Swatch It Up: Pretty & Polished-May Flowers (Temperature Changer!)

I don’t know how she does it, but Chels of Pretty & Polished has managed to come out with yet another amazing temperature-changing polish! This polish is green when cool and white when warm. May Flowers is appropriately spring in colour from its bright green base to its multi-coloured spring-inspired glitter. The formula is a little bit thicker due to the extra pigments in this type of polish, but definitely still very manageable and can be thinned out with nail polish thinner.

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February 2013 SeasonsBox–“Love Yourself”

SeasonsBox is my latest subscription obsession, founded by Agnes Kozera, and is relatively new to the beauty box subscription scene. The first SeasonsBox debuted in December 2012 and is what I would consider more of a lifestyle box as not all the products are beauty-related. I am starting to want to pull away from the typical beauty box subscription which is what led me to wanting to try something new. So, what is a SeasonsBox?

A subscription service that strives to introduce you to environmentally conscious products that meet our highest quality standards and that will stimulate your senses. Each month we carefully compile 3-5 luxurious full size seasonal must-have products for your home, body, and spirit that tailor to one season (Winter, Spring, Summer, or Autumn), or Seasonal Holidays and Occasions.

This is not a “sample” box in the slightest as everything is full size which means that SeasonsBox is one of the more expensive subs. Subscription pricing is as follows:

Available as a one time purchase or as a subscriptions. Subscriptions are offered on a month-to-month recurring basis and on a 3 month, 6 month, or yearly pre-paid subscription basis!

Subscription Pricing Below (prices include shipping)

  • Bill monthly for $34.90
  • 3 months for $99.70 (save $5) + 5% Store Discount
  • 6 months for $174.50 (save $34.90 that's 1 FREE Box!) + 10% Store Discount
  • 12 months for $349 (save $69.80 that's 2 FREE Boxes!) + 15% Store Discount
  • One time purchase or Gift it for $39.95

I signed up right at the end of February for 3 months by way of Lesley of Petite Pear Style and what I love about this subscription is that you can preview the SeasonsBox so even though I could have started my subscription in March, I really loved what was in February’s box as the theme was all about taking the time to LOVE yourself first. It was sent a little late (I barely noticed!) so I got an little extra treat thrown in which was very thoughtful.

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Review-KKCenterHK Marquise and Circular Studs

A couple of weeks ago, I was contacted by KKCenterHK to review some nail art studs and I wholeheartedly jumped at the opportunity. There was quite a selection, so it took me awhile to narrow down my choices! I just used these in Day 6 of the 31 Day Nail Challenge and I just thought I’d share some thoughts on them since I didn’t really go into much detail in my last post.

I don’t normally use nail studs in my nail art because they just NEVER last for me and then I just end up feeling frustrated that I have studs missing on my nails, so I was interested to see whether these studs from KKCenterHK would survive.

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March 2013 Ipsy Bag

This month’s theme is “The Great Escape” which from the looks of the makeup bag, refers to escaping winter and welcoming beach season and warmer weather. We’ve had some surprisingly sunny and warm weather here in Vancouver lately and I will admit that I pulled out my tank top, shorts and sandals today to do some grocery shopping despite the chilling breeze! I liked the makeup bag print this month and even though there wasn’t a product that completely wowed me, I was still very satisfied with what I received.

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Day 7-Cadbury Mini Eggs Skittles

Today is the start of the long weekend for most of us so forgive me for the brevity of this manicure, but in keeping with the Easter theme and what I’ve been chomping on for the better part of the week, here are my Cadbury Mini Eggs nails! You can even see that I was too impatient to wait for the dots to dry as there is major case of smearing.

For my egg colours, I used Pretty & Polished–Delightful Daisy, Model’s Own-Beth’s Blue, Model’s Own-Pastel Pink and Sally Hansen XTremeWear-White On. The brown speckles were done with Nubar-Milk Chocolate Creme. I finished with a coat of Gosh-Matt Effect Top Coat.

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Day 6-Favourite Colour Family

Like many girls, I have a couple of favourite colour families namely pink, purple and blue, but since Days 4 and 5 were pink and purple, I figured I would focus more on blue. I started off with 2 coats of beautiful Essie-Butler Please.

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February 2013 Beauty Box 5 Birthday Edition

Boy oh boy am I excited about THIS beauty box! The February BB5 was arrived later than usual because of its unusually heavy weight…hmmm and what was it you ask? Nothing short of an all together fantabulous BB5! I had no idea that they had been around for one year (same time as Glossybox), but I do remember a bit of a lackluster start with a foil packets being passed off as actual samples. My my how things have changed! And in keeping in theme with BB5’s colour scheme, everything in February’s box is blue blue blue!

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Sample Sundays–Round 7!

Time for another exciting round of Sample Sundays! This time around, I’m focusing more on bath and body products as I am STILL working on the face products from Round 6 that are taking eons to finish.

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1. Fresh Seaberry Restorative Body Cream (65mL)

2. Burst Organic Beauty Bar Coconut and Vanilla Love Bubbles Body Wash (1oz)

3. J.R. Watkins Lavender Hand and Body Lotion (29mL)

4. Molton Brown Vitalising AB+C Bath and Shower Gel (50mL)

5. Unknown White Tub of Body Lotion (30mL)

6. Burst Organic Beauty Bar Blueberry and Vanilla Rich Island Butter (1oz) (Ugh, I hate the scent of fake blueberries so this is something I might try to finish first!)

7. Fortune Cookie Soap Whipped Cream in Honey Dew Me (30mL) (Too good to not use right away!)

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I will also try to use a boatload of foil samples including the new Double Serum from Clarins which the sales person gave me four samples of!

Happy Sunday! I cannot wait for the long weekend next week!

Day 5 of the N31DC–Purple on Purple Leopard Print

Do you really want to know why I decided on this design for today? Even if you don’t, I’ll share with you anyway! My underwear currently has the EXACT same pattern. I would have loved to pose with them, but then Cosmetic Proof would have to be rated 18A.

For the base colour, I used two coats of Limecrime-Lavendairy (gifted to me by the lovely Traci!) and Forever 21-Lavender outlined with purple acrylic paint.

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I hope everyone is having a good weekend!

Be sure to check out the other wonderful ladies also participating in this challenge!

Naomi @ Bellezza

Traci @ drinkcitra

Masha @ Lost in Lacquer

February 2013 Glymm Bag

Yes. Glymm and I have gotten back together at least for another year, but I’m regretting it a little. February’s Glymm Bag arrived in March and although it is Valentine’s-themed, is somewhat lacking in excitement. For those that are part of the nail polish promo, this bag was probably more interesting because of the extra nail polish thrown in, but for someone like me that got just a $20 credit for “coming back”, February’s Glymm Bag is just “comme ci, comme ca” and you will soon find out why.

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Day 4 of the N31DC–Pink Dot Gradient

Pink is one of my favourite colours (I know how stereotypically girly, right?) and I was overwhelmed with what to do seeing as how the possibilities were just endless! I decided to try a design that I had seen on Nailed It last summer with the only real difference being that my gradient goes in the opposite direction.

For my base I used Zoya-Shay and for the dots I used China Glaze-Empowerment, Color Club-Yum Gum and Color Club-Raspberry Rush. I loved how the gradient turned out and I think this would be a lot of fun in other coloured gradients like blue and green.

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Be sure to check out the other wonderful ladies also participating in this challenge!

Naomi @ Bellezza

Traci @ drinkcitra

Masha @ Lost in Lacquer

Fortune Cookie Soap: Spring Soap Box 2013

One more box to add to my ever-growing beauty box subscription repertoire! I have to thank Margo at City Girl for her tempting Soap Box posts that finally pushed my fingers to click “Subscribe Now”! The Soap Box is a quarterly subscription ($28/box in Canada) provided by the Fortune Cookie Soap Company and in addition to the Soap Box, FCS has a huge selection of absolutely delectable soaps, body lotions and other bodily delights! The fortune cookie soaps are so cute and tasty looking that if you choose only one thing to get, it must be these!

I decided to sign up in December, but because this box is quarterly, I didn’t get my first Soap Box until last week, but it was totally worth the wait! It smelled wonderfully sweet and had brightly coloured packaging sure to excite any bath and body lover!

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Review-Biotherm Beurre Corporel Body Butter

Growing up in a country that has French as a second language, I find it a little strange to use the above title because I have literally said “body butter” twice in a row. I have mentioned this body butter as one of my February Luvs and boy has it been my friend this past winter season! This body butter is for dry to very dry skin so I use it mainly on my legs as they seem to be the most in need of moisture. There is a lighter version of this body butter in the form of a body milk and will be what I will switch to in the warmer months.

Repair and protect your dry skin from external aggressions. Harsh winter winds, damaging sun rays and electric heating strip moisture from the skin leaving it rough and dehydrated.

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Day 3 of the N31DC-Gold with some Green for St.Patrick’s Day

For today’s design, I had to do something fairly straightforward as I had a 12 hour work day today…I’m so tired so I will keep this short and sweet. I used two coats of Revlon-Posh as my base and made my glitter gradient with Julep-Vivien. I chose this gold glitter because the larger pieces reminded me of coins in a pot o’ gold!

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Day 2 of the N31DC–Silver with Spring-Coloured Squares

Silver is the theme for Day 2 and I’m cheating a little bit by using a silver holo, but I really wanted a background that popped and made people say, “wuuuut?!” I began with three coats of Glitter Gal-Silver 3D/Holo and sat back to enjoy the holo awesomeness before starting my actual design.

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I wanted to add on some spring colours, so I decided to draw some squares with acrylic paint and then outline them in black. I wish I had a dress that had this pattern because I am really loving it!

A Look Back: One Year of Glossybox

I have never been subscribed to a beauty box right from the beginning until Glossybox came along so I thought it might be a little nostalgic to have a look at the first year of Glossyboxes!

February 2012

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February 2013 One Year Anniversary Glossybox

One year of Glossybox has arrived and this is truly a box worthy of a one year anniversary. I still remember being on the email list and finding out that FINALLY, Glossybox was coming to Canada! There have been some ups and downs this past year with Glossybox, but I still consider myself loyal and will continue our beauty box romance for the time being.

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The Latest in Shoppers Drug Mart Sinnage!

I feel like there is always an event at Shoppers Drug Mart and now it has gotten to a point where I honestly do not know what I need/want anymore! I think I’m going to take a little Shoppers break for a bit because I was going through my stash the other day and I truly have a sickness…I absolutely have to start “shopping my stash” as Beauty Balm puts it. The last Shoppers points event I participated in was at the beginning of this month and for $75 worth of beauty products, 18 500 points were given out which is an extra $25 of points!

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Klorane Shampoo and Conditioner with Magnolia

I have read some positive reviews about Klorane and when I saw this line on sale for $10, I knew it was the perfect time to try it. This particular line is all about the magnolia flower known for the resistance and shine in its leaves. This protective element is called the cuticle and is a wax that Klorane has extracted to provided hair with a similar shine. Now, most plants have a cuticle so I don’t know what it is about the magnolia flower that makes its cuticle the best one out there. Maybe someone in plant biology can tell me?

Klorane Leave-In Spray with Magnolia

My Moroccanoil Glimmer Spray is about to run out and I like using a shine spray after I’ve straightened my hair and this spray claims to be very lightweight and to give my hair a brilliant shine.

Day 1 of the N31DC-Black and White

Here we go! 31 days of creatively gruelling nail painting coming right up! For the first day of the challenge I chose to do a “straw manicure” which is something I have been dying to try as it’s fast, easy and looks really artsy on the nail. As you may have guessed, this manicure involves dipping the end of a straw into polish and stamping your nail with it.

For my base colour, I used two coats of Essence-Black is Back and once that dried a little bit, I took my straw dipped in Venique-Wingtip White and Barielle-U-Concrete-Me and stamped the partial circles onto my nail. I then topped everything off with OTD Top Coat. I just love the effect! I think I even have a dress that looks like this which I just might try to dig up for work tomorrow.

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Welcome to the New 31 Day Nail Challenge!

Naomi of Bellezza Bee, Traci of drinkcitra and I will once again be embarking on another nail challenge as put forth originally by The Crumpet. I started the Nerdy Nail Challenge on my own back in January, but I’ve just been feeling very uninspired and TIRED! Now that I have my ladies again, I think I can stick to the schedule. We will be doing the challenge every third day this time as even every other day proved to be quite difficult for the three of us because of work.

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Stay tuned tomorrow for Day 1!

March 2013 Aveda Prive Topbox

This Topbox was a bit of a surprise as I received my tracking info yesterday as well as my box! I am fairly happy with the Aveda Prive Box although I keep forgetting how small the samples really are. I have been wanting to try more Aveda products so seeing the number of products in this month’s Topbox pushed me to opt for this one instead of the regular Topbox.

The Aveda box came wrapped in green leafy paper.

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February 2013 Bombshell Maven Box with Extras

February marks my one year anniversary with Julep which I never thought I would have because I thought I’d just get my 1 cent Maven Box and cancel. It turns out that being able to skip a month has been the winning factor for me as I love the freedom of seeing what I might be getting and having some control over where my money goes. February’s Bombshell Box was one of my favourites as I could not wait to try out the new Freedom Polymer Top Coat and Oxygen Nail Treatment!

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Swatch It Up: Pretty & Polished-Tart

Easter is coming early this year so I felt like becoming one with the Easter egg and channelling some speckled pastels. Check out Pretty & Polished – Tart which is delightful to wear and makes me feel like I have milk chocolate insides. This polish has a shimmery lavender base with purple microglitter, and red, yellow, blue, white and pink hex glitter. I have on three easy coats of Tart with a coat of Julep Freedom Polymer Top Coat.

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Review-STEAMCREAM

Some of you know that I have this little beauty addiction and right now I am currently obsessed with STEAMCREAM which is a moisturizer that can be used on the face, hands, body and even hair! It is a sister company of LUSH and handmade in the UK and Japan with only the freshest ingredients that come in the most delightful collectable tins!

When I first heard of STEAMCREAM, the first thing I wanted to know was, why is this moisturizer called “STEAMCREAM”? The all-natural ingredients are fused together by a shot of steam creating a moisturizer with a whipped texture that is lightweight and provides hydration that lasts. The cream that is created is very “loose” and jelly-like and when applied to the skin, breaks down and nourishes the skin more effectively than other conventional moisturizers.

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I love cats, so a collectible tin with cats all over it? I knew I had to have Chiyoneko! Ayame was just too beautiful to pass up as it reminded me of good china.

February Empties! *Pat on Back*

I really should call last month “full size February” because I decided to steadily use products that I’d had sitting around for far too long!

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*Let’s try out some emoticons to say whether I’d repurchase or not with the thinking face being a “maybe”*

Swatch It Up: The Hungry Asian-Ida Rose

It has been a long time since I’ve worn a Hungry Asian polish and I felt a little blue so I figured a little orange might be just the ticket to cheering me up! Ida Rose is a bright orange jelly with blue glitter. What I have on in three easy coats with the new Julep Freedom Polymer Topcoat which is a fantastic topcoat! Dries incredibly fast and leaves a gloriously shiny finish.

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Sample Sundays: Round Six!

This was supposed to be a bi-weekly event, but it took me a LONG time to even make a dent in January’s round of samples, but at least I got some empties out of it! This time, I’m going to take it easy and pace myself as there are still some full sized products I would like to finish in my beauty stash. Here is what’s in the sample criminal line up!

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February Luvs

I feel like I’ve been in a rut when it comes to favourites. I feel like I’m just wanting to stick with products that are comfortable and safe…with the exception of Maybelline’s Colorsensational Vivids! If it weren’t for those Vivids, I really would be a plain Jayne and you guys wouldn’t want to be friends with me anymore!

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