Sunday, March 25, 2012

EOS Lip Balm Review

I feel like the EOS lip balm has been reviewed way too many times and I'm kinda late on this bandwagon, but what the heck, I'll share with you all my thoughts on this. I hauled it when I visited New York - here's my blog post if you're interested in what else I got during that trip. I bought it at a drugstore (I want to said RiteAid but I might be wrong) for about $4.
The packaging is extremely cute. With its shape, it's definitely easier to find in my bag full of stuff! However I find that it's not very moisturizing. A little disclaimer is that I like my lip balms to be really moisturizing... I've even gotten use to applying vaseline on my lips every night over the course of university life lol.. I'm weird, I know :S so any good old lip balm isn't gonna seal the deal for me.

Other than that, I find that dust and other stuff gets stuck on the lip balm easily even if I close the lid every time I use it.. I guess it's b/c the surface of the packaging is larger than usual. The scent of this is honeydew, and I'd say it's decent.. but I don't really enjoy tasting it. I'm probably not going to repurchase this again... although I'm slightly curious about the one in red packaging, I think the flavour is summer fruit!
If you live in Canada, you would know that the EOS lip balm is harder to spot! I heard from some bloggers that they are sold at some RW&Co (of all places!) And while I was at Chapters the other day, I found them at the counter of the cashier for $6 (the price is kind of steep!). You will also be able to get it here at Well.ca for $3.99!

Anyone else likes to apply vaseline on their lips? If you've tried the EOS lip balms, did you like them? Which one is your favourite flavour?

Saturday, March 24, 2012

March 2012 MAC Warehouse Sale Haul

I haven't been to a MAC Warehouse Sale for a while now. The last time I was there was September of 2010. Check out this post for my haul last time. It wasn't a surprise to me that there were some pretty intense price increases... but nonetheless, prices are still unbeatable compared to the retail store. I did spend more than usual at cosmetic sales this time, but as always, I didn't spend a lot on make up items.
I was super surprised to see Bumble and Bumble products at the sale! I've been on a hunt at Winners for their shampoos and conditioners! Why Winners you may ask... that's because I'm a cheapass lol. Paying regular price at Sehpora is too expensive for me! I literally got way too excited when I saw them yesterday... I was holding way too many bottles in my hands. At last, I settled for two 1L bottles - the Seaweed shampoo ($35) and the Thickening conditioner($45), and one mini size of Straight Shampoo ($4). I know, it's still a lot of money for just shampoo and conditioner, but I've been eyeing these for a long time and my hair has been acting weird lately so I decided to give it a try.
MAC eyeshadow quad in "In the Gallery" ($25)
Lightfall / At the Eyes
In the Gallery / Private Viewing
While everyone and their moms are obsessed about natural eyeshadow shades similar to ones in the Naked Palettes, I find that nude and brown shades don't flatter my eyes too much... However, I can always count on purple. I think it's because cool tones look better rather than warm tones on me.
Naked Honey Body Wash / Naked Honey Hand and Body Cream ($15 buy one get one free)
Plumage / Phloof / Naked Lunch / Satin Taupe ($4 each)
Clinique 3-step home & away set ($40)
The 3 steps include: Liquid Facial Soap, Clarifying Lotion, and Dramatically Different Moisturizing Gel with Pump, and their respective travel size - plus a huge make up bag.
I used to use the moisturizer when I was young (before age 13), but never tried the complete skincare. Since I've heard quite a bit of good things about the 3-step system, and being such an adventurous skincare try-er, I've decided to give this a go!
Estee Lauder Resilience Lift Extreme OverNight Ultra Firming Creme ($45)
Another splurge item of the haul! I've been trying the infamous Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair serum lately so I'm quite curious about the other skincare products in the line as well. I checked at The Bay today and this same creme is selling at $92! Insane I know. I'm glad I got a deal on it even though it's still costly.
Each person gets one free gift right before you exit the building with your ticket. Since I went on Friday and my mom went on Saturday, I now have 2 pairs of lashes. Both are quite awkward for everyday use in my opinion. The top one is short and way too dense for its length. The bottom one is extremely dramatic - I'll probably use this on Halloween.
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Charity Item: Mineralize Face + Body Lotion
My mom and I went quite late on both days of the sale so only the lotion was left. I know other people who went early got a hold of the other awesome charity items such as lip glosses and eye shadows, and I'm utterly jealous!!! I guess it's not meant to be :(

If you went to the sale, let me know what you got! :)
Much Love.

Thursday, March 22, 2012

Julep Maven - St Patrick's Day Mystery Box

As you girls may know, being such a nail polish hoarder lately, I couldn't pass up Julep Maven's St. Patrick's Day Mystery Box! The regular price of the mystery box is $60, but there was a promoted coupon code for $20. This is the first time I bought their mystery box... I did some research online for other people's blog posts on their Christmas and Valentine's mystery boxes and they were super awesome!
I was so amazed when I opened the box, I've never gotten a makeup bag in a subscription box before! This one is very sturdy, much better quality than the ones MyGlam make up bags that I've seen on people's blogs. There are four slots inside, 3 narrower ones, and 1 wider one. In my bag, there was 1 nail polish in each of the narrow slots - super cute right?
Blake: Creamy Sunny Yellow
Sofia: Sheer Summer Green with Aqua Sparkle Glitter (online reviews say it is glow in the dark)
Hayden: Neon Peach (my picture does not do it justice)
Other things included:
- Nail Appliques in a summer edgy design.. I'm thinking of using this for Halloween
- Pretty nail filer
- Hand Cream with SPF 30
- Essential Cuticle Oil

I've never used cuticle oil before... the instruction says to apply daily to cuticle around edge of nail to strengthen your nails and maintain your manicure. How often do you girls use a product like this? Let me know your experience with it.
I put on Blake, which is a really nice yellow. Also my first time wearing a yellow polish and I quite like it for this spring :) It makes my hands look tan! However, unlike my previous experience with Julep polishes where only 1 coat was required, I needed to apply about 3 coats this time to get an even finish. As always, I applied a top coat on it.

So there you go with my unboxing post, I think it'll be a while before I buy any more Julep polishes... This has been getting a bit out of hands! lol I saw some bloggers got the Julep base coat in their mystery box and I'm super jealous!!!

Much Love.

Sunday, March 18, 2012

Tribal Print Inspired Nails

As always, any interesting nail patterns that I feature on my blog would be my sister's nails. I don't think I'm brave enough to wear a cool nail design going into the office unless it's for the holidays or a special occasion where I have to dress up... I already sometimes cross the line already by painting my nails an unconventional colour.
I thought the colours go extremely well together - perfect for the spring time!
Forever 21 turquoise colour (can't find the name) / Julep in Jodie
Both are creme finishes! Love!

Much Love.

Saturday, March 17, 2012

OOTD: Coral Pants

It seems like the last OOTD post that I did was 5 lifetimes ago. Inspired by the warm weather that we're suddenly getting here in Toronto, I've decided to sport my new coral pants that I hauled in this post. I definitely felt awkward getting my sis to do a "photoshoot" on me.. I had no idea how I should pose.
H&M silver metallic sweater / F21 black tank top / Aerie coral pants / Geox shoes / MK watch / Miu Miu bag
How do you guys think of black hair? I got so tired of my light brown hair last fall and the maintenance that I need to do for it that I just dyed it back to black. Now I'm torned between keeping it this way or dying it to ash brown... :S

Have a lovely weekend everyone. Much Love.

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Julep Maven Box - March 2012 It Girl

This post is about Julep Maven's March It Girl Box. This box is the one that I mentioned last time that I forgot to "skip the month" At first I thought I wouldn't like the colours too much, but it really surprised me! Probably because I'm turning into such a nail polish hoarder now -_-
From left to right:
- Melissa: Sheer opalescent shimmer that gives holographic effect when used over another colour
- Charlotte: Lavender creme
- Jodie: Deep rose with a gold shimmer
This box also came with a black nail filer.
Putting Melissa on top of Charlotte! Okay, that sounded weird... lol, but the final effect is totally cool. It gives it a metallic finish, and the colours totally remind me of a mermaid! I think it's a bit too cool tone for me though, next time I'll try and pair Melissa with a nice pink polish and see what happens :) When applying Melissa, you have a be quite light handed, too much of it make it a little too blue-ish.

And I have a confession to make... I couldn't resist not getting the Maven Julep St Patrick's Day Mystery Box!!! I've never gotten any mystery box from Maven Julep before, and I'm uberly excited! I've seen some blog posts for previous Valentine's Day mystery box and they were amazing! Can't wait to get my box... I think it'll arrive soon! I have a feeling there'll be some green polishes, but I'm not a big fan of green... unless it's mint! *crossing my finger*

Much Love.

Sunday, March 11, 2012

Too Faced Vintage Sale Haul

I couldn't resist putting an order on Too Faced's Vintage Sale after seeing Winnie's tweet last week! I just checked the website and a lot of their sale items are gone already... but if you're interested on what's left, click here: Too Faced Vintage Sale. I bought a total of six things: 1 eyeshadow, 1 eye base, 2 blushes, complexion kit, and a makeup bag.
It came in this super cute pink box. When I opened it, it looked exactly like a present!
Left: Brightening Blush in Pinch My Petals (Reg price $20, Sale price $11)
Right: Brightening Blush in Papa Don't Peach (Reg price $20, Sale price $11)
Both are super flattering. I like the fact that even if you dip your brush in and get a generous amount, you won't look like a clown after. I'm super scared of very pigmented blushes! Pinch My Petals is very natural pink, while Papa Don't Peach is similar to Nars Orgasm. There's no shimmer in either of these. I also really like the packaging as well... I don't own anything like this actually! I used to never like packaging like this, and really liked the way that MAC and Nars look, but now I appreciate this vintage feel.

This is the Leopard Love Complexion Perfection Kit. I saw this the first time on a Taiwanese show and loved how cute and girly this looks! Its reg price is $30 and it was on sale for $18, I couldn't pass this up! It comes with a bronzer called Peach Leopard, a blush called Candy Leopard, and a brightener called Pink Leopard! Aren't these so precious?

Left: Eye Shadow in Blonde Ambition (Reg price $16, Sale price $10)
Right: Absolutely Flawless Therapeutic Herbal Eye Base (Reg price $19.50, Sale price $11.50)
I love both of these products! The e/s in Blond Ambition is a very shimmery slightly olive colour, which is gorgeous if you just want a light wash on your eyes for a day time look, or it can easily be smoked up for night time! I purchased the base because I've been dying to try a base other than the Urban Decay Primer Potion... I find that UDPP is slightly too heavy for my liking. I really how this Too Faced Eye Base is very smooth and creamy.

Left: e/s in Blonde Ambition alone
Right: e/s with the eye base underneath

This is my first experience in trying Too Faced products, and I'm enjoying it so far. To be honest, I wouldn't just go into Sephora and spend money on its regular priced products... but on sale, then hey why not? ;) Because I do live in Canada, I paid quite a bit for shipping $23, but it was super fast. It came within a few days! I hope you enjoyed my haul! Much Love.

Thursday, March 8, 2012

Nail Polish Tag!

I saw this tag at Gaby's blog and thought it was super fun so I decided to do it as well :)

1. What's your favourite nail polish company?
I don't really have one cause I don't have a huge nail polish collection. Lately, I've been pretty impressed with Maven Julep.

2. Glitter or no glitter?
Both! For every day, I prefer no glitter, but I do like glitter once in a while!
3. OPI, China Glaze, or Essie?
I've actually never tried China Glaze, and the only OPI polish that I own is a Sephora by OPI polish! Can you believe it? Haha so I have to say Essie.

4. When do you change your nail polish?
Usually once every week. Sometimes after I take my polish off and I get so lazy that I can go for weeks without reapplying again.

5. What's your favourite color on your nails?
It really depends. Generally, I like minty greens, pinks, and pastel colours!
6. Darks or Brights?
Neither... I prefer pastels and muted colours. But if I have to choose, I'd choose brights.
7. What are you wearing on your nails right this moment?
LA Girl's Matte Baby Pink with NYC's Extra Shiny Top Coat

8. Matte Nails0In or Out?
Haha what a coincidence from the last question! So even though I'm wearing a matte polish, I absolutely hate matte finishes! This is the only matte polish that I own and I regret it so whenever I put it on, i have to put on a shiny top coat!

9. French Manicure
I don't have anything against it, but I don't love it too much.

10. Favourite Winter Color
Mauvey colours. Rose, grey, or purple.
Extra question (adding this myself): What's your favourite spring colours?
METALLICS! Metallic silver, gold, bronze... I love them all in spring with a white flowy top! I don't know why, but I think it gives an edge lol.

I tag all of you to do this especially Winnie, Suki, Rica, and Mary (not sure if you want to do this since you blog about food haha)! I promise it's super fun!

Much Love!