Topbox | January 2014 “Chinese New Year” Edition

I will admit that I totally don’t remember checking the Benefit box for my Topbox wish list and I’m almost 95% sure I just opted for a regular Topbox, but hey, I won’t say no to Benefit! This is the special Chinese New Year edition that came in very festive CNY packaging, but came with an empty lucky money packet…kind of bad luck to do that isn’t it?

DSC_0415

Petit Vour | November 2013 “Pure. Natural. Beautiful”

After a fairly good October Petit Vour Box, November was also one that I was quite happy with! I love that a Canadian company was featured as well! I’m also pleasantly surprised to see so many makeup companies that are vegan-friendly and strive to make their products as healthy as possible.

DSC_0299

DSC_0300

OSEA | Blemish Balm

Late last year, I was introduced to a 100% vegan skincare line made with USDA Certified Organic Seaweed called OSEA created by Jenefer Palmer that made a conscious effort to ensure that every ingredient in their products was certified organic, cruelty-free and biodegradable.

DSC_0006

Kiss | Nail Artist Paint and Stencil Kit with Nail Art!

I loved using stencils as a kid and even well into my teenage years when I started collecting Pokémon stencils! The Nail Artist Paint and Stencil Kit from Kiss brought back all of those childhood memories and fed my grown up nail art addiction too! This kit comes with three nail art stripers in: black, white and silver glitter, which are really great staple colours to have as stripers, and 30 vinyl stencils.

DSC_0437

DSC_0163

#BusyGirlNails | Week 2–Black Satin with White Polka Dots

For this week of the #busygirlnails challenge, we need to incorporate the colour white into our manis so now that I am officially obsessed with satin finishes, I decided to use Sally Hansen – Silk Onyx which has a satin finish with Sally Hansen XTremewear – White On as both a contrasting colour and texture.

black_white

Swatch It Up | Guerlain Rouge D'Enfer 121

Sometimes it’s nice to go back to the classics to a classic womanly red polish. Nothing says “woman” to me like this red polish from Guerlain. The photos show this polish as leaning more on the orange, but you will see in the photo taken with flash that it is actually more of a berry red in real life. I was tempted to do some nail art right away, but I think a polish as nice as this deserved its day in the sun!

The polish brush was fairly wide and had a rounded end to make the cuticle edges a little bit more clean. This polish had a beautiful formula that was smooth, self-levelling and the perfect consistency. I would expect nothing less from a $28 polish!

guerlain_121-3

Beauty Box 5 | September 2013 “On the Go”

Some of you must have wondered where my BB5 posts have been as I have not posted about a BB5 box since last June. At the time I was waiting for my July box, but it never came…same with my August box…after much back and forth and some very helpful customer service, I received my September Box in November even though it was sent out at the beginning of September! There were some issues with customs for my boxes so they were all being stopped at the border AND traveling by surface resulting in two months of tardiness! It has all been sorted out now, but it took AWHILE! I was not disappointed with September’s box so let’s take a closer look!

DSC_0092
DSC_0091

December 2013 Empties

December was a month where there wasn’t too much time to be conscientious about using products up. I kept meaning to dive into my samples stash, but had too much on my mind and decided to wait until January to be more active in product usage. This edition of empties is short and sweet which might be disappointing for some of you who were expecting more from me! I’ll try harder this month, I promise!  

dec_empties

November/December 2013 Favourites

When it comes to favourites, I’m going to have to cheat a little bit and combine November and December because moving last month didn’t really give me a chance to truly enjoy any new products nor the brain power to remember what they were. I’m very sure I have forgotten some things, but those can always make their way into January’s favourites!

dec_2013

Topbox | December “Lashem” Edition

I will admit that when I got my lash extensions removed I was scared. Scared that all I would be left with were baby lashes or better yet, NO lashes. In anticipation of possible eyelash doom, I decided to go with the Lash Em Topbox which I NEVER thought I would ever do as I have mascaras coming out the wazoo (says Dr. Seuss?). This is a fairly straightforward Topbox as there are only two products inside so let’s get to it!

DSC_0295

#BusyGirlNails | Week 1–Teal Satin Gradient

I know I’m cuttin’ it close, but I’ve been a little busy and that’s what this challenge acknowledges! I have been loving these new satin finishes lately so when I saw Sally Hansen-Teal Tulle from their Satin Glam Collection I knew that it was the perfect polish for this week! I sponged on another satin finish, OPI – Love.Angel.Music.Baby and added some gold studs from Born Pretty finishing this somewhat “beachy” look.

teal.gold.satin

Kiss | Gradation Polishes with Nail Art

We all know nail art is positively huge right now and for those that wish to achieve some of those amazing nail looks, but either don’t have the nail polish library or know where to start, never fear! Kiss is here! Kiss has a few kits for easy DIY nail art that can be done in a jiffy and with very little supervision! One of the easiest, but absolute prettiest nail looks right now is the “gradient” which to this day is my “comfort nail art”. It’s so fast to do, but is stunning to look at! The first step in creating a gradient is just choosing the right colours so Kiss has taken all of the guesswork out of the equation by creating four Gradation Polish Kits with the perfect trio of polishes to ensure that your gradient is seamless. I have the gold kit to share with you today, but there are also pink, black and a blue glitter gradient kits. 

kiss_gradient2

DSC_0159

Born Pretty | Metallic Gold Lattice Water Decals with Nail Art

What would all of us nail art addicts do without Born Pretty? I swear, I love this place and although I have heard some awful stories about shipments not making it/taking months, I have yet to experience less than reasonable customer service for items that I have actually purchased. I even received a replacement bottle of nail polish once when one was missing in my order so even though it does take a month for things to arrive, the prices are just amazing and I am now convinced that ALL nail art supplies should cost what they cost at Born Pretty! Today I have the prettiest latticework nail decals to share with you!

DSC_0362

DSC_0355

November 2013 Empties

I’m not going to lie, I made my husband carry these empties to our new apartment. I may not have told him what was inside the box, but he dutifully hauled over all of my beauty products whether they were filled with product or not! Let’s see what I managed to get through for the month of November!

DSC_0226

Wantable | October 2013 Make Up Edition

That’s right, this is the October Wantable edition at the beginning of January! It’s almost laughable, but this box was pretty good so I wanted to share it with you all! January is all about new year’s resolutions so for me that’s catching up with what I missed out on telling you all from 2013! October seems so long ago and all I remember about my preferences for the October Wantable edition is that I REALLY tried to make sure that I got nail polish in my box and sure enough, I received TWO polishes!

DSC_0018

Sephora | VIB Damage

Now I know that VIB week has come and gone, but since I thoroughly enjoyed reading everyone’s VIB posts from last year and seeing the goods, I figured I wouldn’t deprive you all of that same joy.

DSC_0140

I picked up a refill of my almost all used up Dior Diorskin Shimmer Star in Amber Diamond as well as the touted about Dior Gel Top Coat. I also picked up my first Formula X by Sephora polish in Celestial which swatched in the most mind-blowing way! It’s this gorgeous aquamarine glitter that I had to have! The Formula X polishes aren’t the cheapest though at $15 a pop!

T-mart | Dreambooks Fluorescent Pink Nail Polish with Nail Art

A couple of weeks ago I reviewed the cutest Tmart nail art decorations in the form of fimo nail art canes which I had the best time with and will for sure use again for future nail art designs. I had mentioned that in addition to a gazillion different products, Tmart also carries quite a bit of nail polish which proved to be quite dangerous for me! Today I have a very bright fluorescent pink to share with you that unfortunately has no name that I can find, but has the brand name Dreambooks and is VERY BRIGHT! I’m just going to call it Pink. I know, I’m not very creative.

DSC_0355

Sothys Paris | Hydra-Glide Lipstick in Rouge Rock

Anytime something has the word “Paris” with it, automatically my expectations shoot through the roof and I expect quality. Sothys Paris is a company that elicits those very expectations from the packaging to their philosophy. Sothys “the brightest star in the sky” as the ancient Egyptians termed it, is primarily a spa-based company with most of their products dedicated to skin and body care. They have even devised an exclusive massage technique that is now used in spas and beauty institutes worldwide. Looking at the website with relaxed-looking people is really making me want to go and experience Sothys in Paris for myself!

Fortunately for beauty lovers, Sothys also has a makeup line that I am excited to share with you all today! The Hydra-Glide Lipstick is a “long-lasting formula that glides on to give absolute comfort”.

DSC_0174

Avon | Gel Finish 7 in 1 Nail Enamel in Very Berry and Brushed Metals in Lilac Quartz with Nail Art

This is my first foray into Avon products after seeing consistently wonderful reviews of their products especially their nail polishes. I was most curious about Avon’s Gel Finish 7 in 1 Nail Enamel as it is essentially your “everything”. No need for base or top coat. Just apply and your nails will be protected, dry quickly and shiny! Very Berry is such a beautiful colour and I seriously could have gotten away with just ONE coat. The brush was nice and flat and the formula of the polish was opaque and applied easily. Avon Brushed Metals in Lilac Quartz looks almost gold at times, but is a very light purple, shimmery textured polish. This was also a great polish to work with!

Just to spice things up a bit, I decided to try the fan brush technique as well as some taping. The fan brush technique was quite easy to do and gave my manicure a somewhat “distressed” look.

DSC_0335

DSC_0345

Make Up For Ever | Midnight Glow Palette with Swatches

Make Up For Ever never ceases to amaze me with their collections for each season and the Holiday collections are by far one of my favourites! The Midnight Glow Holiday collection is inspired by the glistening effect of winter moonlight giving us a limited edition Midnight Glow Palette with eight dramatic colours perfect for creating a glittery, icy look for these winter months. I love that this palette is a bit more adventurous and combines “frost” with the ever popular rose gold for a bit of warmth.

DSC_0207

DSC_0208

Broadway Nails | imPRESS Press-on Manicure

After my so-so experience with the imPRESS Press-On Manicure set back in June, I said I would give these press-on manicures another try one day which the MapleVoxBox has allowed me to do! I had an odd experience with the medium length as the nails provided were too large for my nail beds and made my hands look slightly off. When I saw that Influenster had provided a set in the short length, I thought it might be the perfect opportunity to round out my imPRESS experience.

DSC_0327

Happy New Year and Update!

Happy New Year everyone! For those of you who have been following me on Instagram, you will know that I have been in the middle of a move since Dec.28th and everything is still in chaos hence the lack of blog posts! In the future, I’ve made a note to NOT MOVE for Jan.1st as we didn’t even start packing until the day before! We’re still in the same building, just across the hall, but man is it still a lot of work! Once I have everything setup, I’ll be back to normal, but it probably won’t be for a few more days. I will leave you with a picture of Yoshi to amuse you while I get my act together!

DSCF4244

See you soon and I hope everyone had a safe and Happy New Year!