Chanel Eclat Lumiere Review

I purchased this quite a while ago but just haven't had the chance to bust this out until now.  This is definitely one of my more pricier concealers, but was it worth it?

The Chanel consultant recommended this to me as something to put underneath my regular concealer.  She said that the salmon tint would offset and brighten the under eye area.  As you can see in the picture, it's quite the light salmon shade.  

This is a twist pen type of packaging (at the bottom), which I kind of don't like.  I had to twist twice to get the product going and then I had to twist another 15 times to get more product.  When I twisted it for the 16th time, a BUNCH of product came out (what a waste!).  Seems like you can't really control how much product comes out and when.  Or, it could just be that I'm impatient.  Nah.

The formulation is quite runny and I found that you needed to apply at least two layers of the product before the under eye circles were neutralized.  Because it goes on salmon-y in colour, you will need to put concealer on top to even out the skin, plus your setting powder.  That makes for a lot of product.  The product is quite sticky, which is deceiving because it came out of the pen so runny.  You don't need to let it dry before you put on your concealer.  It is quite light (even after concealer and setting powder) and I hardly felt it on my face.  It did last all day, despite a few accidental eye rubs here and there.

HAHA!  I look a little crossed eyed.
Left side is concealed with Eclat Lumiere and Clinique's Line Smoothing Eye Concealer on top.
Right Side has no concealer.

I found that it helped fill in the lines a little better when used in conjunction with the Clinique Line Smoothing Eye Concealer.


I don't think that this is a product that I would use everyday, as it is quite expensive ($40 at The Bay).  Plus, I don't feel so comfortable wearing so much under eye make up everyday - but I have been because I love it!


Did I like this product?  YES!  Will I repurchase?  YES!  


There's still time to enter my 50 Followers Giveaway!

Mini Haul - of sorts...

A while ago, I entered a giveaway for a beautiful pair of earrings.  And then...I completely forgot that I entered, until I got an email (good thing I go through my junk mail!!!!) from Small Town Gal @ Shopping Obsession telling me that I had won!  WHAT???!?!?!  I was kind of stunned.  I seriously never win anything.  EVER.  I think that I was a little overeager in my email responses, but I was truly thankful!!

And here's what I won!

I had won a beautiful pair of Regina Pierallini (New York based designer) gold beaded hoop earrings.  Of course, being the absolute adult I am, I put them on right away and paraded around the house asking my husband every 5 seconds if I looked gorgeous.  Being the ever-so tolerant husband, he said yes.  :P

I just wanted to say "Thank You!" to Small Town Gal for having the awesome giveaway!  If you aren't following her already, please go check out her blog - she's a HUGE J-Crew junkie!

May's Glymm Box 2012

For those that don't know, Glymm has overhauled their look and are calling it Glymm Version 2.0.  They also raised their prices from $10/month to $12/month.  For those that are currently active subscribers, you don't have to do a thing and they will automatically upgrade you.  And you don't have to worry about paying the new and improved priced either.  Glymm has said that as long as you keep your subscription active, you will be charged $10/month.  


So...what's so different?  Less packaging (though, I have to admit, those box did come in handy)!  And NEW PACKAGING!  I love it, love it, love it!  Now, for those people who say that it's a rip off of "MyGlamBag" - who cares???  I'm happy!!!!  :P  The bag itself seems to be of good quality (unlike the myglambag, from what I've read anyways, which seem to be a little cheap).  I hope that the makeup bags are going to be a staple in the "boxes" and I hope that they change up the colours every month.  Perhaps this was part of their grand jelly belly replacement idea?

I was a little surprised to find my "box" a little on the light side, and I instantly though, oh no...this is going to suck....again.  

CK SHOCK FOR HER AND CK SHOCK FOR HIM
HRUMPH!!!!!!!  yay...more perfume samples.  I have at least three or four of this perfume samples.  PUUUHHLLLLEEESSSSEEEEEE.....give me a break from receiving these!  


COOLA - MINERAL MATTE CUCUMBER FACE SUNSCREEN
Protect your face from UV rage with this hydrating, refreshing sunblock.  Coola donates a portion of sales to cancer research.  I've never heard of this brand before, so I'm kind of intrigued.  
full - $36 (50ml)
sample - $3.60 (5ml)


NU-ME HYDROPUNCH HYDRATING CONDITIONER
Turn dull and damaged hair into vibrant, healthy strands that you can't help but to twirl all day long.  Hee hee.  I do twirl my hair....  I've never tried a Nu-Me hair product before, so this will be interesting.  Since my hair is so long, I've been finding it really hard to keep the ends looking nice and less dried out, so this product will definitely be put up to the ultimate test!
Exclusive product launch
full - $24.00 (250ml)
sample - $1.92 (20ml)


CARGO EYE SHADOW DUO in VIENNA
This is probably the third Cargo eye shadow that I've received from my beauty boxes and I have yet to try a single one. I do like this colour combination, so I might actually bust this out once in a while.
full - $25
sample - $25


CAUDALIE - VINEPERT ANTI-AGEING SERUM EYES AND LIPS
Smooth and contour your lips and eyes with this light serum.  I really liked the other Caudalie eye product that I got a while back (which costs, like, a million dollars), so I'm really hoping that I'll like this one too because at least, this one is a little more affordable.
full - $33 (15ml)
sample - $15.40 (7ml)


CAULDALIE SOS THIRST-QUENCHING SERUM AND MOISTURIZING SORBET


The SSO Thirst Quenching serum and the moisturizing sorbet are supposed to be used together, or so it indicates on the card.  Both are exclusive product launches.  The serum is supposed to give your skin a surge of hydration and restore moisture balance for softer and more supple skin.  The moisturizing sorbet will leave your face feeling refreshed, hydrated and comfortably soft.  Both are little tiny samples, but they are in really cute pink packaging, so it's okay.
full - $48.00 (30ml) Serum
full - $38.00 (40ml) Sorbet
sample - $1.60 (1ml) Serum
sample - $0.95 (1ml) Sorbet


Overall, I really liked this month's Glymm Bag.  This will be the first month where I'm keeping all of the samples for myself and not giving any of them away.  One other positive change that Glymm has made is to their card (though, they could save on printing and paper by shrinking the font a little and making the card a little smaller...but not a biggie) is that they tell you approximately how many uses their samples will provide you.  So, hopefully, I'll never see a "Sample usage: 1" on here.  :P  I personally think that Glymm has made quite a few positive changes, but just like when I started my Glymm subscription, I was impressed, but slowly things went downhill, but seeing these changes has changed my mind about cancelling next month.  Hopefully, things will stay good!


Total Value of this month's Glymm Bag: $48.47
Rating: 4 out of 5.


I'm having a 50 Follower Giveaway, please make sure you enter!

Canadian Beauty Review's 150 Follower HUGE giveaway!!!

Steph @ Canadian Beauty Reviews is having a huge giveaway!  She hit 150 followers (WOWSERS!!!!).

Head on over to her blog and check her out.  She's funny, awesome and I love her blog!

BIG CONGRATULATIONS Steph!  And here's to many more!!!!  :)

May's TopBox

I know that I really loved last month's recycled packaging and it must have went over so well with everyone else that this month (and I believe onward), that TopBox are letting you pick which type of packaging you want - recycled or the regular print box.  To me, it's these little touches that really build up "brand" loyalty.  I was already impressed with my box before I even got it!  LOL!

Being the little sneaker peeker that I am, I've already prowled a few of my fav blogs to see what they got in their boxes, so I kind of already knew what was going to be in mine.    :P

ORLANE - FIRST TIME-FIGHTING CARE EYE CONTOUR CREAM

This first time-fighting eye cream for the delicate eye area diminishes fine lines, puffiness, and dark circles leaving the eyes looking smoothed, luminous and lastingly younger looking.  This product was meant those that are 25+ (though, I'm not sure how they came up with that, but sure).  I've never tried Orlane before and I am running out of eye cream, so this is perfect!

full - $75 (15ml)

sample - $10 (2ml)

EXPRESSIONS - BRONZING POWDER BRUSH

Unfortunately, as soon as I slid my brush out of the tubing that it came in, it broke into two pieces.  *sad panda face*  I contacted Topbox and they got back to me within a couple of days and told me that they would send a replacement brush in my June box.  How's that for great customer service? (perhaps Loosebutton should take some notes).  But my initial reaction was how soft and dense the brush was.  I really liked how chunky the handle was because it'll give me greater control.

retail - $25

DEBORAH LIPPMAN - WHATEVER LOLA WANTS

I'm beyond excited to get this polish.  I had previously purchased a collection pack of Deborah Lippman polishes but those were glitter polishes, so it's nice to get a "real" polish. It's this beautiful shell-pink shimmer colour.  Very sheer and needs at least two coats before you can see any of the pink.  It's a perfect colour to put on for those days that you want to wear polish, but don't want to have to pick from your vast collection of polishes (oh c'mon!  Like we don't all have at least 10 polishes!  :P)  It is very similar to Julep's Emma.  Emma is more white based and this is one is more pink based.

full - $20

COVERFX - CLEAR PREPFX

This is an "anti-shine" primer that reduces lines and pores and is long-lasting and easy to blend.  It's a lightweight gel that helps prevent and heal acne blemishes.  I was actually looking at purchasing this primer, so now I can try it out without having to purchase the full size!

full - $39 (30ml)

sample - $9.10 (7ml)

I don't know how Topbox always manages to impress me.  I really liked this box and I'm really impressed with their customer service.  Despite not getting as many samples as the other boxes, this is one is probably my favourite beauty box.  

Total Value of Box: $64.10

Rating: 4.9 out of 5.

If you haven't already, remember to enter my 50 Followers Giveaway!!!

Fairy Drops vs. Blinc

I love fiberwig mascaras.  Mainly because I'm lazy and don't want to wrestle with make up remover to try and get waterproof mascara off my lashes every night. How easy is it to just wet your eyes and pull those little tubes off your lashes?  It's safe, fast and easy.

I've been using Blinc (or when it first came out it was called Kiss Me Mascara - which I believe it's still called in Asia) since my university days.  This is kind of going to date me, but that was about 10 years ago?  I've always found that Blinc (B for short) was a little pricey and it didn't lengthen or volumize my lashes.  And being asian with short stubby sparse lashes, it's not so attractive.  I've heard of FairyDrops (FD for short) before, but I didn't know that Sephora started carrying it. Of course, as soon as I found out that they carried it, I dropped by and picked one up.

I like the packaging on FD way better than B.  It's fun and cutesy.  B is more streamlined and mature.  Minimalistic.  FD - 1, B - 0

FD definitely volumized and lengthened (though not by a lot).  The bonus here is that FD is supposed to also curl.  Side note: I've been using Latisse and it seems to be curling my lashes on it's own, so I don't really need to use a curler anymore.  My lashes are also longer, so I may not notice the lengthening as much.  B gives me the doll eyed look that I like so much, but it doesn't really fill in the spaces.  FD - 2, B - 0.

FD flaked.  B did not.  FD - 2, B- 1.

FD dried out within two months, B has been opened for nearly 6 months and it's finally drying out.  FD - 2, B - 2.

Removing FD was a bit of a process.  It didn't really remove as little tubes, but more like little mascara chunkies (yes, I know, sounds very appetizing).  And it took a little longer to remove.  B is quick and easy.  Put your face under running water (I usually remove it when I'm in the shower) for about 10-15 seconds and then pull and you pull off a bunch of little tubes at a time.  FD - 2, B - 3.

FD has a weird curved bumpy like brush.  B's brush is straight.  The application was about the same for me, but I find that I had an easier time applying with the FD brush.  FD - 3, B -3

B's formula was a lot more watery, or runny, if you will (like nail polish).  FD was a little more thick, more mascara like.  This could also be why B lasted a little longer than FD.  FD - 3, B - 4.  As you can tell by the picture of the brushes, FD is clumpy and B is not.

Overall, I really liked FD, but was just really disappointed at how fast it dried out.  I think that it would be a nice back up, but I think that I'm going to keep using Blinc.


Have you tried either of these mascaras?  What did you think?

Julep's Cinco De Mayo Mystery Box!

Yay!  My mystery box has finally arrived!  It feels like I've been waiting for this forever!  I'm so happy that it came in this tiny box that fit perfectly in my mail box!  

For those that have never heard of Julep Mystery Boxes, these are boxes that Julep offers during special occasions or holidays.  They cost $60, but if you order these boxes soon after they're announced, Julep normally offers a coupon code that brings the price down to $19.99 - which is a fantastic deal because you're guaranteed at least double that amount in product.  This is my second mystery box, the first one being the Spring Box, which I unfortunately, *hangs head in shame*, paid $60.00 for.  

I couldn't wait to see what I had gotten in my box that I literally tore that thing apart, so...sorry, no pretty pictures of the box opening...  :P

This time around, I received four polishes, a crystal nail file, and a mini Glycolic Hand Scrub.  Unfortunately, one of the polishes that I got in this box, I already have, (Jayne@Cosmetic Proof had warned me!) but I think that overall, the box is still pretty good.

Oops!  Hee hee...I guess that I could have removed the "Made In China" sticker!  

I received Alyson, Drew, Emma and Jessica (repeat).  At first, I really frowned when I picked up Alyson and Emma....I kept thinking...what am I?  In high school?  Boring? With all these nude and sparkly colours I've been receiving lately?  These aren't "Jamie" colours!  But after I swatched them, I found that I really liked them!

Drew is a fabulous fushia.  To me, it looks a little more magenta and it definitely doesn't look like the shade that they have on the website.  But I  still LOVE this colour and I cannot wait to try it out.  It'll definitely look pretty awesome on my toes!

Jessica is a soft and sweet creme baby blue.  Since I already have this colour, I'm just going to throw it in with the giveaway.  I hope that you're all okay with that.  ;P

Emma is this gorgeous seashell pink shimmer.  I don't think that I ever would wear this alone because it's kind of not opaque enough for my tastes.

Alyson is this beautiful neutral almond creme shade.  It reminds me of vanilla lattes.  Oh, yummy....

In total, I received about $60 worth in products and I only spent $20!  Not bad!

Would you consider getting a mystery box?

PS.  Don't forget about Blog Hop #10!!!!  

P.P.S Don't forget to enter my 50 Followers Giveaway!!