Friday 27 November 2015

Sephora Black Friday Haul

tarte lights camera lashes, amazonian lcay blush, fanciful, gift set, living proof perfect hair day, clenan fragrances
tarte lights camera lashes, amazonian lcay blush, fanciful, gift set, living proof perfect hair day, clenan fragrances

I did a small amount of black friday shopping today and I thought you may be interested in some of the things I picked up in Sephora. They didn't have a real sale, just a few mini sets for $13 each. These mini's have some great products and make awesome gifts for others, or are fun for trying new products yourself.

Tarte Fanciful Favouriters Deluxe Discovery Set
This one excited me because I love the Amazonian Clay blushes. There's a really great sized mini in the shade Fanciful which looks like its right up my alley. There's also the Maracuja Oil and Lights Camera Lashes Mascara which I haven't tried yet.

Clean Fragrance Rollerball Layering 
I thought this would make a cute stocking stuffer or little add on to a christmas gift. There's three mini rollerballs inside in Warm Cotton, Skin and Cashmere.

Living Proof Perfect Hair Day Trio
Ive been wanting to try this brand since they came out and thought this little set with shampoo, conditioner and a 5-in-1 treatment was the perfect time to try some things.

I'm not sure how long these are available so if you're interested get onto Sephoras site or run to the store before they're all gone.

Thursday 26 November 2015

Clarins Beauty Advent Calendar

clarins beauty advent calendar 2015
clarins beauty advent calendar 2015

If like me, you love trying new products or brands, beauty advent calendars are really fun. I was trying to decide which calendar I wanted to get this year (aside from the traditional chocolate one of course), and saw Clarins has one this year. I've never really tried anything from the brand but heard many great things and the box contained a mix of different products from skincare and body to makeup for $55. It is a bit of an investment, however you get a good range of decently sized samples to try. For beauty advents, it isn't a bad price.

Included is

  • Instant Eye Make-Up Remover 10 ml
  • Cleansing Milk Normal to Dry Skin 10 ml
  • Toning Lotion with Camomile Normal to Dry Skin 10 ml
  • Extra-Comfort Anti-Pollution Cleansing Cream 5 ml
  • One-Step Gentle Exfoliating Cleanser 5 ml
  • Eye Contour Gel 3 ml
  • HydraQuench Intensive Serum Bi-Phase 3 ml
  • HydraQuench Cream All Skin Types 5 ml
  • HydraQuench Moisture Replenishing Lip Balm 15 ml
  • Beauty Flash Balm 5 ml
  • Blue Orchid Face Treatment Oil Dehydrated Skin 2 ml
  • Tonic Body Treatment Oil 2 ml
  • Hand and Nail Treatment Cream 8 ml
  • Eau Dynamisante 15 ml
  • Instant Smooth Perfecting Touch 4 ml
  • Instant Light Lip Balm Perfector 01 2ml
  • Instant Light Base Radiance Boosting Complexion Base 01 10ml
  • Wonder Perfect Mascara Black 01 3ml
  • Miniature Instant Concealer 5ml
  • ClarinsMen Anti-Fatigue Eye Serum 3 ml
  • ClarinsMen Super Moisture Balm 5 ml
  • Mission Perfection Serum 3ml
  • Exfoliating Body Scrub for smooth skin 8ml
  • Moisture Rich Body Lotion 8ml
 The advent calender is available on clarins for $55 (cdn), though I'm not sure it's still available.

Thursday 19 November 2015

Sephora Favourites Superstars

sephora superstars favourites, smashbox, nars, benefit theyre real, laura mercier


Sephora come out with these favourites gift sets all the time and they're always so intriguing. This set had a ton of products I've always wanted to try for $90 (canadian). Of the thirteen items, seven of them are full size which makes this a fantastic deal. Liner, mascara, bronzer and highlighters, primer, shadow and even some tools. You get a little bit of everything in there and it's a great way to try out new things without the commitment of a high price tag. So let's see what's inside.

Smashbox Photo Finish Primer Water (full size)
Makeup Forever Step 1 Skin Equalizer Hydrating Primer
Benefit They're Real Mascara
Touch In Sol Stretchex Mascara (full size)
Laura Mercier Matte Radiance Highlight
Clinique Chubby Stick Sculpting Highlight (full size)
Nars Dual Intensity Eyeshadow in Himalia (full size)
Urban Decay Eyesahdow in Lounge (full size)
Original Beauty Blender (full size)
Tarte The Slenderizer Bamboo Contour Brush
Tarte The Sculptor FAce Slenderizer in Park Ave Princess
Stila Stay All Day Liner in Intense Black (full size)
Lancome Drama Liqui-Pencil Extreme Longwear Liner in Noir Intense (full size)

I havent had a chance to try all of these out yet, but there are some exciting things in there. I'm particaularily excited for the Smashbox Primer Water, Laura Mercier and Chubby Stick Highlighters, the eye shadows, Stila Liner and Beauty Blender. I have tried the Lancome liner however and must say it is surprisingly amazing for a pencil liner. Really dark and stayed put all day. The Stretchex mascara is a new brand so that should be fun to try out too.

Everything looks lovely in this set and it would make a great gift for beauty lovers and someone new to makeup, building up they're collection. I think it was worth the price tag as half the box is full sized products, and some nice ones at that.



Monday 16 November 2015

A Lush Haul

Lush Luxury Lush pud, the experimeter, yog nog, avobath, big blue




























I'm not a fan of the cold weather, but noe thing I do love is that I have an excuse to laze around in a nice relaxing Lush bath. There's nothing nicer after a long day, coming in from the cold and getting into a colourful bath with a book. I treated myself to a few bath bombs, so here's what I got.

Luxury Lush Pud
I tried this one last year and honestly the scent isnt my favourite but the colours look really nice. With tonka absolute, lavender and benzoin resinoid, this one supposed to help with tension and aid in relaxation. Good after a long day.

The Experimenter
This is a new bath bomb and I'm really looking forward to the colourful bath it makes. With vanilla and tonka absolute this bomb is supposed to have vivid colours and popping candy, surely to give quite the show as it fizzes away.

Yog Nog
This is a christmas bath bomb with spicy clove oil, soy milk powder and shea butter. I don't find this one very strongly scented but they say its toffee scented. This should be a nice one for moisture on a cold night.

Avobath
This one is supposed to invigorate you with a lemongrass scent, avocado and olive oil to moisturize the skin. I thouht this would be a good one for winter time as my skin gets super dry this time of year.  It smells really fresh aswell.

Big Blue
I've always wanted to try this but for some reason never picked it up. The guy in the store said it was his favourite when I asked for a recommendation, so I thought good time to try it. Its packed with minerals including salt to rid the body of toxins and seaweed to soften and soothe. There's also lavender and lemon oil to help you relax. It has a really fresh scent and apparently makes the water bright blue which should be really cool.

Saturday 14 November 2015

Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer





Ive heard so much about this concealer was wasn't into the high price tag. While perusing the checkout aisle of doom in Sephora, aka where all the cute minis are, I spotted a mini Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer. I thought this was great because $36 for a concealer is a big commitment. At least to me. So this was much more affordable and justifiable in my eyes at $16.

Of course as the name states, this is supposed to give a radiant, glowing look to the skin. It does a really great job at covering dark circles, redness and imperfections, but I'm not so sure about the radiance effect. Having a slightly thicker formula, I find it to be a tad drying under the eyes. A little goes a long way though so creasing is not a worry with one. I went with the shade Vanilla, which has a slightly pink undertone, though I feel lke Custard might have been a better match for me. I'm still not 100% with my opinion on this one. It's good for my dark circles, but I still find myself reaching for my Rimmel Wake Me Up most days.

Are you a fan of this concealer? Let me know your thoughts below!


Thursday 12 November 2015

Bumble and Bumble Dont Blow It (H)air Styler



As someone who doesn't have a lot of time to style their hair, I was super excited to give this new product from Bumble and Bumble a go. Aimed towards fine/medium texture hair (me), this cream is said to give texture and body to air dried hair without the product feel. Lightweight, touchable waves is what we're aiming for here. Perfect for those days when you don't ahve time to go theough the whole blowdry, curl, flat iron thing. 

I've been using this for a few months now and I'm in love. I've tried difference creams, mousses and sprays to enhance my somewhat wavy hair, and nothing works quite like this. It helped bring out the wave without eaving a crunchy feel or we look. I use about a nickel size amount (more or less depending on how much hair you have) through the ends, give it a slight scrunch and twist around and leave it alone. I've found the less I fuss with my hair, the nicer it turns out. When dried, my hair was soft, touchable and natural. This makes getting ready on a time crunch super easy. If you haven't tried this stuff I recommend giving it a go. 

Monday 9 November 2015

To The Last Drop #18

Its a 10 Miracle Leave In Conditioner
This is one of the best leave in conditioners. If you only use one product in your hair, make it this one. It helps tame frizz, of course detangle and smooth, protect against heat styling and seals in colour. So many great things theres no reason not to use this stuff. Love it and will forever buy, though Im using one from Bumble and Bumble right now which rates pretty darn close to this one.

Bioderma Micellar Solution
Ive tried a few different micellar waters and honestly, nothing works quite like this one. Though La Roche-Posay is a close second favourite. This is the only micellar water that can get tough mascara off without feeling like your taking your skin off to do so. It also doesnt leave that awful tight, sticky feeling that almost all others leave that unless you wash your face after, it will not go away. I like these types of products to remove any leftover makeup after using something like a facial oil, or for lazy days when I dont want to wash my face twice, etc. I may buy this again in the future, but Im still trying out some more affordable options to see if theres something comparable.

Simple Refreshing Facial Wash Gel
I used to love this stuff but my face gets so dry this time of year, I need to switch to milk/cream cleansers to keep the mooisture in. This was a favourite for a few years and I still love it. It doesnt dry the skin out to that tight, uncomfortable feeling, is great for more sensitive skins and is really affordable. I may purchase again in the spring or summer, but for now Im moving on.

Maybelline Master Precise Liquid Liner
This is probably my favourite liquid liner. Its nice and black, doesnt have that weird shine that some liners do and is fairly affordable. Also the felt tip doesnt wear away which is really important because its so hard to get a crisp line when the little nib is frayed. Will for sure buy again.

Bath and Body Works Wallflowers 
I go through these so often because about 2/3 of the way the scent stops working. Its kind of annoying because I feel like Im not getting to use the whole product, but theyre always on sale so I guess its not a huge issue. I used the Mango Dragon Fruit and Lemonade Watermelon. They both smelt so good and fruity. I would buy them again but the scents are not in stores anymore. Wah.

Lush Skin Drink
I did a whole post on this and loved it when I first purchased it. Its a good moisturizer for super dry skin, which I get in the winter, but the scent is so offputting to me I had to stop using it. It has sesame oil in it and I just cant stand the smell. I went to use it again and its separating and expired now. If the scent doesnt bother you this is great, but I just couldnt love it as much as I wanted to.

Essie No Chips Ahead Top Coat
This was great when it was new but its gone all thick and gloopy now, and just ruins my nails more with it than without.

Origins GinZing Refreshing Eye Cream 
This is my favourite stuff ever. Ive only ever used the sample sizes because I get them in kits and as Sephora Points perks, which is awesome because then I dont have to spend any money. But I for sure will when my samples run out.

Nivea In Shower Body Milk
I always snatch these out of my works magazines because I think its so good for when you're feeling lazy or dont have time to moisturize after your shower. I can never seem to find it in store for some reason, so the samples will do for now.

Rimmel Stay Matte Powder Translucent
I love this stuff. I really only use it to set my concealer under my eyes so it lasts me forever. My only complaint is that the lid doesnt stay on too well, making it not so great for travel. Otherwise, love it and already have another one.

Dove Visibly Smooth Deoderant
This was supposed to minimize the appearance of hair after time. Im not sure if it did, but it kept me fresh which is what matters most.

Bedhead Moisture Maniac Moisturizing Conditioner
I find the name of this really funny because this is possibly the least moisturizing conditioner Ive ever used. It didnt do much, no matter how long I left it on, and I just really didnt along with it. I had to use 4-5 pumps to even cover my hair, so it didnt last me long at all. I was kind of glad because I hated it anyway, but I usually can make a bottle last me months before I even need to think about it being near the bottom. I wouldnt recommend this one.

The Body Shop Satsuma Body Polish
I actually really liked this. I thought it was an exfoliant but it isnt really. Its a body wash with very small exfoliant beads that very slightly help take away dead skin, but you cant feel them at all. This was a great scent for the summer, but after a few weeks I got kind of bored of it. Id love to try this in another scent though.

Korres Vitamin E Face Primer
I dont even know if they still make this because I couldnt find it online, but I honestly didnt find anything that special about it anyway. It smells kinda weird and wasnt the best primer I've ever used. I was trying to make myself finish it off but theres still a bit in there and I couldnt do it. I think Korres make nice products but this wasnt a favourite of mine.

Vichy Thermal Water
I used to use these thermal waters all the time. I like it over my makeup in the winter to help take the foundation clinging to dry skin look away, but otherwise I feel like these are just bottles of water with a high price tag. What are these even really supposed to do anyway?

Friday 6 November 2015

Nars Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Bahama

nars velvet matte lip pencil bahama, satin, cruella, rikugien
nars velvet matte lip pencil bahama, satin, cruella, rikugien

I've been a Nars Velvert Matte Lip Pencil fan since I bought this shade two years ago. While my collection is growing, this still remains one of my favorites. The Velvet Matte pencils are great because while they are matte, they don't feel dry and uncomfortable on the lips. This is important for me in a matte lip product because I don't want product clinging to dry patches or settling into lines, because thats just not pretty.

Bahama is the perfect fall/winter shade. Its a pinky brown mauve shade, but not too brown. A very Kylie like colour. I find this can really put a look together no matter what youre wearing and really like that. A great colour to add to your collection. The only downfall to these pencils is they need to be sharpened, though not too often, and don't fit in most sharpeners. 

Are you a fan of the Nars Velvet Matte Lip Pencils? Have you tried this shade?

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