Maple Vox Box

So, after over two years on the site, Influenster has finally decided to include their Canadian users in the fun, with the Maple Vox Box!

If you don’t know about Influenster, what it is, is you basically answer questions and fulfill tasks in areas that you are interested in, or that apply to you, and influenster tries to figure out how important you are. The more influential, the more likely you are to get more boxes. The boxes are free, and usually full of full sized samples, though I think sometimes they are small samples. If you don’t know anything about them, you should check them out. Send me a message on Twitter or in the comments below if you’d like an invite link.

Let’s move onto the box:

Just like Glymm box used to, this box comes with a product card with discriptions and prices:

Skinny Cow Milk Chocolate Flavour Heavenly Crisp:

Retail Price: $1.29/bar, or $4.29/4-pack

This bar was really tasty; it’s light and sweet, and didn’t taste cheap or particularly healthy. Which makes sense, since the only reason this is really “skinny” is because it’s a small portion. I personally don’t think I’d pay $1.29 for this, when you can usually get a bigger, richer chocolate bar for the same or less, but it may be a good option for someone trying to cut calories who has a sweet tooth that needs satisfying. That said, 6 grams of this 19 gram bar were fats, and 3.5 grams of that 6 were saturated fats.

While I enjoyed this product, I don’t think I would ever repurchase.

Skinny Cow Milk Chocolate Dreamy Clusters:

Retail Price: $1.29/bag, or $4.29/4-pack

These are basically little clusters of rice crispies, caramel, and chocolate, and they’re actually really good. Unfortunately I lost the packaging for this one, but I can only imagine the fat content in these is even a bit higher than in the bar mentioned above. You get 4 pieces in a bag, and they’re delicious, but 4 is a very unsatisfying number. I know it would defeat the purpose, but a few more pieces would make this seem a lot more worth the price.

As it is, I don’t think I would repurchase this product either.

Broadway Nails imPRESS Press-On Manicure:

Retail Price: $8.99-10.99

Although I haven’t yet tried out this package, you may remember that I tried out another version of this product a while back. If you want to read that review, just click here. This set is a lot shorter than those, and the pattern is much more exciting. However, the different coloured nails make it a little more difficult to pick the right nail for each finger. For example, I think it would look a bit odd if you had three yellow nails in a row and one purple and one orange nail. I will, however, post another short review when I get around to trying these out.

I have considered purchasing these in the past, and may again in the future, though they always seem so expensive.

Ice Breakers DUO:

Retail Price: $1.99

These are a very weird concept to me. I mean, I like raspberries, and I like mint… but I’m usually not a big fan of fruit+mint flavours. That said these aren’t bad. The mint isn’t too strong and overpowering, so these don’t end up tasting like a cough drop, and the raspberry is pleasantly sweet despite the fact that these are sugar-free. One weird thing to note, that really has no bearing on my opinion of these, is that I think my package was put together wrong; as you see in the picture, there is a “One” side and a “many” side, but my package has a huge opening for the “one” flap, and a tiny hole for the “many” one. Weird. I will point out that these are full of fake sweeteners, so if you have any dislike for or react badly to products like Sorbitol, Aspartame, Maltodextrine, or Malitol, you should know that those are some of the main ingredients.

I’ll probably finish the package, but I don’t think these would be the first mints I’d repurchase, as I’d much rather have a straight mint.

Montagne Jeunesse Red Earth Clay Spa:

Retail Price: $2.49

This is a one-use face mask, and they always come in these foil pouches. I’ve never tried one, but I have seen this brand plenty of times in-store. I haven’t tried this one yet, but it is a sheet mask infused with clay and other fairly natural ingredients. I really look forward to trying this out, and I may do a quick review when I get around to using it.

Considering the price, it seems likely that I would repurchase this product, assuming it gets along with my skin.

NYC New York Color Big Bold Plumping Lip Gloss:

Retail Price: $4.99

Before I talk about the product, I just want to remind you that I am not a fan of any lip glosses; I hate the slick, often sticky feeling of them on my lips, and I don’t like the super shiny look of them either. I did, however, try to give this one a fair, unbiased shot. It isn’t the worst lipgloss I have used. So I guess there’s that. It isn’t a super-sticky formula, and almost feels like it might be moisturizing. Also, the plumping effects of this gloss aren’t too over-the-top painful. It isn’t a nice minty tingle like, say, the Revlon Balm Stains, but more of a stinging feeling, but it isn’t really painful and it fade quickly enough. It is highly glossy, which is again something that I don’t like, but I’m sure lots of people would really like that aspect of it. I’m not sure how long it lasts, as I wiped it off after maybe 20 minutes, but the card claims it will last up to 4 hours.

The one thing I absolutely hated about this product, however, was the smell! It smelled to me sickly sweet, and a little like Turkish Delight, which is one of the least delightful foods on the planet. I think it is trying to smell like vanilla, but I just find it repulsive, whereas vanilla should be creamy and delicious. And this isn’t one of those scents that fades when you apply it. So gross.

All things considered, I would never repurchase this product, but I’m sure most lipgloss lovers would like it, unless you have an aversion to plumping products or Turkish Delight.

NYC New York Color Big Bold Curl Mascara:

Retail Price: $4.99

Try to ignore my awkward hand position in the second picture. The first thing I noticed about this mascara was the big, gorgeous brush. I have a history of loving mascaras with massive brushes. This mascara applies really nicely, and does seem to hold a curl as well as doing some nice volumizing. However, this mascara is not waterproof. At all; some products say that, but are passable, this one is really not waterproof. Like, don’t cry, don’t sweat, and don’t get caught in the rain. As such, I had a hard time liking this product completely.

I wouldn’t repurchase this exact product, but may consider it if they have a waterproof version of this formula.

Also, Influenster included two $1.00 off of two NYC product coupons in this VoxBox, which is nice. I may look into getting some nail polishes or lipsticks or something, and maybe give one of the coupons to my sister or something.

And that’s everything I received in this box. It was really cool getting to try out some new products, even if most of them aren’t something I would buy myself. I’ve been interested in the Skinny Cow brand for a while now, but I’ve never bought it before because I wasn’t sure it would be worth it. In my opinion, it isn’t, but I can see the appeal.

I’m definitely most excited about the mask and the press-on nails. =)

I can’t wait for another box. I hope Influenster has more opportunities for Canadians soon!

Thanks for reading! Let me know if you got this box as well, and what you think of any of the products mentioned above!

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I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes.

May 2013 Favourites

I have so much homework to be doing right now, but I’m also really far behind, and I’ve just been poking Youtube and various online stores for the past little while, so I figured I could take a few minutes to finally finish this post. So let’s get to it:

1. My new makeup and brush containers:

 

Both jars are from Dollarama. I think the brush jar is meant to be for spaghetti or other long pastas, but with the little acrylic beads and plastic jewels, it makes a great brush holder. The smaller vase is great for holding tube-shaped makeup products, like liners, mascaras, concealers, and some glosses. And because everything is half standing up, it’s much easier than sifting through my old container for these products and my brushes, which was a large plastic Ferrero Rocher box!

2. Maybelline Turbo Volume Express Mascara:

I know I’ve mentioned it before, but I love this mascara, and this is a new tube! I got this one on sale at London Drugs, and I haven’t seen it there since, which lead me to believe that it was going to be discontinued, but perhaps they just sold out, because the Save-On Foods near me, at least, still has it in stock.

Anyways, this is a great all-round mascara. It has a regular bristle brush, not too big or small. The formula is great, not runny or dry, and tends not to flake.I usually use one coat, but two coats of this mascara looks great too. I’ve found other mascaras that I like since finding this one, but none has been as consistent for me.

3. NYC In a New York Color Minute nail polish in Greenwich Village:

I can’t remember if I blogged about wanting a bright pink polish, or if only I knew about that, but I was searching everywhere for a great neon pink. OPI, Essie, China Glaze, Sephora, Nails Inc… and where did I find the perfect pink? In an NYC nail polish for $1.79 from Target. Wow.  Anyways, I actually am really impressed with this product, besides it being a great colour. It lasts pretty well on my nails, and goes on good in only 2 coats. I wish they had more colours, so I could buy more, but most of the colours in my Target from this collection are basic colours I already have…

Non-Cosmetic Favourites:

1. Comic Books

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pictured are a couple of the ones that I’ve been reading and enjoying lately. Maus is a one-off graphic novel written about the author’s father’s experiences as a Jewish man during World War II in Europe, where all of the Jews are drawn as mice, Nazis as cats, and Polish as pigs, etc. It’s pretty intense, and not the most aesthetically pleasing comic that I’ve come across so far, but it is really really intersting to read, especially since I’ve always been really interested in WWII and the Holocaust.

Fables is a series of comics about pretty much every fairytale creature and character from tons of different stories, and how they live together in this area of New York, and other places in the world. It’s really interesting. I started by reading the Cinderella spin-off comic, but that drew me into the main story, so I went back to the beginning and am slowly reading through the series. These comics are really quick reads, and I can pretty easily finish one volume in about an hour.

2. Jasmine Green Tea 

  Image from Drugstore.com

Pictured is Stash’s Jasmine Blossom Green Tea, because that’s the one I have right now, but I love pretty much every one that I’ve tried. I just love the soft floral scent of it, and it just tastes light and amazing, especially with a tiny bit of sugar to bring out the jasmine flavour!

What I really really want is a perfume that smells just like a jasmine green tea. So if you know of one, please tell me!

3. Imagine Dragons

  Image from lrhoffpauir.tumblr.com

This is the first album, Night Visions. After hearing Radioactive on the radio for the first time, I fell in love with the song, listened to the rest of the album, loved it too, and bought the cd. I then played it more than any other music, almost to the point that I got sick of it, so I’m currently giving it a break, but I still love their music.

Radioactive is still definitely my favourite song on the album, though. I just love the sound of it, which is a bit odd, since I’m usually more of a lyrics girl than a sound person, but it is definitely the sound that gets to me with this song.

4. Oatmeal Crisp in Vanilla Almond

Image from Walmart.ca

I bought this after smelling it when my friend was having a bowl of it one time I was at her house. It is sooooo good! Just sweet enough and super vanilla-y and almond-y, which are two of my favourite flavours, especially for sweet food. I’m not even a cereal person most of the time, but I am so in love with this cereal right now!

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Anyways, that’s all I have to show you from last month. I just want to let you know that I have a few more posts that should be out soon. I’ve either started writing them, or else I’ve already taken all the pictures for them. There should also be at least one new post coming on my other blog (Thought-Constellations) as well, so make sure to check those out when they happen!

Thanks for so much for reading as always!

OH! And I’ve just bought my Vancouver IMATS ticket for this year, so that’ll be coming up in late July. I hope its good, since it's a lot smaller than the IMATS in other cities, and I’m only going to the first day, but I’m definitely looking forward to it! So let me know if you’re going to be there as well!

<3

Random Face of the Day

I don’t often get a chance to do as much makeup as I like to do, but this Friday I managed to make myself wake up early enough to do a full face, so I thought I’d share the results.

What I used:

• Garnier BB Cream in Light/Medium mixed with Lancôme Color Ideal (not sure the colour)
• Benefit Coralista blush
• NYX mechanical brown pencil in light brown
• Urban Decay primer potion
• Urban Decay Virgin on the whole lid and Toasted in the crease and outer corner, from my original Naked Palette
• Urban Decay 24/7 pencil liner in Zero
• Maybelline Colossal Volume Cat Eyes mascara followed my Maybelline Turbo Volume Express in Very Black
• NYC Moisturizing Lipstick in 353A
• Urban Decay All Nighter setting spray

I hope you liked this post, thanks for reading!

My January 2013 Favourites!

So, I’m barely getting this to you by the end of the first week of the month, as I like to do, but honestly, I forgive myself…

Anyways, I only have a few favourites this last month. I’m not really sure why, since I’ve been able to buy myself more stuff than I have for the past few months, but I guess I just stuck to old favourites. I do have a couple of things to share with you for January though, and here they are:

Lipstick/lip products:

I don’t have any particular shades or products for you in this case, but more and more lately I’ve been loving lipsticks, lip balms, and lipstains. The only thing I’m still not very into is gloss. These are some of my favourite colours at the moment, and I love that NYC one more than it looks like I should. Once it’s on it has a really nice dark-ish berry colour!

Real Techniques flat top brush as foundation brush:

Most of the time, I apply foundation with my fingers. I’ve tried using my ELF brushes, but they just don’t really seem to spread the product very well or evenly. However, when I tried this brush, it worked beautifully! I haven’t used my hands alone to apply my foundation since! It really blends the foundation in naturally, even my Lancôme, which I usually have found looks a bit cakey on my skin.

OPI’s On Her Majesty’s Secret Service:

I’ve been loving this colour so much. I’ve worn it several weeks in a row, on it’s own, or layering it over other polishes to play with how best to wear it. It’s just so shimmery and gorgeous, especially under natural light!

Non-Cosmetic Favourites:

Greek yogurt:

Image from Delectablychic.com

I posted this in my last haul post, so this might not be a shock. Astro is definitely my favourite of the three brands that I’ve tried. I love how thick and creamy Greek yogurt is. I wouldn’t say its all that healthy, though, if you think that. All the one’s that I have found have had very high fat contents, about as much as cream in some cases. It also has lots of protein, making this a very high-calorie food. It is delicious though. I think it makes a great treat, and I like to eat it as a dessert type food. =)

Vanilla Spice Lattes:

Image from Starbucks.co.uk

I’m very much hoping that these, and the Vanilla Spice syrup, are permanent additions to the Starbucks menu, because I am completely in love! It tastes so much less sweet than the plain vanilla, and the cardamom (which is the “spice” in vanilla spice, and also one of the dominant flavours in chai tea) is so smooth and soothing! So delicious!

And that’s all for January. I hope to have more posts up soon, including some Valentine’s Day nails. I apologize again for my slow posting lately.

Anyways, let me know what your favourites were in the comments! I love to here from you, as always. And don’t forget to follow on GFC if you aren’t already; I plan to start my first giveaway when I finally get to 50 followers! =)

Thanks for reading <3

London Drugs mini-haul + One last Christmas prezzie!

Since it’s so obvious in the picture below, let’s start with my final Christmas present from my boyfriend. He bought me lots of presents leading up to Christmas, but I love surprises, so I told him I just wanted one small thing to unwrap from him as well. This was a bit late, since he ordered it online from ThinkGeek, but I don’t mind because I’m so happy I have it: My Gandalf plushie! They had these a while back, marketed as Lord of the Rings plushies, but because of the Hobbit movie, they released them again, and I was so excited because I’d wanted one last time, but they ran out a day or two before I was going to place my order! I love my squishy little wizard so much… I’m such a nerd… let’s move on to the makeup, shall we? >_>

Because he’s crazy, or too nice for his own good, or both, or something else, my boyfriend buys me a lot of stuff. We needed something to do last week, so he asked for some of the products I’ve been wanting, and I gave him a short list. He decided we were going shopping. I wanted to pick up a white liner, a lip liner, and a brow pencil. I estimated they’d be less than $30… since they were much less than that, David decided I also needed the Real Techniques brushes, since I was looking at them probably somewhat longingly while we were at London Drugs! I’m kinda spoiled…!

On to what I got, and swatches!

NYC Kohl Eye Liner Pencil in White:

I’ve been wanting to try using a white pencil in my waterline for a long time, which is why I finally picked up this pencil. I chose NYC because it was long, very cheap, and because I wasn’t sure at all if I would like the effect, since I’m so used to my black liner in my waterline. This pencil is actually creamier than I expected it to be, considering the brand and price (less than 3 bucks, and it was 40% off!), but it isn’t very pigmented and it takes several swipes to get any visible colour on my waterline.

As for whether I like the look on me: not so much. At least, I don’t like using it on it’s own. I have yet to try using this in the waterline, and a black or colour along the lower lash-line, and I want to try that eventually. This is pretty good, though, as a subtle highlight on my inner corner.

NYX Auto Eyebrow Pencil in Light Brown:

This is a retractable brow pencil on one end, with a small brow brush on the other end, as you can see in the picture. Oddly, the brush end is like a cap, but when you take it off, there’s nothing underneath. Though that’s not all that important. It’s nice to have the brush to tidy up the little hairs in your brows and to even out the colour. The colour goes on really easily, and the pencil is slightly oval shaped, so that it’s easy to draw a very thin, precise line.

Overall, I really like this pencil, the only issue is that I bought one colour too light. It looked good swatched on my hand, but it ends up looking a little orange in my brows, especially if I draw a little too heavily. Still, it’s workable; I’m sure I’ll repurchase eventually in my correct colour.

NYX Retractable Lip Liner in Nude:

I’ve never been a lip-product type of person, but lately, I’ve been starting to like lipsticks a lot more, which is why I wanted to get myself a good liner. I went with a nude coloured liner so that I can use it with a variety of colours, rather than trying to find pinks, berries, and reds to match my different lipsticks. I thought this pencil would be too brown or too dark for my lips, but its actually very hard to tell the difference between the pencil colour and my natural lips. Also, I’m not sure if I should continue using it as I have so far, which is just thickly lining the edges of my lips, or try filling in my lips with the pencil first like I’ve seen some YouTubers do… that almost seems like a waste of a pencil.

Anyways, I have found that my lipsticks last a bit longer and look a bit cleaner over the liner, so I’m happy with it. It also claims to be waterproof, which I hadn’t noticed before. I haven’t tried it enough times to really judge this claim, but that’s cool nonetheless!

Swatches:

Left to right: NYC eye liner, NYX lip liner, NYX brow pencil

And here’s me with the white on my waterline and the brow pencil in my brows. It’s not the perfect colour, but I’ve figured out that if I use it a lot lighter, I get a much more natural line, and the colour doesn’t look so off. That said, I do think I’ll need a darker colour next time, so I don’t end up with orange eyebrows!

And finally…

Real Techniques “Core Collection” brush set:

(Sorry for the weird colouring on this one…)

I forgot to take pictures of the brushes in the packaging, but you can see it in the collective picture above.

These brushes are definitely really nice. I’m not 100% sure what I’ll do with the foundation brush yet, since it seems a little small for foundation. The little brush I’m sure I’ll mainly use for lip products, unless I need it for eyeliner, the flat brush will likely be face powder or setting powder, and the small domed brush will be great for highlighting or contouring. I think I was expecting a little too much from these brushes, because I was expecting them to be softer, though that said, they feel even nicer than my ELF studio brushes, which I was—and still am—in love with.

The case is nice, and would be good for travelling, I’m sure, but for my everyday makeup, it just kinda gets in the way. As these brushes are incorporated into my routine, they’ll probably end up living outside the case with the rest of my brushes! Also, four brushes for only $20 is a pretty great deal, considering the price of single brushes at Sephora, MAC, or Sigma! I definitely think these are a good buy.

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So that’s everything this time! I still have some more reviews and purchases to show you, which I will hopefully get up in good time. Also, I have a pretty good idea what I’m going to buy for my giveaway, but it’s not too late to give me your input if you have any good ideas.

Thanks for reading!