Tag Archives: Embryolisse

What I Bought This Month – May 2015 Haul

June 1, 2015HaulsAveeno, Bioderma, Burberry, Clinique, Embryolisse, essence, Kat Von D, L'Oreal, Lise Watier, MAC, Make Up For Ever, Makeup Geek, Makeup Revolution, Marc Jacobs, Marcelle, Maybelline, NARS, Nuxe, Pacifica, Sally Hansen, Stila, Wet n WildChelle

Another big makeup haul this month! Although I can (thankfully) attribute the bulk of this haul to a CBB swap we did at the very start of the month – I was able to get rid of a TON of products I don’t use or don’t like, and in return I got a whole bunch of freebies from other bloggers who had the same issue with some of their products. I’m so happy to be trying some new things and get rid of ones I don’t use – what a relief!

And because I have no real self-restraint, I did order a few things…

Makeup Geek – Foiled Shadow (top image) – Whimsical, Starry Eyed, Fortune Teller, Untamed, High Wire, Fantasy, Pegasus, Day Dreamer, Masquerade & Charmed ($9.99 USD each). Regular shadows (bottom image): Rapunzel, Yellow Brick Road, Homecoming, Latte, Last Dance, Sensuous, Moondust, high Tea, Poppy, Shimmermint, Duchess ($5.99 USD each

You knew this one was coming! I picked up ALL of the new Makeup Geek Foiled Shadows, and a whack of the regular line that was I was missing as well (including the new Poppy, High Tea and Rapunzel). Unfortunately for my wallet, but fortunately for you guys, I accidentally ordered TWO sets of the foiled shadows. Ouch, pain. So much pain to the wallet. BUT I’ve absorbed the cost (and shock) of it by now and I’m going to hold a giveaway shortly for the entire line of new foiled shadows. Look for a review and giveaway for those in a week or so!

Wet n Wild – Vegan Culture, Vinyl Collection and Thrift Store Chic ($4.99 CAD each)

The Silverlake collection by Wet n Wild has been the most exciting thing I’ve seen from the brand lately, so I had to finish up my collection of the palettes. I had two of them in last month’s haul, and here’s the remaining three!

Kat Von D – Star Studded Eyeshadow Book (free – swap)

Next up are a bunch of items that I picked up from the CBB swap/meetup that we did. For more details on that, check out Jenn’s recap, but the basic gist is that about ten of us brought makeup that didn’t work for us, dumped it on an enormous table at Tim Horton’s and took whatever we wanted from what others were willing to give away.

This Kat Von D Star Studded palette was part of the swap, but kindly held for me by Steph of Fun Size Beauty who had lugged it out there. I had debated getting this over the holiday season, but never bit the bullet. I’m happy to now have it… although I have yet to use it. Ack!

Stila Magnificent Metals – Cobalts (free – swap)

I’ve never used one of the Stila foiled shadows, so this should be interesting to test out. I ended up with a LOT of blue shades from the swap so I’m working through the slowly, but this one hasn’t made it through my rotation yet!

Lise Watier Auror Eyeshadow in Violet (gift)

At the swap I got to meet Zoë for the first time ever (!!) and she pushed this Lise Watiereyeshadow single into my hand that she had been holding onto with me in mind. At the time, I was half worried she was giving me the shade I already had (Teal), but it turned out to be Violet, a shade I had sent to my friend as a gift, but never picked up for myself. This has turned out to be a beautiful shade, and I love it more than Teal as the colour payoff just seems to be so much better. Yay!

Wet n Wild – 965 Cherry Picking (free – swap)

No one was looking at the Wet n Wild Megalast lipsticks, so I snatched up 965 Cherry Picking. These are some of the best lipsticks I own, despite their ridiculously cheap price point and I am always more than happy to add another shade to my collection.

L’Oreal Infallible eyeshadow in Endless Sea (free – swap)

WHO WOULD TOSS THIS AWAY? I love my L’Oreal Infallible shadows and I didn’t ownEndless Sea, so I gleefully added it to my ever growing pile of makeup.

essence Metal Glam eyeshadow in Jewel of the Ocean (free – swap)

I swear this essence Metal Glam shadow in Jewel of the Ocean is the exact same shade as the L’Oreal one above. I never really thought I wore that much blue shadow, but I sure do gravitate towards them quite often.

Make Up For Ever Smoothing Primer (free – swap)

Yessss! Make Up For Ever‘s Smoothing Primer has turned out to be my favourite primer from the new Step 1 Skin Equalizer line (read my recent review here). This didn’t work out so well for another blogger, so I gave it a shot – and I’m so glad I did.

NARS Multiple in Undress Me (free – swap)

Rejected because it had too much glitter in it… which makes it perfect for me! The NARS Multiple in Undress Me is a pale lilac-pink chockful of glitter particles. The base colour basically disappears on my skin when I apply it, but it leaves behind glorious glitter particles. I tried it once as a highlighter, and it works, but it’s not for those who don’t want glitter on their face. I am SUPER excited to use this all over my body during Pride!

I’m not much of a nail polish person, but I didn’t have anything like these Sally Hansen ones and I thought they’d be fun for some holidays like Halloween and St. Patrick’s Day.

Wet n Wild Mega Liner in Indigo Blue (free – swap)

I’ve never used Wet n Wild‘s liquid liners before and this one was completely untouched in the swap. It’s a beautiful shade on the lids, although a littttle bit shiny which isn’t my favourite kind of finish for a liner. The shade is so gorgeous though that it’s worth ignoring that slight sheen.

Wet n Wild palettes in Poster Child and Art in the Streets (free – swap)

Man, I walked out with a LOT of Wet n Wild in this swap. People kept throwing the bright eyeshadows at me because they knew I’d use them.

Marcelle Gentle Eye Makeup Remover (~$5 CAD each)

Last month’s CBB brand of the month was Marcelle, which offered everyone the opportunity to get 30% off on their web site for a limited time. Bonus was that a lot of items on their site were already on sale, so I stocked up on a few items. Marcelle‘s eye makeup remover has been a longstanding favourite of mine, so I snatched up four bottles at less than half price of what they normally cost at the drug store. SCORE!

Marcelle Liquid Dip-Pen in Blackest Black (~$7 CAD)

I also picked up the Marcelle Liquid Dip-Pen in Blackest Black because Sarah fromWorkaday Beauty told me they were matte. They are indeed matte, but the felt tip isn’t quite long enough for my tastes. Like any black liquid liner though, I’ll definitely use it up.

As beauty lovers are apt to do, we end up with duplicates of items. I was handed this lovely Maybelline matte lipstick in the colour Craving Coral, one I had actually been eyeballing since this line was launched!

These next two palettes came from a fellow blogger who hadn’t touched them and decided they needed to be re-homed. I have no familiarity with Makeup Revolution as a brand other than that they’re based in the UK. What I CAN say though is that this palette and the next one are dead knockoffs of Sleek palettes – the shades are identical in both palettes. I have no idea if the quality is the same however – that’ll be interesting to see. This one is a rip off of Sleek‘s Acid palette.

Makeup Revolution – Redemption Matte Brights (gift)

And here’s the other one. A knockoff of the Sleek Mattes V1 palette.

MAC – Refined Golden from the Wash & Dry collection ($33 CAD)

And who could resist this one? I didn’t really need anything from MAC‘s Wash & Drysummer collection, but every year I get suckered in by the packaging. I’ve already gone through a full MAC bronzer before (Golden) and figured I’d step it up a notch this time and go for Refined Golden. It’s a beautiful bronze-y (veers orange though) shade with gold sparkle. The sparkle doesn’t translate to the skin much though, so I’m sure that will make a lot of people happy. And really… how was I going to resist that packaging? I mean my god.

Bioderma Sensibio/Crealine H2O (~$23 CAD)

I knew I was going to have a bunch of French skincare waiting for me at my parents’ place that my dad had picked up for me when he was in France earlier this year (I went back forOttawa Race Weekend), but I couldn’t wait any longer – I needed my Bioderma solution micellaire! In Canada it’s called Sensibio, and in France it’s Crealine – same product though. I was especially drawn into this one because it has a pump top (so handy) which also means it has a twist off top, which NONE of the other Bioderma bottles have. Seriously, have you ever tried to get top off of your regular bottle of Bioderma? Best wishes to ya!

And this is the one that was waiting for me at my parents. Now I’ve got one in the bathroom and one on my makeup desk. I love this for not only taking off my face makeup at the end of the day, but also for spot correcting as I’m applying it.

Embryolisse – Lait-Creme Concentre (gift)

I really only rotate between two facial moisturizers and this is one of them. When I first tried Embryolisse‘s Lait-Creme Concentre (after having watch many Pixiwoo videos, of course) I didn’t think much of it. But, for whatever reason, I have found myself going back to this one again and again. This is probably my fourth or fifth tube.

And the last French item is Nuxe‘s Reve de Miel lip balm. I’ve never used it, but I’m excited to. It smells nothing like honey and a lot like lemon – totally unexpected!

Aveeno Positively Radiant Moisturizer (gift)

And the other moisturizer I use is by Aveeno. My mom picks this up for me whenever she’s either at Costco or Walmart because I don’t have convenient access to either of those places here in Toronto.

Pacifica – French Lilac Perfume ($10.50 CAD)

While in Ottawa, my mom and I were in a health food store briefly and I somehow (lol) found myself in their beauty area. I wasn’t taken by much except for this perfume byPacifica. It’s their French Lilac scent and it smells identical to the lilac tree in my parents’ backyard. Interesting fact… I bought this for $10.50 at the health food store. A few days later I went to Terra 20 (a natural beauty and other stuff store) and they were selling the exact same thing for five bucks more. Holy jeez, gouging your customers much?

Burberry Lip and Cheek Bloom in Poppy ($33 CAD)

Ah Burberry. I found myself at Nordstrom in the Rideau Centre and wanted to check out what Burberry had to offer. I never find myself at Holt Renfrew (frankly, I don’t think I look the part when I walk in there), but I felt a lot better about being in Nordstrom in Ottawa (Nordstrom has yet to open in Toronto!) so I swung by the Burberry counter. The item I was Most drawn to was this Lip and Cheek Bloom in Poppy – an incredibly vibrant pinky-red shade. It’s so gorgeous and was impossible to pass up.

Clinique Cheek Pop in Cola Pop ($24 CAD)

Phew, we’re getting down to the end of the line! The last few products are all from Sephora. I placed an order for a hair care item I needed, and “had” to add these on to my cart to get free shipping. I picked up the Clinique Cheek Pop blush in Cola Pop because I’d read on Jen’s blog about this one and I was struck by the uniqueness of it. I’ve tried to curb my spending on blushes, but I truly do not have anything at all like this shade in my collection and am curious to try the formula out.

This was a spur of the moment decision. I once turned down a free white liquid liner from Illamasqua (I opted for a free eyeshadow at the time) and I’ve regretted it ever since. I actually feel like that white eyeliner haunts me – how could I turn down such a unique product?! So I grabbed Kat Von D‘s Neruda Ink Liner to see how it goes. It’s not a brush tip like the Tattoo Liner is, but it’s a long-tipped (highly necessary!) felt tip that lays down one hell of an opaque line. I’ve only swatched it so far, but can’t wait to use it in a look.

And lastly (phew, we made it!) is the Marc Jacobs 500 point perk. I got this primarily because if I hear one more person go on about the Marc Jacobs Highliner gel liner, I was going to scream. (And so far, it does live up to the hype, this thing sticks to skin like nothing I’ve ever seen.) I’ve also been sitting on about 1500 Sephora points and was happy to finally see something come up that WASN’T skin or haircare based. There’s also a mini lipstick, liquid liner and mascara in this box, so I think it was well worth the 500 points I spent on it.

And that’s it! How was your month? Did you pick up a lot of new goodies?

What I Bought This Month – September 2014 Haul

September 29, 2014HaulsArdell, Astor, Barry M, Boots No7, Catrice, Dermacol, e.l.f., Embryolisse, essence, Gabriella Salvete, L'Oreal, MAC, Makeup Geek, NYX, Sephora, Soap & Glory, Tarte, Too FacedChelle

Settle in folks, this is another doozy of a haul. I spent almost two weeks in September travelling in Europe and this meant getting to dabble in makeup brands that I don’t have access to in Canada. I picked up a lot of different brands and products overseas, as well as a few new releases here in Canada/US.

Makeup Geek Vegas Lights palette ($37.99 USD)

The most exciting thing I picked up was the brand new Makeup Geek Vegas Lights palette. I hemmed and hawed over this sucker for a little while, but in the end splashed out for it. I love Marlena of Makeup Geek, and I *love* her eyeshadows.

Vegas Lights: Casino, Sin City, Roulette, Mirage, Desert Sands, Bada Bing

The colours in this palette are right up my alley – specifically Sin City and Roulette. The bottom row really helps ground any look you can come up with this palette. I’m impressed thatMakeup Geek managed to put out a palette that actually has serviceable neutrals along with some beautifully coloured shadows. I think this palette is limited edition, in which case, consider picking this up before it’s completely gone!

Makeup Geek shadows: Chickadee, Glass Slipper, Shark Bait ($5.99 USD each)

When I put in the order for the Vegas Lights palette, I also put a few shadows in the order. I have this (completely useless) idea of collecting all the Makeup Geek shadows so had to plug in a few more for this order.

MAC Chromacake in Landscape Green ($31 CAD)

For this year’s Halloween costume, I’m going as Gamora from the Guardians of the Galaxy. Because of Gamora’s green skin, I’m going to need a heck of a lot of coverage so I hopped on over to the MAC Pro store and picked up a Chromacake in Landscape Green. I’ve never used a Chromacake before, or any kind of body paint before, but I’m hopeful that this will turn out well.

The lady at the MAC Pro store was kind enough to give me an insanely generous sample of Landscape Green pigment to match my Chromacake. In fact, she gave me so much pigment I was actually able to mix it with alcohol and press it into an eyeshadow pan. Very handy!

I’ve been loving the Autumn Peach blush by essence that I was previously sent, that I wanted to check out the other shades. Life’s a Cherry is a lovely pink veering on red shade. I think the lighting on the shot above really doesn’t make it across right, but so far I am loving this other essence blush as well.

e.l.f. Disney Ariel Eye Collection ($5 USD)

The Disney Ariel collection was never released in Canada as far as I could see, so a friend in the US shipped a bunch of the products up to me. The eyeshadows aren’t bad, but that eyeliner is absolute crap.

e.l.f. Disney Ariel Bronzer & Mini Kabuki Brush ($5 USD)

The brush on this one is far too scratchy, but the bronzer is fairly nice. Pretty glittery, but still useable.

And lastly from the Ariel collection, a couple pairs of false lashes. They’re regular Ardell lashes but specially packaged up for this Little Mermaid collection.

My wonderful friend Sara whom I was vacationing with in Prague managed to snag me a few goodies in the US that she very kindly brought over for me. She managed to get an awesome deal on the Tarte Rainforest After Dark palette.

Having only ever tried Tarte’s blushes and bronzer, I was curious how their eyeshadows would perform. There are some lovely shades in here, but the palette on its own needs help. There’s no matte brow shade that works for me (the light pink is too dusty of a pink colour) and the pale lavender-grey is actually quite sheer and requires a lot of packing on. That being said, this sucker is super handy. The browns on the right side are wonderfully pigmented, the bronzer and the highlighter are wonderful and the blush is like all of Tarte’s blushes – easy to blend and looks great on my cheeks. This palette is wonderful for a full face – something quite rare in a palette of this size.

I had bought NYX‘s Butter Lipstick in Fizzies back in March but had managed to mangle it when I took it out to a club one night with me. The bullet broke in half and no matter what I did, I couldn’t put it back together. Since NYX‘s Butter Lipsticks still aren’t available in Canada, once again Sara managed to pull through and picked me up a tube in the US. Here’s hoping I don’t break this one as well.

Too Faced Melted Lipsticks in Melt Berry and Melted Candy ($21 USD, each)

She also snagged me two of the newer shades of the Too Faced Melted lipsticks. I haven’t actually tried any yet, but I’d been lusting over them for several months. As they’re cheaper in the US, I broke down and had her buy me two – Melted Berry and Melted Candy. Melted Candy is AMAZING. It’s almost fluorescent and shows up amazingly in pictures.

NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream in Istanbul (free)

And finally, she also kindly gave me a few products that hadn’t worked out for her. NYX‘s Soft Matte Lip Cream is a product I’ve heard about constantly over the years, but had never picked one up. The colour above is Istanbul and I’m excited to try it out.

NYX Butter Gloss in Red Velvet and Fortune Cookie (free)

And lastly, Sara handed over two NYX Butter Lip Glosses that hadn’t worked for her. (Shock, horror!) I’ll always happily add more of these to my collection!

Soap & Glory Lid Stuff in What’s Nude (£10 GBP)

I had a layover at Heathrow on my way to Prague and made a mad dash for the Boots they had in one of the terminals. Thankfully, this particular Boots had Soap & Glory makeup products and I was able to pick up their Lid Stuff eyeshadow quad in What’s Nude.This is a handy quad to bring along with a super bright palette, quite similar to one of the Urban Decay Naked Basics.

Soap & Glory Sexy Mother Pucker in Raplumzel (£8 GBP)

Also from Soap & Glory is their Sexy Mother Pucker Gloss Stick in Raplumzel. This is completely unlike any other balm sticks I own. It’s way more buttery and soft, very reminiscent of a Revlon Lip Butter except that this smells like caramel or something. Delicious!

Boots No7 Stay Perfect Foundation in Deeply Ivory (£14.50 GBP)

Boots’ own brand No7 was having a deal on where if you spent enough money, you’d get a free goodie bag. I was interested in picking up more foundation from No7 as I already use their Instant Radiance foundation quite often. I got re-colour matched with their fancy handheld device and they paired me up with Deeply Ivory, two shades darker than what I had been previously using. I really love just how well the colour match seems to work with this brand, I’ve never been disappointed! I have zero idea if the technology is the same, but I’ve found that the Boots one gives me accurate results whereas the one from Sephora is seriously dodgy.

Boots No7 Lipstick in Sweet Copper (£9.95 GBP)

The lady at the Boots counter was doing colour matching to “find your perfect shade of lipstick”. I’m sure this suckers some women in, but it was really just about colour matching your skin and then finding a few shades that seem to match it based on some card they had. I thought it was basically a bunch of garbage, but I picked out a colour I didn’t think I had (yeah right) and it turned out to be Sweet Copper. Beautiful shade and I really love the consistency.

Boots No7 Exquisite Eyes Gift with Purchase (free)

And because I’d spent enough money on their No7 line, they gave me this set. It includes a mascara, an eye pencil, a brush and a shadow.

Barry M Nail Paint in Diamond Glitter (£2.99, each)

I spotted the Barry M display and snagged the last two Diamond Glitters left on the display. I had previously gone through an entire bottle of it and I knew I loved it. I was happy to re-stock this in my collection because I can’t get Barry M in Canada.

Because I had loved the Too Faced Melted lipsticks that Sara had brought me up from the US, that I ran out at bought Melted Nude in Prague. Bonus being that it was on sale (price above is the non-discounted price) and it was cheaper than I could even get it in Canada. Sold!

This one was a necessity. I had forgotten my eyelash curlers at home and had to pick up a pair while on vacation. I’ve been using Tweezerman ones for years and I guess I just assumed eyelash curlers are supposed to pinch your eyes? Wrong, so wrong. I was happy to discover that Sephora‘s eyelash curlers are wonderful! No pinching of my lids at all! Think I’ll be throwing out my Tweezerman ones immediately.

Now this was interesting! I picked this up at Rossman, one of the drugstores in the Czech Republic, because I had read that L’Oreal regular liquid version was similar to Bioderma‘s micellar liquid. This is the gel format and I’m curious to see how this works in comparison with my other makeup removers.

Picked up Dermacol‘s Soft Heel Balm solely because of the packaging. I have nasty heels and anything I can use to repair them is definitely right up my alley.

I wish I’d bought more Dermacol, but I didn’t actually realize that they were a Czech brand until very late into my trip. This was another item bought purely because the packaging screamed at me. Not opened yet because I have a bunch of other mascaras I need to finish up first.

essence blush up! in Heat Wave and Pinky Flow (105 Kč, each)

Snagged these two up because I’ve never seen them in Canada! Bush ombres are just way too pretty to pass up and the one on the left looks like a dupe for MAC’s Ripe Peach, a blush I had never managed to get my hands on.

Astor Lipcolor Butter in Feeling Feline (169.90 Kč)

Hot pink, slightly sheer and called Feeling Feline! We had to go to three or four DM stores before we finally found one that hadn’t already been used. I also like how it’s not cut at the top like all the other chubby stick lip products.

Catrice Liquid Liner in Dating Joe Black (94.90 Kč)

Nikkie of NikkieTutorials claims this is better than Make Up For Ever’s liquid liner. Sold!

Gabriella Salvete Glitter Enamel (89.90 Kč)

Yet another 3D silver glitter polish to add to my collection! I think this one is textured though.

Gabriella Salvete Liquid Eyeliner in Black (129.90 Kč)

I really don’t need more black liquid liner, but this one claims that it’s matte. I’ve yet to meet a liquid liner that’s actually matte, but hey, I’m willing to give it a shot!

My brother brought this over from France as I was getting low on the one I had back in Toronto. I had thought this was around 7 or 8 euros, but it turns out it’s a lot more expensive than that. I wonder if the price got jacked up recently?

That’s it for this post! There were a few things I picked up in Vienna that I don’t have on me now (forgot them in the car, my friend in Germany is going to mail them to me) so they’ll be in next month’s post.

What I Bought This Month – May 2014 Haul

May 30, 2014HaulsBioderma, Dermal Therapy, Embryolisse, Hard Candy, Julep, MAC, NYC, OlayChelle

I actually hadn’t picked up any beauty products this month until the very last week and then suddenly I had a whole stockpile!

While MAC‘s summer collection didn’t have a whole heck of a lot of bright colours, I knew I still wanted to pick up a few products because holy hell is that packaging ever beautiful! The first item I picked up was the cremesheen finish lipstick in Mystical. The colour is slightly more brown than I had expected, but it’s a very easy, every day colour for me. Slightly more fall-oriented than spring or summer, but still really beautiful.

I wanted to give MAC‘s extra dimension products another shot because everyone seems to love them and I’ve always been kind of “meh” about them. I have the skinfinish in Whisper of Gilt, but I’ve always found the product to be very hard and stiff in the pan, which requires using a rather stiff brush to actually get any product out of the pan. Turns out the blush is really no different! Like the lipstick, Sea Me, Hear Me is far more of a deep fall colour (I really didn’t understand this collection, despite the packaging being spectacular) and it looks nice on my cheeks, but I really need to use a stiff brush to get it out of the pan!

Hard Candy Ombre Lipstick – Cheerful (~$6 CAD)

Hard Candy Cheeks and Balances – Cheeky Pink (~$8 CAD)

This works slightly better than the lip product, but not a whole heck of a lot. Hard Candy‘sCheeky Pink “Cheeks and Balances” is supposed to be a cheek colour and highlighter in one. It goes on stripey (obviously) and you really need to blend it out with a finger or two. It can be a bit greasy, but I’ve only tested it out so far without wearing it for any extended amount of time. It’s a bit too finicky to keep the actual colours separated once you blend them, so it’s easier to just smush the product together as you swipe it on your cheeks. It’s quite frosty overall (even the darker pink colour), so apply lightly and build up if you need to.

Julep polishes in (l-r): Michelle, Angela, Missy, Paris, Hilary (free)

Embryolisse – Hydra-Masque (~€15 CAD) — Bioderma – Crealine H2O (~€12)

Empties – February 2014

February 10, 2014Empties, MiscellaneousAbsolute!, Ardell, Bath & Body Works, China Glaze, Clinique, CoverGirl, Embryolisse, Illamasqua, Jack Black, L'Occitane, L'Oreal, Laura Mercier, Lindesa, Marcelle, Nourish Organic, Revlon, Sabon, The Body Shop, Urban DecayChelle

201402_empties1

Nope, not a La Senza haul, instead this is a product empties post and that big ole La Senza bag just happens to house all of them.

Having never really saved my empty products until I created this blog, I was a bit surprised that I had enough empties for another blog post only three months after my last one. I’m only posting products I’d actually haul – so you’re not going to be seeing shampoos and toothpaste in here.

First up are the actual makeup products, because I know that’s what interests me most when I read these kinds of posts.

CoverGirl Clump Crusher (water resistant) and L’Oreal Voluminous Carbon Black (waterproof)

These are my two staple mascaras. The CoverGirl Clump Crusher mascara is probably my favourite out of the two of them, but even though this is the water resistant formula (a true waterproof one doesn’t actually exist in this formula) is really isn’t water resistant at all. I’ve said this before, but it’s worth repeating, if you get water near your lashes while wearing this, it will definitely run or smear. That being said, the formula really is fantastic and it’s worth wearing – although I stick to the summer months when my eyes are less likely to tear up.

During the winter, or when I need a truly waterproof mascara, I’ll use L’Oreal‘s Voluminous Carbon Black mascara. I always come back to this formula, but I definitely prefer it when it’s in the “wet-er” stages, which is within the first month of opening a new tube. I’m currently using another tube of the L’Oreal one right now.

Verdict:
CoverGirl Clump Crusher (water-resistant) – definite re-buy
L’Oreal Voluminous Carbon Black (waterproof) – definite re-buy

The Revlon Lip Butter in Cherry Tart is a beautiful shade on the lips, it goes on smooth and looks rather glossy. The wear time is about average for a balm (~1.5 hours before you need to re-apply) so don’t expect this to be a particularly long lasting product. I’ve used up as much as I can get out of the tube without actually digging into the bottom of the bullet (can’t be bothered really). While it’s lovely on the lips, I’ve also grown rather tired of the maintenance required with non-long-lasting lip colours so while I like the colour, I just don’t have the patience to keep touching up my lip colour every hour or so.

Verdict: Unlikely re-buy

These Ardell 102 Demis are my favourite false lashes to wear and I have certainly worn these to death. I don’t wear false lashes often (once or twice a month, if even) and I believe I got about 8-10 uses out of these. They’re starting to look rather gungy (not to mention they’re also quite old) so it was time to just throw these out and start in on a fresh pair.

Verdict: Definite re-buy – I’ve already got another set waiting in the wings!

This Jack Black balm was included in my Products I Want To Use Up In 2014 post, and I’m happy to have finished it. You can see remnants in the tube, but I really can’t squeeze anymore of it out. This product was… adequate. I don’t feel it did much for my lips, neither helpful nor destructive, it was just kind of there. It was great for protecting against windburn throughout the winter since its main ingredient is petrolatum. The thing I liked most about this product is that it comes in a squeezy tube, which makes it easy to apply. I’m not a germaphobe at all, and double dipping in my potted lip products really doesn’t bother me from a hygienic point of view, but I reaIly wish more lip products came like this if only because it’s so much easier to apply on the go.

Verdict: Unlikely to purchase again

l-r: Clinique Superprimer Universal Face Primer, Urban Decay Primer Potion in Eden, L’Occitane Delicious Hands Almond, Illamasqua Hydra Veil, Laura Mercier Face Polish, Nourish Organic Face Lotion, Laura Mercier Foundation Primer

I know sample size empties are hardly exciting, but sometimes they’re worth mentioning for that first impression.

Clinique Superprimer Universal Face Primer – Won’t buy full size

I used this just for the sake of using it. I didn’t notice it affecting how long my foundation lasted on my skin, but then again I’m not prone to foundation just sliding right off my face in the first place.

Urban Decay Primer Potion in Eden – not sure what to think…

I’m not sure what to think about this. I started using this primer right around the time where even my Original UDPP started creasing on me (which shocked and frightened me, to be perfectly honest), so my only exposure to Eden is to say that it creased on me. But so did my usual primer at the time. So maybe it was a weird hormonal fluctuation in my skin, but this didn’t work out for me at the time that I used it.

L’Occitane Delicious Hands Almond – won’t buy full size

Smelled like almonds and worked well but it’s pricey and not a scent I’d usually pay a lot of money.

Illamasqua Hydra Veil – possible purchase

My first exposure to a gel moisturizer – this felt SO COOL. When I think of gels (of any kind), I think of alcohol, so I didn’t really understand how the heck this was going to moisturize my skin. This felt really neat on the skin and I *loved* the smell of it. However, at the $48 CAD price point, I’d have to be gifted this because I’m perfectly happy with my Aveeno facial moisturizer and that is way too steep of a price in my books.

Laura Mercier Face Polish – won’t buy full size

This felt cool to use, but it’s not something I really need or want. The granules in the polish are so small that they actually feel kind of soothing as you rub it into your wet skin.

Nourish Organic Face Lotion – will avoid for life

The smell became rather sickening after a while and after this dried down on my face it felt like I had a thin mask over my face that I had to crack just by moving my features around. Unpleasant all around.

Laura Mercier Foundation Primer – won’t buy full size

Just like the Clinique one, I don’t find this foundation primer actually did anything for my makeup. /shrugs

I used the pants out of this China Glaze shade. Kiwi Cool-Ada was a matte neon polish (use a top coat to get some shine) that just glowed in the daylight. Since the polish went on rather streaky, you usually needed about three coats before it looked perfect.

Verdict: Possible re-buy, but I’d rather use up some of my other polishes first.

Marcelle Gentle Makeup Remover for Sensitive Eyes has been my go-to makeup remover for years and years. It’s an oil-based remover (shake before using) which, of course, ensures that it’ll take off any and all waterproof makeup. I find this works just as well as MAC‘s makeup remover (the one in the red/pink tube), if not better, and at almost half the price. Since the Marcelle normally runs around $15, I usually wait for a sale at Shoppers and/or buy it when it’s in the larger bonus size bottle (like the one above – 33% more product). I can’t recommend this enough, I’ve been using this remover for well over six years now and haven’t found anything better.

Verdict: Forever repurchase

Absolute! Makeup Cleansing Tissues – Pomegranate Extract

It’s hard to vocalize just how disgusting these Make-Up Cleansing Tissues from Absolute! are. I saw on the Ipsy forums that someone referred to these as smelling like beer… and they nailed it. In my original Ipsy review, I said that they smelled like some kind of alcoholic fruity drink, and I was kind of close, but also off the mark. These smell like beer that has gone rancid. They don’t smell like pomegranate, that’s for sure. And they don’t even work that well either – removing waterproof mascara was a nightmare and I’m fairly certain I pulled out more lashes than I actually cleaned. (Let it be known that it also said on the packaging that it would remove waterproof mascara.)

Verdict: You couldn’t PAY me to use these again – avoid like the plague

The Body Shop Body Butters – Satsuma & Coconut

The Body Shop Body Butters are legendary – I don’t think I’ve ever actually heard of someone disliking them. They’re thick, moisturizing and these two in particular, Satsuma andCoconut, smell especially fantastic. Satsuma was my favourite one out of these two and I’ve got a backup sitting on a bookshelf behind me.

Verdict: Love these and will definitely repurchase at some point.

I picked up Embryolisse‘s Lait-Creme Concentre while vacationing in France in 2012 (picked up a few tubes actually, this was my last one) because I’d heard so many people rave about it. And it’s… okay. It’s not especially expensive (under 10 euros I think), which is rather nice, and cheaper, than my usual facial moisturizer. It feels kind of fancy to say you use French skincare that you bought in France… but the reality is that I didn’t notice anything different about my skin after using this cream. It smelled like generic “unfragranced” skincare and goes on smoothly.

Verdict: Will repurchase if I’m in Europe again.

Bath & Body Works – Midnight Pomegranate Body Lotion

This Bath & Body Works lotion in Midnight Pomegranate took me forever to use up. It’s one of the mini bottles, but the scent was so strong that it was actually incredibly overpowering when I used this a few times at the office (just ask my coworkers from several offices over). I was happy to finish this up (and I’m still struggling with the 3-wick candle I have in the same scent, although I have to say the candle is far less powerful than the lotion) but it’s not something I can say I really enjoyed. The lotion is on the thin side and really didn’t seem to do anything other than fragrance my skin.

Verdict: Won’t repurchase

I was given this Lindesa hand cream as a gift and I believe it came from a German Christmas market. The cream seems to contain a substantial amount of beeswax, so it could feel pretty heavy on the hands. The smell was really nice, although mild, and it was a great moisturizer for when my hands were on the drier side.

Verdict: Unlikely re-buy since I have no idea where to even get it!

I never see any Sabon products mentioned in the beauty world but I love their products so much. I first discovered them in New York City about seven years ago by accident. They also have a location in Toronto, but it’s nowhere especially close to where I live. Anyway, this Body Gel Polisher is fantastic, it’s a full body exfoliant, but you don’t need a ton of product to get the desired effect. I quite like the Lemon Mint smell, although I’ve been told my others who got a whiff of it that they can’t stand the smell of it – to each their own!

Verdict: Will repurchase when convenient.

Not an especially exciting empties roundup, but I was happy to empty out my bag of garbage!