Review: Bioderma Sensibo H2O

I've been using this makeup remover for a while now after it felt like everyone and their mother raved about it. I find it does a good job of removing my makeup, and doesn't make my eyes sting like some of them. Honestly though I really don't see what the fuss is about. It's expensive (I think I paid around $24CAD for a bottle of this) and while it does remove my makeup, I still have to rub to get my eye makeup off. I took this and the Olay daily facial wipes to Italy and honestly both did the same thing and left my skin feeling the same after. I probably won't repurchase this, not because it's a bad product but because it's so expensive and I feel like there are cheaper products that do the same thing.

July Glymm Beauty Bag

So this is the first Glymm bag I've received and so far my impression is mildly positive. I wouldn't say I'm jumping up and down for joy with this subscription but I've heard that it's hit and miss some months. I do really like the little makeup bag that you get with it though. Here is a link to the product list of whats in this bag.

Dirt Salt Scrub
 This smells great, but I'm really disappointed with the size as I don't think it'll do my whole body.

Cyberderm H20 Hydration and PM Anti-Age
I've never heard of this brand, but the packaging is super cute! They look like needles.

Joico K-Pak Revitaluxe hair treatment
 Love this, I'm not huge into hair products as my hair is relatively healthy so I tend to not spend my money on them. This hair mask didn't weigh down my fine hair at all and made it feel smooth and silky, plus it had a light citrus smell that was really nice. 

Social Butterfly Hair Perfume 
Great idea, hate the scent. It's too perfumey and sweet for my tastes. I think I'll pass this on to my sister who likes these kind of scents. 

Nail Love

On my nails are Julep's Daphne and Mila polishes for a bit of a twist on the french manicure. I received both colours in my July Julep Maven box, which I will post about once I've tested the colours a bit more. So far I'm loving them though :)

Haul Post: Shopping with Starry Eyed Beauty!

Topshop necklace and lip glaze

So on Tuesday I went and met my friend Christine aka Starry Eyed Beauty at the mall and we did a big(ish) makeup shop! I kept myself pretty well in check and only bought a few new things to test out. I haven't seen Christine since we wrote our British History exam way back in April, so it was great to catch up!

First up is this adorable necklace from Topshop that we both got for $18. I really love wearing delicate long necklaces and this ones 3D shape makes is really interesting. I also snagged Topshop's lip glaze in bubblegum which was around $11. I've tried it once and it's not too sticky and the colour is really nice, but I thought Topshop was supposed to be cheap? I find their prices to be a bit much considering the quality of the garments... I do really like their accessories though for more trendy pieces.

 

Next up I bought the St. Tropez tanning mouse and mitt from Sephora. I try to avoid tanning in the sun because skin cancer runs in my family and I'm super pale so I burn really easily. I am getting really sick of people telling me I'm pale though, as right now I'm tan for me! I even had a sales girl at Origins scoff at me when I said that.  

Miss Glamourazzi, Fleur de Force and Elle Fowler have all raved about this self tanner and as they're all fair skinned girls I thought I would take the risk and try it. I will report back and fingers crossed I don't turn into anything resembling a member of Jersey Shore! The mouse is rather expensive, at $38 for the smaller bottle, but with recommendations from three of my favorite YouTube beauty gurus I figured I'd take my chances.

That little pink thing is the Sephora Precision Pore Cleansing Pad which retails for $7. It's a cute little exfoliater that works with your cleanser to scrub away dead skins. I've used it already and it's gentle enough for my sensitive skin, plus it feels a bit more sanitary to use than my body shop scrub brush for my face as this dries really quickly. 

Last but not least (and kind of out of focus... oops!) are the three things I bought from MAC! Now I only bought two with Christine because the MAC we went to had terrible service and kept us waiting for forever! I bought the 15 slot palette which I will give you guys progress as I fill it up as well as my first eyeshadow for it, All That Glitters. I've got some MAC eyeshadows to depot and I can't wait until I have this filled! I don't live near a free standing MAC that sells palettes so I've been putting off this purchase for a bit.

The other thing I bought from MAC I picked up on Wednesday which I had meant to buy but was too irritated to wait for them to help me find the product was the Cream Colour Base in Pearl. Amarixe used it in this tutorial and it looked so pretty and I don't currently have a highlighter so I took her suggestion and made the purchase. I can't wait to see how it looks with my daily makeup :)

I felt like I had a lot of bags at the mall, but when I gathered it all together to shoot it for this post I realized I hadn't actually bought that much. I'm really excited/nervous to test out the self tanner and after a couple of uses I'll be sure to post a review up!

Tried and Tested: Zoella Top Knot Tutorial

I love Zoella, she's so cute and perky. When she posted this tutorial on how to get her messy top knot I ran to my bathroom right after watching this video to try it out. It's turned into my go to 2nd day, I'm really sick of ponytails hairdo. I have much less hair than Zoella (mine's long, but fine, straight and about 3 inches past my shoulders) so my buns are less messy and more ballerina like. I love that this dresses up casual looks and I can do it in under 10 minutes. Sorry for the super rushed picture, I normally wear this look when going to work so I don't often snap a picture while wearing this style.

What do you guys think? What are your go to quick fix hairstyles for 2nd day hair?

June Glossybox Review

So I got a May Glossybox but didn't post about it because I didn't get it until after I got back from Italy. Here's a rundown of June's box with all the products and some thoughts on them.

Bioré - 4-in-1 Revitalizing Cleanser (200ml/full size) (retails for $9.99)

 Tried this once and hate it, it burns my sensitive skin. Will be getting rid of this ASAP. Does anyone know if you can donate products to goodwill? I don't want to chuck it in the bin if someone else can use it.

Neutrogena ultra sheer sunscreen SPF 55 (14 ml) (full size retails for $15.99/88ml)

Have had a couple of samples of this already, and it's alright. I'm not jumping up and down or anything for this product but it is a good high SPF sunscreen.

Wella Ocean Spritz Beach Texture Hairspray (150ml/full size) (retails for $16.99)

I was really excited to try this because I've been eying the Bumble and Bumble Ocean Spray for a while but couldn't quite justify the price. I've tried using it as directed and on my super straight hair it doesn't work. It works great when I braid my hair at night and let it dry, giving it a more textured look than normal. I've also tried applying it to my hair wet and using my diffuser to dry my hair with really pretty results. This is the only product in the box that I was really happy with because it worked and I didn't already own it.

Olay Regenerist Wrinkle Revolution Complex (7 ml) (full size retails for $30.99/50ml)

Gave this to my mom, as at 26 I don't really need to worry about wrinkles yet...

CoverGirl Flip Stick in Minx (3.8g/full size) (retails for $12.50)

 Cool concept, rubbish colour for me. Makes me look like I'm trying to be a bit gothic. Would love to try this in a pink or coral tone. 

Gillette Venus Razor (full size/retails for $13.50)

 I use a Venus razor regularly, so I'll just throw this extra body into my overnight bag so I don't have to worry about packing one for weekend trips. 

Biore Deep Cleansing Pore Strip (1 strip) (full size 8 pack retails for $9.99)

I've used these in the past and my pores are never super clogged so this is a meh product for me. I'll use it at some point I'm sure, but for now it's staying in my box of samples. 

Honestly I'm a little disappointed in this months box. I'm going to keep my subscription for another month or two and then decide if my money is better spent elsewhere. I've signed up for Topbox and Glymm box as well as Julep Maven for the month of August so expect reviews on those as they arrive! I'm really excited for Julep Maven as I love nail polish.

Italy

At the top of the Duomo on our second day in Florence

Here's a quick overview of my 3 week trip to Florence, Italy. I really didn't want to come home at all, I loved it so much. Studying abroad has been a dream of mine for years and I'm so happy I finally got to do it. I'm already looking into options for next summer, my wanderlust is kicking in!

View of Florence from the top of the Cathedral (463 steps!)

Picture of some rings I was eyeing on the Ponte Vechio, I ended up getting one on the last full day there.

Florence from the town of Fiesole

The Pantheon, one of my favorite buildings in Rome

After a super eventful first day in Rome we ended the night on a good note by hanging around the Colosseum at night

Obligatory cheesy Pisa picture. I wish we hadn't been so rushed and could have relaxed on the field of miracles.

The main Piazza in Sienna, so pretty.

Venice!

a church in Venice, I can't remember which one.

I love this shot of the Ponte Vechio. We had super sunny days until the end and finally I was rewarded with a great shooting day, the sky had tons of drama.

We climbed the Bell Tower in our last week and were rewarded with this amazing view of Brunelleschi's Dome

June 2012 Favorites

Here a some of my favorite products I've been loving in June.

1. Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion $24
I got this before my trip because I was tired of my makeup creasing and a friend (as well as pretty much everyone else) highly recommended this primer. Wow were they all right! This kept my eye makeup looking flawless for the whole day (I'm talking 8am till 2am) with no touch ups or creasing. While it's a bit pricey, you only have to use the tiniest amount of product on your eyes and it really does work wonders. I've used this everyday since early May and I still have over half the tube left.

2. The John Frieda Luxurious Volume collection
I have used this lines root booster for years and love it. I decided to try out the shampoo and conditioner (as it was way smaller than my bottles of tresemme) while I was in Italy and I love them. They made my super fine hair feel thick and luscious all day and even allowed me to wear my hair down with second day hair. This is something I have never been able to do because while I have a ton of hair, it's all really fine. Definitely will be buying this again in the future.

3. Essie nail polish in Sugar Daddy
This is the perfect nude pink nail for me. It doesn't have a ton of colour payoff but it makes your nails look perfectly polished without being in your face. I wear this colour a lot because I'm not supposed to wear nail colour to work but with this no one notices that I have some on.

4. St. Ives Triple Butters Creamy Coconut body wash
Love the smell of this super creamy bodywash, it turns my shower into a tropical beachy paradise! It doesn't leave my skin feeling tight after I get use it either which is always a plus.

5. Pretty Little Liars
PLL is back finally for its summer debut and I am so happy! I'm loving Hanna's new short hair and the fashion this season is just fantastic. I've loved this show since the first season and never disappoints in the drama department. 

Sephora Haul!

I have an obsession with makeup brushes at the moment and when I saw these strokes of nature brushes by Sephora in collaboration with Pantone I had to have them! My obsession with teal is legendary so these fit in perfectly. Seriously though, at the airport on the way home from Italy without trying to I was carrying my bright teal luggage, wearing a bright teal hoodie, with my new teal purse. It was a little embarrassing because I didn't realize until it was too late for me to change out of such a matchy matchy outfit!

These brushes are so pretty in person, honestly I love them. The bristles are super soft and I will post a review as to how they stack up to my MAC brushes. These are such a good deal, you get 5 brushes for $46CAD. To put that in perspective my favorite MAC 217 brush is $27CAD for just one brush.

There is a story behind why I got the Urban Decay Naked 2 palette (which at $60CAD is a big splurge). I have terrible friends, I've been back in the country for two weeks now and had plans on 3 separate occasions with 3 separate friends and they all bailed on me! For legitimate reasons, but still! I figured I would have spent around $20 each (at least) getting dinner or drinks with these friends and therefore I was going to spend the money I saved by buying the Naked 2 palette. Because makeup never stands you up.

I had a really hard time choosing between the Naked palette and the Naked 2 palette. I swatched both (which covered both of my forearms, I looked a tad silly in the store) and stood there for about half an hour trying to decide. I've really been loving grey tones lately so I went with the Naked 2 palette, but I think I might save up and by the Naked palette for my birthday in September.

I really love that every colour in the palette is something I would wear, I feel like this would have been amazing to have had with me in Italy. I can't wait to play around with it and create a ton of looks to share with you guys!

Ok so I feel like all I'm posting lately are haul posts lately, so I promise my next post will be something other than a haul.