Sephora Haul! Smith's Rosebud Salve, BareMinerals Naturally Luminous Daily Duo for Combination Skin, Shu Uemura Eyelash Curler!

That has to be the longest blog title I've ever done! Whew!

I had a VERY successful payday visit to Sephora on Friday! Usually when I go in there, all memory of the things I've been meaning to buy for a long time just fly out of my head, and I'm overwhelmed by choice, and usually end up either leaving with nothing or with a complete impulse buy. So this time, I took pictures of my phone of my Sephora.com shopping list and had it with me in Sephora!!

The Smith's Rosebud Salve and the BareMinerals skincare were wishlist items, the Shu Uemura curler was a true impulse buy though! I didn't even realize you could buy it there because it's not on the website, but I guess that's because the site is U.S. and you can't get Shu in the U.S. anymore... for once there's something you can get in Canada but not in the States!!

Here's some more pics of my goodies!

Reviews of these to come!! :)

NOTD July 6/11

Triiiibaaall!!! I had been wanting to try this trend for a while, and I found this colour combo I really liked, so I went for it!! It's not perfect but it was actually easier than I expected it to be! I did redo part of it though - I did the thumb first and liked it on the first go, but the rest I wasn't happy with and re-did. Overall I really like the colours and the design! I'm excited to try out more tribal designs, especially when I get my hands on some proper striping polishes!

Another thing of note is that today is my anniversary with my boyfriend - four years! Can't believe how time flies!! :) Money is tight at the moment so we stayed in and relaxed, watched a movie - I got to come home from work with dinner already made which was also great!! <3 Hope you all are having a great week too!!

What's in the Bag?

I've seen these posts on lots of other blogs before, but I've never done one myself!! So here I am.... gonna spill the beans (or the glosses?) on what's in my makeup bag right now!

I know, I know... look what the cat dragged in right? This makeup bag has clearly seen better days and I've been on the lookout for a better one, but everytime I see a bunch of little makeup bags, they're either not quiiite what I'm looking for style or size wise, or they're pretty close to right but way overpriced! I'm not gonna pay more than about $10 for a little makeup bag tossed into my purse! Maaybe $15... but it would have to be really special. So until then, this will have to do!

And the contents!! On the left we see several nubby ends of eyeliners. I need to restock on basic eyeliner soooo badly it's not even funny!!

• Annabelle Smoothliner in Black
• Some random Covergirl brow pencil, which I can't see the name of anymore, and which is too light now that my hair is darker!
• A double ended Urban Decay 24/7 Eyeliner - this was the one from the Naked Palette, with Zero on one end and Whiskey on the other. There's still a bit of Whiskey left for the sharpening, Zero is down to the metal though!

Then there's some lip products!

• Basic Carmex in a tube!!
• MAC Tinted Lip Conditioner in Petting Pink
• elf Super Glossy Lip Shine in Tropical Breeze

Then mascaras!

• Covergirl LashBlast Waterproof in Very Black - old tube and new tube! Still got some left to use in the old tube! I'll use it for bottom lashes mostly, since it's a little less goopy than the new one.
• Covergirl LashBlast Length Waterproof in Very Black - I sometimes layer this over the original for LOTS of length, but it's almost time for this tube to go, it's getting pretty dry!

Then last but not least, some concealers!

• Benefit Erase Paste, awesome for concealing under the eyes because it brightens quite nicely!
• Urban Decay 24/7 Concealer Pencil in DEA, great for concealing blemishes and redness! So creamy, I love this stuff!

Update To NYX Ultra Pearl Mania Swatch and Review!

You may remember my recent post about NYX Ultra Pearl Manias? No? Well check it out now!! I wasn't able to find one of the colours I have, but I found it tonight so I snapped some pics and added it to my review!

Go see!

<3

NOTD July 3/11 - Confetti! (plus bonus polish swatch)

Fun, bright, happy confetti nails!! I love these so much :)

Also, for the past few days my nails were painted solidly in that blue shade which is Sally Hansen's Blue Me Away!, here's a shot of that.

Such a gorgeous shade!

FOTD July 2/11

Ultra natural! I challenged myself to go very natural which isn't usual for me, but I really like how this turned out.

Skin:
Rimmel Lasting Finish 25 Hour Foundation
Urban Decay 24/7 Concealer Pencil
Revlon PhotoReady Translucent Finishing Powder
Revlon ColorStay Mineral Finishing Powder in Suntan Matte
Wet n' Wild Color Icon Blush in Pearlescent Pink

Eyes:
Sephora 5 in 1 Palette: Shade 39 on the lid, 14 in the crease and smudged under lower lashes, 30 as highlight
Urban Decay 24/7 Glide On Eyeliner in Whiskey (with some brown shadow patted on top)
CoverGirl Lash Blast Waterproof

Review/Swatches: NYX Ultra Pearl Mania

I've had these little bullets of loveliness (odd phrasing?) for quite some time, but I've never mentioned them on my blog and they deserve some attention!

They are small little bullets of loose eyeshadow. All the shades have a very shimmery/pearly finish, and are very pigmented and blendable. As an added bonus, these have virtually NO fallout, which is always a concern with a loose shadow. Overall, if you are a fan of shimmery eyeshadows, these are something you need to check out!

The only real drawback with these can be the packaging. They are in small open mouth containers, which are too small to dip a brush into. I find the best method is to get a square of toilet paper and tap a small amount onto it and dab my brush onto that to pick up the colour. And I mean a small amount - a little of this stuff goes a long way! Like I said, pigmented!!

The shades I own, from left to right: Nude, Mocha, Black, Pearl, True Purple, Turquoise.

Update: I found Baby Pink! Here's a picture of it, I put it next to Pearl for shade comparison. Baby Pink is on the right, Pearl on the left.

Swatches! Top row left to right is Nude, Black, Turquoise. Bottom row left to right is Mocha, Pearl, and True Purple.

Update: Here is the swatch for Baby Pink! Also swatched next to Pearl for comparison. Baby Pink on the left, Pearl on the right.

Nude is a really lovely shimmery nude, definitely yellow toned. It's gorgeous used as a highlight on the inner corners and the inner part of the eyelid.

Black is a shimmery black, not one I've actually used a lot (I don't have a chance to wear a lot of dark smokey looks so I haven't been able to experiment with it as much) but it's definitely a gorgeous colour, applies very smooth. The thing that I think makes it stand out from other shimmery/glittery blacks is that the shimmer is very finely milled and smooth, no chunkiness in sight.

Turquoise is a lovely light turquoise, makes you think of the ocean! It's almost exactly between blue and green, but perhaps leans a teeny bit more towards blue.

Mocha is a gorgeous medium toned cool brown/taupe shade... it actually appears much cooler in real life than in this picture. I love this shade, it's probably my favourite of the ones I own. So nice just as a wash of colour all over the lid and that's about all you need!

Pearl is a light shimmery pale pink colour, but it has flashes of lavender and white as well.. just like a pearl!

True Purple Pearl is a slightly warm toned purple; there are definite pink undertones in this. Although I generally prefer much cooler, blue-based purples, this is a really pretty shade for sure.

Update: Baby Pink is a light, cool toned pink, but it's definitely darker and more of a "true" pink than Pearl, which has those purply qualities I was talking about.

I have more than a few Ultra Pearls on my wishlist right now, such as Silver, Yellow, Lime, Lilac and Sky Pink.

A tip for Canadians! I have seen NYX in store at some locations, like Save-On-Foods, but it's usually not that well priced, for example these would be around $5 or even $6. I recommend going to a store that stocks NYX in your area to check stuff out in person and swatch to find what you like. I did that and discovered that some stuff I thought I would like wasn't so great in person, and some stuff I had ignored looked awesome! Then go to Cherry Culture and do an online order! The prices are phenomenal, with Ultra Pearls being only $2-$3 each, the site often having great sales, and shipping to Canada being totally reasonable. I've done several LARGE orders from here such as all the shadows in this post, several of the Jumbo Eye Pencils and other things totally only $40 including shipping... so definitely don't miss out on those deals!

And last but most definitely not least...

HAPPY CANADA DAY!!

What's on the Wishlist? Vol. 3

This wishlist of mine is ever expanding. This is going to be only a teeny sampling of what I've got a lemming for these days! But these are some of the things right at the top. :)

Konad Stamping Nail Art

This stuff looks like the bees knees!! I've been getting more into nail art recently, and this would certainly help facilitate that. If you aren't sure exactly what Konad is or how it works, basically the way it works is there are metal plates with designs etched into them - there are TONS of plates with all kinds of designs, from flowers to animal prints to words, and many, many more. You paint nail polish over them (you can buy the Konad kind which is formulated to work for stamping the best, it's thick and opaque enough, although there are many regular nail polishes that work too that you can look up all over the web), then scrape the excess off the plate so the nail polish is only in the design. Then you take a rubber stamper, roll it over the design to pick up the polish, roll it over your nail and voila!! There are many tutorials on YouTube to check out. There are many different kit options to start with, and then you can buy individual Konad plates as you like. There are also lots of non-Konad brand stamping plates out there (usually referred to collectively as faux-Nad) which are usually more inexpensive. Basically, mama wants some Konad!!

Urban Decay The Feminine Palette

What's not to love about this? Absolutely gorgeous packaging, which is usual for UD (I also have the Naked Palette and the Show Pony palette) with some beautiful neutrals accented by lovely soft colours. It's like they tapped into my mind when they were trying to decide what shades to put in here. It comes with a small size Eyeshadow Primer Potion - I try not to buy the full sized ones, I just get the palettes that come with a small size.... I get more for my money that way! $20 for one primer potion or around $35 for six eyeshadows and a small primer potion? What do you think!!

ghd Classic 1" Styler

This bad boy is on my wishlist for a few reasons - my hair is naturally straight for the most part (when air dried it gets a very slight wave but it doesn't take much to get it mostly straight) so it doesn't hold a curl well at all - no cheapy curling irons for me. This product is multi-purpose - although you can use it as a flat iron to get completely smooth, flat, glossy hair, because it has curved edges on the plates, you can use it to curl your hair too! It's a bit pricey at around $200 but I think it will be well worth the money!

Smith's Rosebud Salve


This is one of those cult favourite beauty products, and as someone with chronically dry, flaky lips, I'm willing to try any lip balm that is the favourite of so many people! Only $8.50CAD also makes it pretty affordable to try even if it doesn't work out... I'd be willing to pay more than that for a lip balm that keeps my lips soft and smooth!

Review: Living Proof Full Thickening Mousse

This is one product that really hits the nail on the head! You may have heard of it before. It has won awards, including Allure's Best of Beauty Breakthrough. Here's a couple descriptions from the experts.

From Sephora:
"What it is:
A weightless mousse that gives even the finest hair thickness, fullness, and touchable body.

What it does:
This mousse contains a revolutionary technology developed by Living Proof scientists-Poly Beta Amino Ester-1, a proprietary ingredient that creates a soft pattern of thickening points on hair to increase texture, body, fullness, and volume. The weightless formulation is flexible and lasts until you wash it out, so you can play with your style without it collapsing.

What it is formulated WITHOUT:
- Parabens
- Sulfates "

From Allure:
"Most body builders help hair defy gravity with a gluelike ingredient—called PVP/VA copolymer—that suspends hair off the scalp. But an encounter with a brush, wind, or your restless hands breaks down this brittle coating, and hair sinks like a fallen soufflé. Living Proof scientists ignored the traditional target (roots) and instead created a flexible polymer that adds volume through the length of the hair and stays effective—through mussing and fussing—until the next shampoo."

And from me! The thing I love about this mousse is obviously, how well it volumizes. I have fine hair, but LOTS of it. So volumizing becomes difficult because of the sheer weight of how much hair I have. This stuff plumps me up like a pro! But it's also fantastic as a styling aid. Bangs (or fringe, depending on what part of the world you call home!) are notoriously difficult to style. This stuff makes them SO easy to manage and style, it's really a lifesaver. You also need quite a small amount for it to be effective - too much actually gets a little sticky, so you get the best volumizing effects from a small amount, making it even more cost effective!

I'm currently using a mini bottle of this, but I'll be upgrading to a full size very soon!

NOTD June 24/11

Saw this today on a tumblr, and LOVED the idea!! Threw it together for myself and I'm in love... this will definitely make an appearance on my nails again!

 

I didn't take pictures of the bottles, but the shades I used were:

• Wet n' Wild Fast Dry in "Everybody Loves Redmond" (I hadn't even looked at the name until just now, *groan* that one puts OPI to shame!!)
• Sally Hansen Insta-Dry in "Whirlwind White"
• Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in "Navy Baby" (dark enough to look like black!)
• base and topcoat were Rimmel Base Coat Top Coat Pro