Clearly Contacts Free Glasses Review

These are my new glasses. They cost me all of $37 CAD. I had finally gotten my pupillary distance (The distance between your pupil. You need this number to order glasses online. Apparently you can do it yourself, but I went to to my optometrist and they did it for $10) because I knew I wanted to buy my next pair of glasses online ($600 at a Lenscrafters when I could get the exact same pair online for $190? Guess which one I'm picking). On my facebook page a little ad popped up for Clearly Contacts free glasses promo (they do a few of these a year so just be patient). I decided on these frames in about 10 minutes, placed my order and walked away. I figured for $37 even if I hated them at least I wasn't out a ton of money.

I had ordered them on a Thursday and they had come in the mail by Tuesday. Talk about fast turn around! The best part? I love them! They're the perfect geek chic glasses that I've wanted for a while. My prescription is perfect and other than needing to get some minor fit adjustments they fit my face really well. If you've been looking at getting new glasses why not give Clearly Contacts a try? It's a great way to try out a style you're not 100% sure will suit you because the out of pocket cost is so minimal.

On Thursday I'll post about tips for buying glasses online, like how to pick out the best style for your face.

Review: Origins VitaZing Moisturizer

I bought VitaZing about 3 months ago hoping for a great tinted moisturizer that would allow me to skip foundation when I felt like going low maintenance. Sadly VitaZing was not it. I ended up returning this product to Sephora this week after trying really hard to like it. It wasn't the moisturizing part, that was fine. It didn't make my sensitive skin break out at all. It was the colour. This made my fair skin look like I was a member of the Jersey Shore cast - Orange. It also did weird things around my eyebrows, going very dark in that area.

Definitely didn't deliver on the promise that it would make me look like I "eat right, sleep tight, and don't have a worry in sight".

Review: Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette

I only really bought this product because it's great for weekends. Smaller than my Naked and Naked2 palettes it fits perfectly in an overnight bag with a couple of brushes so you can still look put together the next day without carrying around a ton of product.

This palette consists of 5 matte shades and one slightly shimmery highlight shade. Honestly the first three colours barely show up on my skin. I mix Walk of Shame and Venus for my inner corner and then use naked2 for my outer eye and faint in the crease. I don't see this as being a very versatile palette. While very useful it's not fun like the other Urban Decay palettes.

Honestly unless you do a lot of short trips or overnights I wouldn't recommend this palette. Not because the product itself is bad, the shadows perform like other Urban Decay shadows (though they are a touch powdery). It's just that this palette is boring. Which I guess is kind of the point when you have a basics palette.

Review: Stila Convertible Colour in Petunia

I picked up this blush from Stila recently to try out cream blushes. I had a hard time choosing which colour to get but my friend Christine from Starry Eyed Beauty recommended Petunia. Petunia is a pretty medium pink toned blush/lip colour that shows up nicely on my (very fair) skin.

I've tried applying this with my fingers, brushes, and my beauty blender and I have to say I like to apply it with a combination of my fingers (dotting it on) and then blending it out with my beauty blender. This gives me a very natural look. Using a brush with this doesn't seem to blend it in evenly.

While I do like this colour, I'm not 100% sold on cream blushes. I still need to play around with this before I invest in any others.

Review: Disney Collection A Whole New World Roller Ball

From Sephora's website:
Enchanting as magic itself, this alluring blend of exotic flowers and rich, warm woods is fit for a diamond in the rough. Empowering and seductive, this tempting fragrance will allow you to be the master of your own destiny. So go ahead, make your own magic. 
Notes: Carnation, Orange Blossom, Mandarin, Gardenia, Mimosa, Musky Accord, Cedarwood, Sandalwood, Vanilla, Amber, Benzoin.

I picked this scent up on a whim one day while I was at Sephora. I've been trying not to buy new fragrances until I use up some of the ones I already have but I make exceptions for roller balls because they're perfect for traveling and tend to be under the $30 mark.  I'm not normally a floral scent person but this one intrigued me. This is the only item from the Disney collections that I have bought, they just haven't piqued my interest.

The bottle is pretty; fuchsia gradient with gold details and the words make your own magic embossed on the side. I like that sentiment, the idea of being in charge of your own destiny and not leaving it up to chance.

For the most part I don't like floral fragrances because the tend to be too big. They overpower the person wearing them. This could be largely because people tend to spray floral fragrances liberally which therefore results in a headache whenever I'm around them. Because this is in a roller ball version it stays close to the skin which I much prefer to being a walking talking garden that assaults people with scent. The sandalwood and vanilla mellow out the floral notes and bring them down to a pleasant (to my nose at least) level. 

This is going into my bag to come with me to Japan. I'm not sure what other fragrances I'll bring with me but I'll be sure to keep you updated!

Essie Merino Cool Review + Swatches!

Essie describes Merino Cool as a sensuous autumn mulberry. Personally I'd describe it as a purple-greige. Shopper Drug Mart was having a sale on Essie polishes last week from $12CAD to $8CAD so I picked up a couple of shade and this is so far my favorite.

This applies like all Essie polishes, a bit thinner than OPI or Julep and you definitely need two coats to achieve the bottle colour. I found that this turned out darker than what the bottle appears and more purple toned than I thought. When I was in the store it looks more like Smokin' Hot does in the bottle.

I do however love this colour, it's fantastic for fall/winter, not too dark like some polishes but not too bright either. I'm really loving neutral-ish nails lately and merino cool fits perfectly.

Tarte Fantastic Foursome Blush Review + Swatches!

 This was the one item I allowed myself to buy during the month of October while I had a buying ban on. It was sold out online and was selling out fast in stores so I snapped it up. The Fantastic Foursome retails for $35USD/$46CAD (Canadian price is a guess, it's no longer available on sephora.com) which works out to be $11.50 a blush, which are half the size of the regular amazonian clay blushes from tarte which cost $33.

 From the top left you get Stellar which is a neutral, Magic which is a coral, Angelic which is a great highlighter and Fantastic which is a hot pink. The packaging is the same as their full sized blushes, a hard plastic in the colour of the blush. I like this better than the Nars or MAC packaging because it makes them easier to find in the drawer.

Each blush is embossed with a picture of the Amazon which is cute. Magic and Fantastic are matte blushes which I love, and Stellar and Angelic have some shimmer. I have to say Fantastic is my favorite out of the group, it looks a bit scary in the pan being bright pink but looks amazing on.

From Left to right: Fantastic, Magic, Angelic, and Stellar. Stellar is my least favorite of the bunch because it feels like a really light bronzer to me. I might start liking it more in place of my Nars Laguna bronzer when my skin gets even paler in the winter.

If you can still find this set I highly recommend it. It was my first Tarte purchase and I do not regret it at all. I can't wait to explore more of the Tarte line and share it with you!

Lavanila Vanilla Coconut Rollerball Review

So I'm not the biggest fan of super sweet artificial scents. If a scent is sweet that's fine, but I really don't like it when it feels like it's giving me a cavity just from smelling it. Lavanila's Vanilla Coconut scent toes this line perfectly for me. It's become my go to fragrance now that the weather has cooled down. It's warm and inviting with a hint of tropical that makes you think of a beach vacation.

This scent seems to be popular with men and women alike as well as I frequently get told I smell amazing whenever I wear this. I think this would be great for travel, as the size is perfect to throw into your carry on and fits TSA standards. Also cost-wise this is budget friendly at $25CAD. If you like sweet but not cloying scents then I recommend you check this one out. I have my eyes on the Vanilla Lavender rollerball next when the VIB sale happens.

Chanel Coco Rouge Shine in Boy: Review + Swatches!

Chanel's Coco Rouge Shine is a moisturizing formula of lipstick, more moisturizing than MAC's creamsheen formula and about as moisturizing as the Revlon lip butters. These lipsticks are expensive (over $30CAD) but I think very worth the price. The packaging is simple but elegant.

Boy is a perfect my lip by better look, and because the formula is so moisturizing I don't have to worry about flakes on my lips showing. This colour is so easy to wear, I tend to reach for it almost everyday. While I can't say I plan on having a huge collection of these lipsticks due to cost, if you are looking to invest in a high end lipstick this is a great colour that you will get a ton of wear out of.

Stila French Rivera Trio - Swatches + Review!

I've had this trio for a few months now and I love it. It's such a simple easy look to put together. This will definitely be my go to for weekends away as I don't even need eyeliner with this palette.The price is amazing as well, 3 full sized Stila eyeshadows for less than a single eyeshadow ($18 for the trio).

From left to right you have kitten, grace and mahogany. Kitten is amazing, but be very careful when applying as Stila shadows are super powdery and you tend to get a lot on your brush with a single swipe. Grace is a beautiful taupe colour that I just love. Mahogany is a matte brown colour, very rich but a little tricky to work with because of they way Stila shadows are formulated. Make sure to tap your brush of when using this shade!

The palette they come with is very sturdy plastic with a good sized mirror. I like that it has little pin holes in the back so you can pop the shadows out easily (unlike MAC palettes which are a pain to get shadows out of).

Grace is the least pigmented of the three, which actually makes it easier to work with. The other two tend to get a bit messy if your not careful. There is some fallout with Mahogany but it cleans up easier than some of my Urban Decay shadows.






Overall this is a great trio and I highly recommend it. It's sold out at Sephora but I've seen it on Amazon and other websites.

Review + Swatches: Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette

I bought the Urban Decay Naked2 palette almost immediately after I got back from Italy and I really wish I had bought this before I went. This is the palette I would turn to for any holiday longer than a night or two. It's the perfect blend of neutrals for day to day with some gorgeous colours for a night time look.

 This comes with a double ended brush and a mini lip gloss that I forgot to take pictures of. I tried the gloss once and have forgotten about it until I started to write this post. I don't really use the brush as I have my MAC brushes that I love, but sometimes I'll use the blender side for a more subtle crease than I get with my MAC 217 brush.

The only colour I don't really use is Foxy but that's because I tend to use the same ones over and over. I love Verve for an inside corner brightening colour, it works amazing.  Blackout I use for liner or Busted if I want a brown liner. YDK is amazing for a lighter colour, I use it most of the time. Pistol is great for a grey smokey eye, I love it on my lower lash line and Snakebite for a bronzed smokey eye.

I love pairing Bootycall with Chopper or Half-Baked for an easy bronzed/ or coppery look and if I want to take it into a nigh time look I'll add Snakebite to the crease and lower lash line. For a more taupe-y look I love Tease, especially paired with YDK or Suspect. It just looks so lovely. Adding Pistol to the crease and lower lash line really makes this look stand out for night.

Packing: 5/5 and a large part of the reason I choose this over the original Naked palette. I love the metal casing as I feel it's super sturdy.
Pigmentation: 5/5 amazing, these show up so well on my skin.
Texture: 4/5 These are really soft shadows and I tend to get a bit of fallout and lots of dust from these
Longevity: 4/5 when used with my Urban Decay Potion Primer these last all day.
Application: 4/5 A bit of fallout, especially with the darker colours (Snakebite, Pistol, Blackout and Busted especially) but nothing some makeup remover can't fix.

Overall I would totally recommend this palette. It's an amazing value $60CAD for 12 eyeshadows, that's $5 each! When they retail for $22CAD for an individual eyeshadow. So while it seems like a lot of money up front, it really is worth it. I use every eyeshadow in this palette and if I go on any longer trips in the future I'm taking this with me 100%.

Overall Rating: 4.75/5

Review and Swatches: Essie's Cute as a Button

I picked this colour up on a whim, as I really really don't need more nail polish (thank you Julep Maven) but when these went on sale for $7.99 at Shoppers Drug Mart I couldn't resist. Normally these retail for around $12 depending on where you buy it from and this is the cheapest I've see it (other than buy one get one deals around boxing day).

This is a really cute summery pink/coral colour. Perfect for summer days by the beach or pool. This is definitely going into my regular rotation of nail polish colours. I think I'll turn to this when I want a less intense pink than OPI's Strawberry Margarita.

The one thing that bugs me about buying these at Shoppers is that the packaging is slightly different than if I get this a beauty supply store. There's a sticker on the top with the name (most times it comes on the bottom) and a white Essie sticker on the side that I always peel off because it looks tacky.

Rating:

Packing: 4/5 There is nothing wrong with the packaging per se, it's just nothing to write home about.
Pigmentation: 5/5 I got the bottle colour with two coats
Texture: 5/5 This is a nice creamy polish
Longevity: n/a*
Application: 4/5 I prefer OPI's larger brush, but nothing particularly bad about the smaller brush.

Overall I would recommend this colour, it's a perfect summer polish. This would look great on toes as well. Overall Rating: 4.5/5

* I can't wear nail polish to work so I only wear polish on the weekends. Sorry I can't test this for wear time. 

Review: Sephora + Pantone Brush Set

I bought these brushes back at the end of June because I was attracted to their pretty packaging and thought they were a great deal! 5 Brushes for $46CAD when one of my favorite MAC brushes (the 217) was $27 for one brush. Sadly no matter how much I tried to love these brushes they were a huge fail and I ended up returning them to Sephora last week.

First off they applied product terribly! I get fallout from my Naked2 palette even with my MAC brushes but this was ridiculous! Even with my MAC eyeshadows that I've been using for years now with no fallout, ended up all over my cheeks with these brushes.

Another thing that drove me crazy was the bristles kept coming out partway (as seen in the close up shots) but wouldn't fall out. I tried pulling on the offending bristles but they wouldn't budge. This meant for prickly application.

Thankfully the Sephora at Bloor Street West in Toronto was super nice and let me return these no problem even though I didn't have my receipt, or the original packaging and it had been over 3 months. A HUGE thank you to the lovely sales associates who were so nice about it. Honestly the customer service at Sephora has always been lovely, but this was just above and beyond.

Overall rating: DO NOT BUY. I think these are sold out as I can't find them on the webpage, but I did see some still in store when I exchanged these. I'm going to order the essentials kit from Sigma in the near future as I really do need more brushes.

Review and Swatches: Revlon Lip Butter in Peach Parfait

I have been loving Revlon Lip Butters for months now. They are amazingly hydrating, give great colour pay off and are easy on the wallet to boot! I think I picked up this one on sale for $5.99 at Shoppers Drug Mart before summer started. I think regularly these retail around the $10 mark, but I've always been able to find them on sale.

The packaging is really nice, the cover has a quilted pattern on it and comes in the colour of the lipstick. This make it super easy to know what colour you're grabbing when in a rush, unlike MAC lipsticks which are a bit of a pain to sort through.

I do find that the lip butters melt very easily and tend to smudge on the packaging if you're not careful. Peach Parfait is a gorgeous neutral pink. It's very much a your lips but better kind of product. I find I reach for this colour all the time, whether for day to day looks or to balance out a smokey eye. The only thing I don't love about this is that there is sparkles in it, which I would prefer that it didn't have.

I love layering Peach Parfait with MAC's Pink Lemonade Tinted Lip Glass over top. This gives my lips a really great fresh summery look.

Rating:

Packing: 5/5 I like that it's easy to find in my makeup drawer and it doesn't look cheap.
Pigmentation: 5/5 You won't get huge pigmentation if you apply it lightly but I find that these are VERY build-able if you want more colour.
Texture: 4/5 The only reason this looses marks is because of the glitter, it makes it just a tiny bit rougher than my other lip butters.
Longevity: 4/5 These aren't going to last you all day, I would say 3-4 hours as long as you don't drink anything.
Application: 5/5 I can apply this without a mirror and not worry that I've made myself look like a clown.


Overall I would 100% recommend this product, I give it an total rating of 4.5/5 and it only really looses marks because of the glitter. This is a great lip product for day to day.

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.

Review: Body Shop Eyeshadow and Blending Brushes

I've been wanting to add a back up eyeshadow and blending brush to my brush kit for a while and when the Body Shop had one of their buy 2 get 2 sales on I picked up the blending and the eyeshadow brushes from their line. The prices weren't bad, $15 for the eyeshadow brush and $18 for the blending brush which is quite affordable when compared with my favorite MAC brushes.

These brushes however don't stand up well at all when compared to the more expensive MAC brushes. I love my 239 and 217 brushes, the 217 is perfect for blending and applying concealer so that it looks natural and feels soft on my sensitive under eye area. The Body Shop version feels scratchy and doesn't apply nearly as smoothly as the 217. I've tried washing it/using my MAC brush cleanser on it and it still has really stiff fibers.

The eyeshadow brush has longer bristles than my 239 brush, and while it's OK at putting colour on it takes much more time and product to achieve the same look that I would get with my 239 brush.

I'll keep these brushes for now as backups and for doing other peoples makeup, though I think I might save up and get another 217 brush from MAC so I can have one for blending and one for concealer once school starts up again.

Overall rating: Save your money, for $10-15 more you can get the MAC brushes which in terms of quality you just can't beat.

Review: Simpatico no 8, Solid Perfume

Smooth, creamy and sweet, this delectable blend of sugar and cream is nested in a bed of freshly shaved coconut made to comfort and envelope you in layers of bliss.

I tend to not wear a ton of fragrance, mostly because I forget to apply it after getting ready! This solid perfume from Simpatico travels easily so I like to put it in my purse so when I do finally remember that I meant to put perfume on, I have one that's easily accessible!

The scent of this perfume is very sweet coconut, perfect for summer. I don't find it too cloying which is nice because it could very easily fall into the too sweet category. The scent lasts for about 2-3 hours on me before fading completely and stays very close to the body the whole time. This is a super reasonably priced product, just $12 at Chapters/Indigo book stores which is where I picked up mine on a whim.

I'm for sure packing this little guy in my carry on for when I travel, as it won't make a mess (like liquids that leak sometimes do) and its super portable.