay Pencil liner in Charcoal.


Second, I hit The Body Shop.  I haven't been in there for ages.  The only time that I go into TBS is if I've run out of my body butters.  Which is, like, once a year - only because I buy four of them at a time!  I picked up the Vitamin E eye cream and a Tea Tree Oil Toner.  I've been breaking out lately and can't figure out if it's my primer (I highly doubt it) or my foundation (which I'm also doubting, but you just never know).  My skin is going through an awkward phase right now.  It just seems to be changing - it's  a little more sensitive AND I've started to wear make up again (I stopped for a little while when I got one of my eyes re-lasered).  I also got a sample of their new body butter, set to release this week - Chocomania.  It's supposed to provide 48H hydration.  Unfortunately, I will never know if it truly provides 48H hydration - being as OCD as I am, I cannot go a day without showering.  


Third, I hit The Bay.  I seriously have not shopped at The Bay for ages.  The last time I was there was for shoes and it was completely "accidental".  My sister in law told what a great selection they had (and there was a sale), so I went in, picked up a *ahem!* few pairs of shoes.  I kind of knew what I was looking for there this time around, so I went straight to it!  From the Clinique counter, I picked up Superbalanced Make up Foundation, Almost Powder Make up, and the Line Smoothing Concealer.  From the Chanel counter, I picked up Base Lumiere (Illuminating Make up Base aka Primer), and Eclat Lumiere (highlighter face pen - essentially, this is a colour corrector).  Trust me, there was a lot more that I wanted to pick up, but my husband was ready to pass out from boredom.  Among these products, I think that I've found my HG trinity of products to cover up those nasty little under eye circles!

Last, I made an impulse stop into Haare Kosmetiks.  I don't know if there are a lot of locations, but I think that I've only seen one, but this is like a Mastercuts or Chatters Beauty Salon, minus the grooming aspect.  So they sell a lot of hair products and tools.  They also carry an impressive selection of nail polishes - OPI, China Glaze, Essie and the only place that I know that carries Zoya (which is a little annoying because they are almost always sold out).  As you know, I only ever try and buy the mini polishes.  So, to my great delight, when I saw their "buy two OPI products get the third one free" sale.  I purchased three mini sets - Nicki Minaj's new set, Texas and the Muppets.  All very fun colours.


I did make a stop into Shopper's Drug Mart, but there wasn't really anything that caught my eye.  


WHEW!  Seriously, that's all that I got.  Until next time!

Caudalie Premier Cru The Eye Cream

Whew!  What a mouthful.  I'm on the hunt for the perfect eye cream.  No, I'm serious.  I have these serious dark circles underneath my eyes that refuse to go away, no matter how many hours I sleep, no matter how many cucumbers I put on them.  They just won't go away!  It's sad, actually, I use to have perfect under eye skin.  Clear, normal coloured, never got puffy, never got dark - no matter how little sleep I got.  Then...I started to get older!  I want to blame stress...okay, maybe I will.  But it was like BAM!  Overnight and I had nasty dark circles.  I drink lots of water, I do eye masks (I love My Beauty Diary - who doesn't?).  All to no avail.  Being the crazy I am, I've decided that there HAS to be an eye cream out there.  I'm more than willing to spend the money to get rid of them (is there a surgery out there?)!  Alas, this magical product still alludes me.  I've tried drugstore brands to premium brands to organic and natural products and nothing....So, to my surprise, in my first ever Glymm box, I received a Caudalie Premier Cru The Eye Cream sample.  It's this tiny little thing.  I'm thinking to myself, no way this is going to last me more than a week.  It's been about three now and I probably have enough to finish off this week.  Surprising isn't it?  I guess this is like one of those life lessons - never judge a package by it's size.  Am I right ladies?  No?  Well, I tried.  

This is what the full product looks like (if you want to see my sample size, please check out my December Glymm Box post).  It retails for $95 for a 15ml bottle on the Glymm website.  to me, that's a little on the small size.  That's like $6.33 per ml!  Funny thing is, it retails for $95 US on the Sephora website.  I don't know what it retails for at the Canadian Sephora stores.  For once, cross border shopping ain't so grand!

When I initially squeezed the product out of the sample tube, I thought that the cream looked quite thick but very creamy.  It was gold and had a little bit of shimmer to it.  There was little fragrance to the cream.  I applied a little bit, enough to feel the moisture on my skin underneath the eye.  By the time I had finished my second eye, the moisturizer I had applied under the first eye was pretty much absorbed already.  There's nothing I hate more than an eye cream that just sits there.  It was wonderful and glorious!  Instantly, I noticed that my circles were a little lighter, but I'm guessing that it's from the shimmer, but when I looked closely, I didn't see any shimmer on my skin, nor did it look like the cream was just acting like "cover up".  

I applied this cream twice a day, as per instructions and sometimes, if I managed to get a little more sleep and have a little less stress in my life because deadlines were met, I notice that my circles are diminished a little.  But if I'm particularly tired or worried about something, I see that they are back with a vengeance.  If this product wasn't as expensive as it is, I would totally purchase it.  It was light, made a temporary difference and heck, it's all natural.  Maybe I'll purchase it with a Sephora discount (the friends and family or whatever), but without some sort of subsidy, I must continue my search for the holy grail of ridding under eye circles.

SIGMA BRUSHES HAUL

I finally got on the band wagon and caved.  My initial reaction to these brushes are wow...these things are S-O-F-T!!!!!  I almost don't even want to use them.  I don't want to get them all gunked up and dirty!  Before you all freak, I do wash my brushes, but still!  I purchased four items/sets.  Travel Set, the Essential Set, the Kabuki set and the Sigmax Duo - which by the way is the same as two of the brushes from the Kabuki set.  Talk about going overboard on the band wagon (that I didn't even realize that I had purchased two of the same brushes!).  I probably would have never noticed it until my girlfriend pointed it out.  Talk about embarrassing.  But unfortunately, not untypical for me.  SIGH.


Premium Travel Kit - Hot In Pink (on sale)  $49.00 US (Originally $59.00 US) 

As I've said before, these are extremely soft brushes .  I find that usually, with travel brushes, the quality isn't as good and the brushes are just not near what the regular brushes are.  They are like the little reject brushes that they stick into a fancy travel bag to make them look better.  Not at all with these.  What impressed me most was these are nearly the same size as the regular brushes! This set came with 7 brushes.  None of which included a lip brush.  Which was fantastic!  I usually just need face and eye brushes and absolutely hate how all other sets throw in the lip brushes and the brow brush.  Always feel a little ripped off.  These travel brushes come in this great hot pink magnetic close purse holder.  I don't normally like these types and most like will not be using it when I travel, as I just find them a little bulky.  The comparison picture, is between the Tapered Face travel brush and Angled Kabuki, which is a full sized kabuki brush.  My point is, these travel brushes are not made for little baby hands (thank god!!!!!  Someone is listening!!!)


In order of appearance (left to right):
-  Tapered Face - F25.  Large domed brush with tapered tip.  Ideal for application and blending of powder products, blush, and highlighter.  Natural Bristles.
-  Duo Fibre Powder/Blush - F15.  Medium sized tapered duo fibre brush.  Generates a natural look during blush and highlighter application.  Mix of synthetic and natural bristles.
-  Large Concealer - F56. Large synthetic concealer brush.  Can be used to apply cream-based products to large areas.  Also ideal for application of liquid or cream products.  Synthetic filaments.
-  Large Fluff - E50.  Ideal for applying and blending powder products on the lid, high-lighting and contouring.  Natural bristles.
- Small Tapered Blending - E45.  Small domed brush with highly tapered tip.  Versatile, this brush can be used to apply and blend intense colours into the crease area.  Natural bristles.
- Short Shader - E20.  Flat, short, slightly rounded and dense brush.  Perfect for precisely applying colours on the lid and smudging along the lash line.  Natural bristles.
- Small Eye Liner - E10.  Delivers a precise fine-line along the lash line.  The length and density of the bristles are ideal for creating artistic designs.  Synthetic filaments.




Synthetic Kabuki Kit (and Sigamax Duo) - Sigamax Duo (on sale) $24.00 US (was $32.00), Kabuki Kit is $56.00US 
I've lumped these two kits together because this is where I accidentally purchase two of the same product.  The brushes in the Sigamax Duo are duplicates of what came in the Kabuki Kit (F82 and F84 - second from the top and the bottom brush respectively).  The Kabuki Kit came with 4 brushes.


From Top to Bottom:
- Flat Kabuki - F80.  Ideal for all over application of liquid and cream formulas in large and mostly flat areas of the face, such as the forehead, temples and cheeks.  This brush is perfect to seamlessly buff foundation onto the skin.

- Round Kabuki - F82.  Perfect to comfortably apply liquid and cream foundation on curved areas of the face, specifically around the eyes and nose, on the chin and jaw line.  This brush can also be used for all over application of mineral foundation.
- Tapered Kabuki - F86.  The tapered shape effortlessly applies products on defined and hard to reach areas of the face.  This brush is perfect for all over application of powder, cream and liquid formulas.  It is also ideal for all over primer application, contouring and highlighting.
- Angled Kabuki - F84.  The angled shape of this brush eases the application and blending of cream blushes onto the cheeks.  It can also be used to apply and blend contour shades on the hair line, cheek bones and jaw line.

Essential Kit - $89.00 US

This kit came with 12 brushes (I believe that the older essential kits came with 15 brushes).  This kit is perfect for me because like I said before, I don't really need lip or brow brushes.  When I saw all the face and eye brushes in this kit, I knew that I had to have it! 
From Left to Right:
- Large Powder - F30.  Very dense with a rounded top.  Ideal to apply powder products on face and body.  Natural bristles.

- Duo Fibre - F50.  Specially designed to generate an "airbrushed" finish when used to apply liquid foundation.  Blend of synthetic and natural bristles.
- Large Angled Contour  F40.  The angled shape makes this brush ideal to apply blush or contour shades.  Natural bristles.
-  Foundation - F60.  Can be used to apply liquid or cream foundation.  Recommended to apply moisturizers and conceal large areas.  Synthetic brushes.
-  Tapered Blending - E40.  Rounded and tapered top.  Specially designed to apply and blend colour on the crease.  Natural bristles.
-  Larger Shader - E60.  Flat shape is ideal for application of cream formulas and eye shadow primers.  Natural bristles.
-  Concealer - F70.  The rounded, tapered, flat shape makes this brush ideal to conceal the under eye area.  Synthetic bristles.
-  Eye Shading - E55.  Soft and dense with a rounded finish.  Can be used to apply pressed or loose eye shadows and pigments.  Natural bristles.
-  Medium Angled Shading - E70.  Angled, tapered, flat top.  Ideal to apply highlight shades underneath the eyebrow and on the inner corners.  Natural bristles.
-  Pencil - E30.  Precise application of colour on the crease, outer corner, upper and lower lash line.  Natural bristles.
-  Small Angle - E65.  Essential for the application of gel or cream eyeliner on the upper and lower lash line.  Synthetic bristles.
-  Eye Liner - E05.  An extra-fine tipped brush that delivers a precise, firm, even stroke to line the eyes.  Synthetic bristles.



There was a nice little bonus with my purchase (though, I believe that they include this with every purchase, no matter how large or small.)  

Overall, I'm quite satisfied with my purchase because I know, if were to go to MAC and purchase the same brushes, I'd be out quite a bit of money.  I think that these brushes are the same quality for a fraction of the price.  You can purchase the individual brushes, if there are particular ones that you are looking for.  I think that i saved a little bit of money by purchasing the kits, even though, when I look at my train case full of brushes, I'm not quite sure why I purchased them...maybe because I wanted some really nice brushes (though, I must admit, my Quo brushes have lasted me a long time, but they aren't always the softest).  These brushes picked up whatever product I was using very well.  Plus, they came in these beautiful tulle bags!


Check out was easy, shipping was fairly fast, via USPS (tracking number is provided and updated on a regular basis).  I would definitely purchase from here again.


Here is their website!

Maybelline Baby Lips UPDATE!

YAY!!!  I found the remaining two "shades".  Actually, I had thought that there was only one, but apparently, there are two!  Funny thing is, I wasn't even looking for them.  I was looking for a colour corrector palette (I ended up purchasing a couple - Lise Watier Portfolio and a few Physicians Formula items, watch for reviews!) and I was in the midst of paying, when I looked to my right and there they were.  There were only a few that were left!  I couldn't believe my luck!  


The two that I picked up are Grape Vine (Teal packaging with hot pink lettering) and Peppermint (Yellow-y Lime Green packaging and purple lettering).  Sorry for the blurriness!

Let's start with Grape Vine.  It's very sheer. And I mean very sheer. I couldn't even get a swatch picture because it was so sheer.  Smells exactly like grape pop!  Delicious!


Peppermint is a subtle peppermint.  More like toothpaste peppermint?  When it's on my lips, I don't smell it.  Nor does it tingle like a lot of other peppermint products.  well, at least, not at first. It's actually quite odd.  When I first put it on, it didn't tingle, but as a couple of minutes passed, it started to gently tingle.  Interesting.  This would be a great regular chapstick to have lying around.


I hope that this is the complete line, as I'm not looking for anymore!!!!  They are sold out EVERYWHERE!  I can't even tell you how hard it is to find these babies.  In hindsight, i should have taken a picture of the little jar that the remaining Baby Lips were sitting in. It was quite funny.  They almost looked like they were part of the discount bin!  I think, between all the Baby Lips that I have and the EOS haul that I just had, I'm good on chapsticks for the a little while!