August 28, 2013

NOTD: August 28, 2013

Another summery NOTD!


This is 2 coats of Julep Rebel (from my March Maven Box) over Orly Top2Bottom with 2 coats of Orly Gumdrop (from this haul) as the accent nail.
I love the way Tiffany Blue (Gumdrop) looks with silver! Perfect pair!

What colour combos do you love?

Thanks for reading!

August 26, 2013

NOTD: August 26, 2013

Going along with all the Sephora purchases I've made here's a look with Sephora by OPI Mermaid to Order (from this haul)!


This is 2 coats of Sephora by OPI Mermaid to Order (love this one!) and 2 coats of NYC 120A (something I've had in my collection, actually pretty impressed with the quality considering its likely a $2.99 NYC polish) on the accent nail all are over my Orly Top2Bottom base coat.

I think the teal of Mermaid to Order is perfect for both summer and fall since it's a jewel tone!

What's your favourite always seasonal nail polish?

Thanks for reading!

August 25, 2013

August Sephora Haul: Part III

To finish up this haul, here are the freebies I got! (Part I and Part II)


Back row L to R: Marc Jacobs Honey
Middle row L to R: bareMinerals Ready Eyeshadow 2.0 The Perfect Storm, Clinique Even Better Skin Tone Correcting Lotion Broad Spectrum SPF 20, Philosophy Living Grace Fragrance, Prada Candy
Front row L to R: Aquolina Pink Sugar, MUFE Smoky Extravagant Mascara

bareMinerals Ready Eyeshadow Duo


Pics of the duo opened. Isn't it pretty? I got this free with the code VIBREADY (I believe this only works for Canadian shoppers, $25 value!)

Clinique Even Better Skin Tone Correcting Lotion Broad Spectrum SPF 20. As I have Combination Oily skin, this should work out well for me, look for a review in an upcoming empties post!

Philosophy Living Grace Fragrance: I wasn't expecting to like this, as I'm not a fan of floral scents.  But I've actually really liking how clean this is. And not too floral or powdery!

So this is kind of a cheat, because I actually got this from Shoppers Drugmart (only interesting thing from that trip). I like the sweetness of this scent, with some musky overtones that add sex appeal.


I have been loving trying Pink Sugar, so sweet, both fruity and with vanilla scents to it. Might have to buy a full size of this one!

MUFE Smoky Extravagant Mascara. I was disappointed that this is a one-time use sample, but maybe I'll be able to figure out a way to get more uses out of it and keep it from drying up? Any suggestions?

Thanks for reading!






August 20, 2013

August Sephora Haul: Part II

The haul continues...(for Part I click here)
Here are close ups of the Sephora by OPI polish I bought!


From L to R: A True Romantic, Techno Girl, Access 24/7, Ms. Can't Be Wrong, What A Broad, Just A Little Dangerous


From L to R: Cab Fare, Caliente Coral, Special Request, High Maintenance, Sample Sale, I'm With Brad


From L to R: Leaf Him At The Altar, Mermaid to Order, Opening Night, Already Famous, Dating The Drummer, Never Enough Shoes

High Maintenance is much redder than it looks in my picture (though not nearly as red as Sample Sale).

I'm excited to try all these out! Most excited for the blues, green, and purples!

What colours here would you like to see in a NOTD?

Thanks for reading!


August 18, 2013

August Sephora Haul: Part I

I was bad and placed another order @ Sephora. I'm going to split this into three posts because there are so many pictures!

Everything all together (not including samples, that'll come in another post).
Back row: Sephora by OPI 18 Piece Mini Nail Color Set
Middle row L to R: Sephora Collection Instant Eye Makeup Remover, Sephora Collection Waterproof Star Eye Shadow and Liner in Gold Night, Sephora + Pantone Universe Elemental Molten Liquid Liners, Sephora by OPI Nail Color in I Don't Bite
Front row L to R: Urban Decay Vintage 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Covet and Binge
 

Sephora Collection Instant Eye Makeup Remover: I got this for $6 since I'm almost done my 2 on-the-go makeup removers and figured this couldn't be too bad. It's definitely non-irritating, although it does have a light scent to it.  However, it isn't the most effective of makeup removers (has a particularly hard time with my Sephora Collection Contour Waterproof Eye Pencil, which it basically just smudges around and doesn't fully remove), so I'll likely buy Lancôme Bi-Facil next time (which I love)
 


Sephora Collection Waterproof Star Eye Shadow and Liner in Gold Night: When I first opened my package the pic I took turned out blurry, so this pic was taken after I used it the next day. I was worried that it was dried out, however this has a perfect gel consistency and I love the colour! This wore well all day for me, staying in place and not smudging. Unfortunately this product is sold out according to Sephora's website, however I would highly recommend picking this up if you see it and like gel eyeliners! Definitely worth the price (I got it for $7)!


Sephora + Pantone Universe Elemental Molten Liquid Liners: This is a set of 4 liquid eyeliners with different finishes.
L to R: Blue Atoll (blue glitter), Emerald (metallic green), Fragrant Lilac (holographic light purple), and Chocolate Torte (matte brown).
For $12 I thought this was a great deal! I'm an eyeliner junkie and felt I was lacking liquid liners, so I bought this to triple my current liquid collection. So far I've only used Emerald, man did it have impact! It took longer than I'm used to for the eyeliner to dry, but once it did it stayed perfectly in place all day! It was a bit tricky to get a thin line, but I'm hoping wiping the brush on the inside will make a thin line achievable. I'm definitely happy I picked this set up!



Urban Decay Vintage 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Covet: I was worried this would be similar to Emerald from the Pantone set or my Wet N' Wild Color Icon Pencil in Green, however all 3 are quite different. Again, Urban Decay's Pencils are amazing, so creamy and pigmented! If you have yet to try them, go get them now while they're still on sale at Sephora!


Urban Decay Vintage 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Binge: I was looking for a nice blue eyeliner and am loving the colour of Binge. Not quite navy not quite cobalt, and not so noticeable that it's not work appropriate. I will definitely get a lot of use out of this!

Look out for my post on the 18 piece nail set and the samples I received!
Have you taken advantage of Sephora's 2X, 3X, 4X points event?  If so what did you pick up?

Thanks for reading!

August 12, 2013

NOTD: August 12, 2013

A bright pink mani is today's classic NOTD

 
This is 2 coats of Julep Carrie (I'm hoping it's named for the ballerina-esque pink tutu dress Carrie Bradshaw wears for the opening credits of Sex and the City) over Orly Top2Bottom.
I bought this polish from the Julep Warehouse sale (see haul here) and I am loving it! It's different enough from my other light pink polish and it went on nicely!
 
Hope everyone's week is off to a good start!
 
Thanks for reading!


August 09, 2013

NOTD: August 9, 2013

Another vibrant NOTD!


Alright, excuse the messiness on my ring finger, Julep Eden wasn't playing nice.
This look was 2 coats Butter London Scouse (from this haul) over my Orly Top2Bottom Coat (from this haul) with 2 coats Julep Eden (from my April Julep Maven box, more about Julep here) as the base.  Eden dried matte for me so I put my Orly Top2Bottom Coat over all nails as well.

I'm loving Scouse but Eden was a disappointment for me, it's more blue than I expected and it dries darker than it looks.

This weekend I've got a lot of shopping to do to get ready for my new apartment, not much else special going on here.  What are you up to this weekend?

Thanks for reading!

August 08, 2013

NOTD: August 8, 2013

Here are today's nails!


For this look I used 2 coats of Julep Morgan (from this haul) over a base coat of Revlon Multi Care Base + Top Coat. On the accent nail I used a coat of Sinful Colors Frenzy (from this haul).

As you can see, I did have some bubbling issues, but I think the blame comes more from the Revlon Base coat than Julep.

I'm loving this royal purple, it's right up my alley, and much more blue-toned than other purples I own. Also, Frenzy was packed with glitter and I will definitely have to check out more Sinful Colors polishes!

Although this didn't come from the Julep Maven program, if you're interested in trying out Julep's polishes the Maven program is a great start! Read more about it here.

What's your favourite purple polish?

Thanks for reading!

August 07, 2013

July Empties

Here are the products I used up in July!


Top row L to R: Ducray Squanorm Shampoo, Bumble and bumble Thickening Shampoo, Bumble and bumble Thickening Conditioner
Bottom row L to R: ELF Lengthening and Defining Mascara, Boscia BB Cream

Not much exciting stuff but here are my thoughts on the products.

Ducray Squanorm Shampoo: This is the best and most effective anti-dandruff shampoo I've tried (and I've tried A LOT). If you have oily dandruff or have found that other anti-dandruff shampoos don't work for you, I suggest trying this out. I have already bought a replacement.

Bumble and bumble Thickening Shampoo: I got this as a free sample from this haul, and finally got around to using it up (I think around 3 uses from this small packet on my medium length hair). Smells like other bumble and bumble shampoos, and I did think this added volume to my hair. But this isn't an area of concern for my hair (see above) so I will not repurchase.

Bumble and bumble Thickening Conditioner: See above, made my hair feel soft, but I will not repurchase, scent isn't my fav and I don't need much help thickening my hair.

ELF Lengthening and Defining Mascara: I got this as a freebie from an ELF purchase back in January and although I probably only got around 10 uses from this mascara (it dried up pretty quickly), there were some parts I liked. The good: it lives up to the lengthening claim and also adds good volume to my lashes. The bad: this smudges quite easily and isn't waterproof, so I did end up with undereye smudges when I wasn't careful (I was able to do a quick swipe with my CoverGirl LashBlast Fusion Waterproof mascara and suddenly this was reasonably waterproof and stayed on my lashes). For $1, I will repurchase this again, because I liked the way my lashes looked and you can't beat the price!

Boscia BB Cream: I got this as a sample from this haul and got around 6 uses out of this small looking foil packet. This is supposedly a one colour fits all, but I found it too dark for my skin tone. This also reacted strangely with water, if your face got wet the BB Cream wouldn't go away but would stick itself more strongly to your skin. I don't think this caused any skin concerns, but I did not like the way this product felt or the lack of colours so I will not purchase this product.

What products did you love or finish up in July?

Thanks for reading!

August 04, 2013

NOTD: August 4, 2013

Sorry that it's been awhile, busy with school and enjoying my summer! Look forward to another haul post sometime this week (I know, I know, I promised I was waiting until fall...) as well as a short July Empties post.

Today's nails:

This is 2 coats of Sephora by OPI Already Famous (from this haul) over my Revlon Multi Care Base + Top Coat, on the accent nail I used 2 coats of Sephora by OPI Bare to be Different which turned out just a milky sheer, so then I put 2 coats of Julep Hilary (from this haul) over top. I'm definitely loving the pewter/gold of Already Famous and Hilary will be a perfect fall copper/bronze!

How have you been enjoying your summer?

Thanks for reading!