Collective Haul (aka, what I bought the past couple weeks)

Hey all! It’s been a long time since I did a big haul post, but I have collected quite a few times over the past few weeks to show off. Mostly makeup, with a couple extras. Let’s get into it, shall we?

1. Gingerbread Crème Oreos

These are so delicious it’s insane. It’s like a cinnamon-y, pumpkin-spice-y oreo! Mmmmm…

2. Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder in 004 Sandstorm

Not a surprising addition. You may know by now that this is my favourite powder, and I was majorly running out. I’ve realised that pretty much any of the 5 colours they sell looks fine on my skin, though I preferred the one shade darker than this. It was out of stock, however, and I’ll likely get a little paler with the cooler weather. Plus, that’s what bronzer is for, right? I love the cute crown emblem they’ve started pressing into their powder.

3. Rimmel Waterproof Scandaleyes in Black:

Because I miss my Urban Decay Big Fatty mascara so much, and this one has a massive brush, I’ve been thinking about giving it a try for a long time, so I finally got it. It’s not bad, and it wears really well, but it doesn’t do much for my lashes’ shape. I’ve never had a mascara that made me feel like my lashes are straight before, but this one certainly does. It looks really sad unless I curl my lashes before hand (something I rarely ever do, usually), though a couple coats of this stuff does lengthen and volumize my lashes really nicely. I just wish I didn’t have to curl them first! Oh well, I guess next time I’ll be going back to my Maybelline mascaras!

4. Bath and Body Works candles in Marshmallow Fireside and Spiced Wreath:

Yay candles!! I’m really sad that I missed out on the fall scents, but I’m glad I got to take advantage of the winter ones, and on sale too! I split a buy-2-get-2 sale with my best friend, and ended up getting these two scents:

Marshmallow Fireside, though not my favourite of the B&BW fire-scented candles, is pretty fantastic. My faovurite was probably Vanilla Fireside, but this one is really similar, and it came in the mason-jar size, while the other one only came in the large size. As you would expect, this has a sweet, vanilla-y scent mixed with the smokey smell of a bonfire! Love! I need about a million more of these so that I never run out!

Spiced Wreath, to me, smells like a winter version of Cider Lane, but a million times better. Cinnamon and spices mixed with other great Christmassy scents that are really hard to pick out, but absolutely perfect for the coming season. I need more of this one too… >_<

5. MAC Amplified Lipstick in St. Germain:

Been wanting this one for a while now, at least partly because one of my favourite YouTubers (shaaanxo) is obsessed with it! Also, it’s a delicious smelling MAC lipstick, so what’s not to love? It’s a super-shocking, blue-based bright pink, and it’s really scary the first time you put it on, but I’ve pretty much fallen in love with it. Also, it’s an amplified formula lipstick, so it lasts forever, and wears really nicely, too!

6. Maybelline Age Rewind Dark Circle Eraser:

Bought this because I’ve been wanting an under eye concealers since I realised that mine made my skin look yellow! This is the favourite of a different YouTuber (I think it’s MissTiffanyD?), so I thought I’d give it a go, since most people seem to use high end concealers. I’m liking it so far, though granted, I don’t generally have too much to cover up.

6. INM Out the Door topcoat:

Massive bottle of polish much? It’s 4 oz! Most bottles are 0.5 oz, like the other OTD bottle I pictured beside my new bottle, just to show you the size difference. This should last me a while, and was only $22 from Nail Polish Canada. Anyway, this is pretty much the best topcoat I’ve found so far, so I’m glad to have (a lot) more.

7. ELF Eyebrow kit in Light:

While I love my NYX brow pencil, I wanted to try out another brow product, and Shaaanxo, who I mentioned earlier, really likes this one, so I thought I’d give it a go. Unfortunately, the brush it comes with is terrible, and I can’t find my angled brush for some reason, so trying it out properly will have to wait a little while. The colours look to be pretty good for me, though. Swatches:

The top two are what I currently use: my NYX brow pencil in taupe and Urban Decay’s Naked eye shadow. Below is the gel and powder from the ELF kit. The gel is a little darker, but should be alright, and the powder looks less orange, so that should be good!

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And, unless I’ve forgotten something, that’s everything I’ve got lately! Let me know what you think in the comments, and thanks for reading!

Review: China Glaze’s Dash of Dazzle polish set

Nail Polish Canada contacted me to ask if I wanted to review one of the China Glaze Happy Holi-Glaze polish sets. I picked the blue and gold one called “Dash of Dazzle,” the other set was a pink, red, and a glitter. If you want to check out either set, or any of the polishes in the collection, you can find them at NailPolishCanada.com…

But for now, let’s take a look at my swatches, shall we?

The packaging on the set:

This is how the sets look, with that box holding all of them together. And Nail Polish Canada sent me some Christmas coloured lollipops, too!

A closer shot of the bottles:

From left to right: Mingle with Kringle, Bells Will Be Blinging, and So Blue Without You.

Nail Wheel swatch of Bells Will Be Blinging:

Just one coat; this is how I like to swatch my glitters so I’ll be able to see how they’ll layer over another colour.

Nail Wheel Swatches of So Blue Without You and Mingle With Kringle:

Above: One coat. I usually do at least two coats on my nail wheels, as I like to see how many layers it takes to reach full opacity on the nail. But even at one coat, these polishes are pretty close to opaque. They are also pretty much the exact same consistency, and spread really nicely without any streaking. Below is a picture of these polishes with two coats:

On the Nail:

I did two coats of So Blue Without You, and then two thin coats of Bells Will Be Blinging (which is a ridiculous name!) on the accent nail. I really love how well these two colours work together. And the colour of the So Blue Without You polish is just fantastic; it’s like a cold, bright, almost foil-like blue. Definitely in love.

There are lots more colours in this collection, aside from the two sets that are available. Also, right now the sets are available for $15 each on NailPolishCanada.ca, and shipping is free in Canada, so now is probably the time to pick one up if you’re interested!

Thanks for reading!

**I was sent this product for review, but I was not paid to endorse the product or the site. All my opinions are completely and 100% honest as always.**

October 2014 Favourites!

Once again we have come to a new month, and that means it’s time to talk about my favourite products. This month, I had very few products that really stood out, at least none that I hadn’t mentioned in the past month or two, though many of my September favourites were going strong for October as well. That said, I do have a couple of things to mention:

1. Peace & Love & OPI by OPI

This is probably expected, considering I was already raving about it in the haul post when I first got it. In the last month, though, I’ve probably worn this polish at least three times! If you want to see some great swatch pictures, you can see my haul post featuring this polish.

2. L’Oreal Paris Hair Expertise Power Moisture Shampoo and Conditioner

I decided to switch up the brand last time I needed to buy a new shampoo, and so I settled on this one because my hair definitely needs the moisture, and also in part because I think Elle Fowler (from YouTube) was talking about how good Hyaluronic Acid is… and Hyaluronate sounds like that. Yeah. Anyway, this shampoo is actually fantastic. It definitely leaves my hair feeling a lot softer and smoother, and I like that it doesn’t attempt to amplify my curls like my last shampoo did, since all it ever managed to do was make me look lopsided and messy, in my opinion. So I’m definitely enjoying this shampoo, and I may even repurchase the same one for once when this one is gone.

3. Coca-Cola Lip Smackers

I have a lot of lip balms, some more high-end, some super cheap. You’d think I use a lot of lip balm if you counted how many I have, but I usually don’t bother because I generally don’t like how they look, feel, and/or smell on my lips. I’m also really inconsistent about what I like a lip balm to be like: minty? flavoured? slick? shiny? thick and creamy? coloured?

Anyways, at the moment, my favourite is likely a childhood classic for lots of people: Lip Smackers. Specifically the Coke flavoured ones. If you had these as a kid (or if you use them now, obviously), you probably remember not just how great they smell, but how great they taste. For a long time I stopped bothering with lip smackers because my little sister used to eat lip balms as a toddler… I’m writing a lot about this, probably unnecessarily, so I’ll get to the point. This lip balms smells like those Coke bottle candies, is shiny (not shimmery), barely tinted (just sorta makes your lips look a little redder/darker) and doesn’t end up feeling greasy unless you really layer it on. Also, it’s been super hydrating for my just-starting-to-dry-up lips.

Non-Beauty favourites:

1. Michael Kors Jet Set tote

I just posted about this, so I won’t bore you with more, but this is definitely a favourite! If you want to see more pictures or read me ranting about how much I love this bag, you can check out my other post about it (and check out my anniversary makeup at the same time!).

2. Plain teas

Image from LuckyVitamin.com

Usually I prefer my teas with cream or milk and sugar, but lately I’ve really been enjoying flavoured and spiced black teas with no milk and either very little or no sugar. Aside from being healthier and lower in calories, which is definitely not my reason for drinking my teas this way, I’ve basically just been enjoying tasting different flavours in my same old teas. Tea is also a lot more refreshing when you don’t have a sweet, milky aftertaste! It’s good for a change of pace. (My particular favourite at the moment is Stash’s Holiday Chai tea. Not sure if you can get it in stores yet, but it’s available every Christmas season.)

3. Agents of SHIELD

Image from KernelsCorner.com

This is a brand-new(ish) tv show from Marvel, and it is fantastic! If you like superhero movies like The Avengers and Ironman (which everyone should), you should love this show as well. If you haven’t seen the Avengers movies, some references might be lost on you, but its still a great, funny show all the same. And Agent Coulson is fantastic. Also, if you have seen the Avenger movies, but haven’t heard about this show, the show takes place starting a while after the events of The Avengers movie. The 6th episode just aired this Tuesday (the 5th), so it shouldn’t be too hard to get caught up, and I definitely recommend it if you haven’t seen it yet!

And that’s all for this month! Let me know your October favourites in the comments!

Contest Link: Sephora/UD Giveaway from Confessions of a Makeup Addict!

Nikki of Confessions of a Makeup Addict is holding a giveaway for several reasons for a $25 gift card to either Sephora or Urban Decay.

You can enter via the Rafflecopter form here: http://www.nikmakeupjunkie.com/

The contest is open internationally.

Thanks for reading, and good luck to any who enter!

Four Year Anniversary Makeup (+ my new Michael Kors bag)!

Hello again! I thought today I’d post a quick look at how I did my makeup for my fourth anniversary date with my boyfriend, as well as the fantastic MK bag that he bought me as an anniversary gift!

For makeup I went pretty simple, considering my makeup the next day was going to be pretty intense… (Our anniversary is the day before Halloween!).

I used my Skin 79 BB Cream and set it with my Rimmel Stay Matte powder. I also used my Too Faced Milk Chocolate Soliel bronzer to lightly contour my face, and used my MAC Soft and Gentle as a highlight on my cheekbones, nose, and cupid’s bow.

For my eyes, I used my Maybelline Colour Tattoo in Bad to the Bronze as a light wash across my lids, and highlighted the inner corner and brow bone with Virgin from my UD Naked palette. I lined the top lashes with my Wet’n’Wild H20 proof liquid liner, and the waterline with my UD pencil in Perversion. For mascara, I used two coats of my Revlon Lash Potion. Finally, for my brows, I used my NYX AUTO eyebrow pencil in Taupe.

Sorry for the over-exposure of these next two images, but they were the only non-blurry ones I got of my full face with my lip colour! I’ve tried to colour-correct them a bit, and this is the best I’ve managed.

Anyways, for my lips, I used my NYX Soft Matte Lip Creme in Addis Ababa, which I absolutely love not just for the colour, but also because it sets quickly, lasts a long time, and fades nicely (at least in my experience). I’d love to try more colours of this product.

One thing I’ve started to notice about my makeup, or at least the looks I love enough to take pictures of, is that I’m developing my own “classic” sort of look, which pretty much always includes a bronze or gold eye, flawless skin, perfect brows, contouring, and a bright pink-ish lip! =P

And now for my present:

I actually got this bag about a week before our anniversary, when my boyfriend and I were going downtown, and he said we should stop in at the Michael Kors store to visit the bag I have been lusting after ever since the day my best friend bought hers. I wasn’t sure they still made it, since it isn’t on the site. I had a tiny suspicion that I might get the bag, but I didn’t want to believe that in case I didn’t… I mean, it’s a very expensive bag, in my opinion, at about $250 bucks! But when I tried to put it back after trying it on he stopped me and I got the beautiful bag!

It’s called the Jet Set Zip-Top tote… so it doesn’t have a cool name or anything, but who cares?! I love it so much, I think it’s so simple and beautiful… and the leather is sooo soft! Also, unlike lots of designed purses, it has lots of pockets inside, and even a clip for your keys so they don’t get lost at the bottom!

So yeah, I’m super excited to have it, even like 2 weeks later. I’m actually probably much too excited about this considering its just a bag… but that’s alright.

Anyways, thanks for reading!