Makeup Pick Monday: NARS Orgasm Blush

Sigh, I know it's a little late to be posting about Monday seeing as how it's pretty much over, but with the end of the school term, assignments and the beginnings of Christmas hours for work, I've had to put school first since I would like to FINALLY be done!

Amazingly, my favourite makeup product for the past week has been one out of Project 10 Pan! Yayyyyy! I feel like I've rediscovered Nars Orgasm Blush and how nice and what a beautiful glow it gives the skin!

I'm gonna be on Project 10 Pan for awhile at this rate...not even a dent!

With flash

Without flash

 I find that for me, I really don't need a whole lot to bring a "flush" to my face. In fact, I have to be really careful with my blush brush and just to brush the blush very lightly on my face or else it gets quite pink...it's just TOO much orgasm. This blush has made me look somewhat radiant this last week with the lack of sleep and long hours and will probably be my savior for a few more weeks to come!

Crazy Cat Corner

Oh, the life of a cat :-) Here is Yoshi taking his afternoon nap on his favourite blanket. I love how you can't even see his face!

There's so much furrrrr! It's like Yoshi has created a little face shield for himself.

November Luxe Box!

* trumpet fanfare *  My November Luxe Box has finally arrived! To be honest, I was actually a little nervous about this one because of how diverse the range of products were for everyone. I was praying that I wouldn't get an elf product because in my opinion, it retails at $1 and doesn't seem like a high-end brand to me. Luckily, I was quite pleased with the products that I received even though there were not any full-size products. I had been forewarned of the expired Morroccanoil Styling Cream so I'm going to look past that and hope that Loose Button rectifies the situation in the next Luxe Box...

And now, the unboxing! 

Actual bottle of Benefit Moisture Prep Toning Lotion - so cute!

The products I received were:

Lise Watier - Plumpissimo Le Gloss in Opalescence (full size $20)
Dermalogica - Skin Prep Scrub (full size $32)
Moroccanoil - Styling Cream (full size $32)
Benefit Cosmetics - B.Right! Moisture Prep Toning Lotion (full sizes $29)
*BONUS* Teaopia Cactus Fig Tea Kit (full size $7) with 20% off coupon

I'm a big Lise Watier fan so anything from them is more than welcome into my makeup family. I've never tried anything by Dermologica because they are pretty expensive. I was a little disappointed to see that there were all kinds of parabens in the scrub, so I'm not sure if I will actually use it...I really did love the Benefit Cosmetics toning lotion especially the ultra cute packaging and little glass bottle! In my mind, when I think of a deluxe sample, this is the presentation I think of!

Overall, I'm pretty happy and I hope December's box will make up for the expired product in this month's box. Thanks Loose Button!

NOTW: Birks Blue Box Nails

For those of us who have grown up in Canada or at least spent a large chunk of our lives here, nothing makes a girl's heart skip a beat more than seeing a Birks Blue Box. Sure, Tiffany's is the more well-known "blue box", but when you're Canadian, you definitely have a soft spot for Birks and the role in its played in Canadian history.

I found these nails quite difficult to do because I wasn't using a nail polish striper to do the bows. I was using a new nail art brush that I had just purchased from Ebay and dipping it into nail polish. I found it hard to control the thickness of the strokes because I would get this giant globule of polish on the end of the brush making parts of the bow uneven in thickness. 

Colours Used:

China Glaze - Blue Sparrow (Neon)
China Glaze - IX
Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear - Blue Me Away!

November Glymm Box!

OMG, after being teased and titillated by Canada Post saying that my Glymm box would be here on Nov.18th, it was finally delivered today by the mail man in a completely nonchalant manner at my work. Could he not tell by the pink box marked "FRAGILE" that there was something amazing in there?! And the worst part was, I couldn't even open it for a couple of hours because I had clients to work with so the box just sat there! When the time finally came to open it, I admit after seeing what everyone else had gotten, I was just hoping for a nail polish and smudge paint in a colour I would wear and I was not disappointed! Anyway, onward with the unboxing!

I actually took these at work!

Better view of Annabelle Smudge Paint

The cap hides a really cute applicator brush that you flip around and attach to the cap

The actual size of the Orlane Light Smoothing Cream

The products I received were:

Lise Watier - Flash Lift Radiance Vial (full size $27 for 7 vials)
Rahua - Luxury Shampoo and Conditioner (full size $32 and $34)
Orlane Paris - Light Smoothing Cream (full size $80)
RGB - Designer Nail Lacquer (full size $18)
Annabelle - Smudge Paint (full size $10.95)

And as a bonus, $10 off any purchase at Browns Shoes online

So, for those of us who received an October Luxe Box, the Lise Watier product wasn't too much of a surprise, but hey, at this rate we all might actually get 7 vials of the stuff if we get product repeats! Never tried Rahua products before, but hey if I can have Gwyneth Paltrow's hair, then why not. I did try a little bit of the Orlane cream and it did leave my skin feeling quite soft and smooth so I'll see how it compares to my Clarins Multiactive Day Cream over the next little while. I was most excited about the RGB nail lacquer and Annabelle Smudge Paint since I'd heard such great things about them and hadn't tried either before. 

So, all in all, thanks Glymm for another GREAT box! With two full-size products that more than pay for our $10/month subscription I was very pleased and I can't wait until December!

Makeup Pick Monday!

I have been absolutely in love with Lise Watier's liquid eyeliner for the last few weeks and I just thought I'd share why I think it's so awesome :-)

This was my very first liquid eyeliner ever and I tried it for the very first time about four years ago. Pencil eyeliner is great too, but liquid eyeliner really is the best when it comes to a line that doesn't budge all day as well as in humid or just really "sticky" conditions. As someone who'd never held something so fine before near her eye, I found that I needed some practice using this product. There were DEFINITELY mornings when I left the house with one eye being lined at a different height than the other! 

The brush was so fine, I couldn't get my ghetto camera to focus!

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I've tried a number of different liquid eyeliners and so far this is my favourite because of the extremely thin or thick lines I can draw. I admit that sometimes I feel more control when I have a pen liner, but with the LW liner I feel like the formula bleeds less and has more of a "paint-like" consistency that lasts me the 8 - 10 hours that I'm at work. By the end of the day, my eyes are still definitively lined and look just as fresh as when I applied the product that morning! 

All in all, this product could never be in my Project 10 Pan because I find it essential to always have in my makeup collection and if you want an ultra thin eyeliner, this is the one to have! It just might take a little bit of practice to use!

Project 10 Pan

I'm sure I'm not the only girl absolutely swimming in product that I could never even dream of going through in this lifetime when the rate of acquiring far exceeds the rate of usage! I had never heard of Project 10 Pan until reading Stylish and Literate the other day and thought it was an amazing idea. 

How it works is you choose 10 products in your cosmetic emporium and use up each product in its entirety before you buy anything new. I feel like by the time I use up one product I really should comb through the rest of my stash and use up that instead of buying something new! So, really at this rate, Project 10 Pan is going to last a VERY long time...

As you can see, I have 12 products because my Cake hair and body spray and Dior lip gloss are very close to being done to start off with so it would be a bit like cheating.

Here is everything that I hope to "pan":

• Nars Orgasm Blush
• Clinique Eyeshadow Duo in Strawberry Fudge
• Benefit Cream to Powder Foundation in Medium
• Cake Satin Sugar Hair and Body Spray 
• Lise Watier Plumpissimo Lip Gloss in Vintage Peach
• Dior Ultra Gloss in 257
• Clinique Plump and Shine in Pink Champagne
• Shu Uemura Lip Gloss Unlimited in Pink
• Clinique Long Last Lipstick in Blushing Nude (I even have a new one ready to go thanks to Clinique Bonus time!)
• Yves Rocher Glitter Mascara
• Urban Decay 24/7 Eyeliner in Zero
• Physician's Formula Eye Booster Eyeliner in Ultra Black (I also have a new one ready to go thanks to a 2 in 1 deal) 

I am a huge sucker for lip gloss which in my mind are the first things to go bad so I figured I'd start with those. I hope I'll be a good girl and not cave, but with Christmas coming along with all of these limited edition collections, this is going to be tough! Update in a month!

Crazy Cat Corner

It seems Yoshi scared himself into a corner the other day...he was running away from something imaginary and refused to come out! He looks so worried...I wonder what he was running from?

Exam Makeup...Seriously?

This may be sort of a weird thing to write about, but I just had an early morning midterm (my last one for all of eternity I hope!) and although makeup should be the last thing on your mind when you've got a test to write, I find that despite the lack of sleep, I still can't walk out the door actually looking like that's the case! 

There are a few essentials that I can't be without. I obviously don't focus too much on eye makeup because, let's face it, most of the time no one will even see your eyes since they'll be looking down at the exam paper!

So, the first thing I use is my Pur Minerals 4-in-1 Foundation because it's extremely quick to dust on my face and also acts as a concealer for my inevitable under eye circles.

Image source: www.amazon.com

Next, I quickly line my upper lash line and waterline with either a brown or light black eyeliner. I would normally use a jet black eyeliner, but on an exam day I feel like it's just too much since the rest of my makeup is so light. For my midterm, I just so happened to use my Pur Minerals Eye Defining Pencil in Black Amethyst.

Image source: www.amazon.com

I follow the eyeliner with my new favourite: Lancome's Hypnose Doll Lashes Mascara which just makes me feel and look more awake because I'm probably not...

Then, I give my cheeks some colour with Physician's Formula Happy Booster Blush which also happen to have "Happy Skin" and "Euphoryl", which are said to be natural plant extracts that make you feel happy because they mimic the effects of endorphins. 

Image source: www.physiciansformula.com

Finally, I finish off with Lise Watier's Spa Fondant in Nude Tendresse which is nice and neutral, smells like coffee with cream and feels just as smooth on my lips.

Image Source: www.lisewatier.com

Once I have these 5 things on my face, I look ready to rock so I can only hope that my brain feels the same way! 

NOTW: A Tribute to Our Furry Four-Legged Friends!

This is my first time trying paw prints and I thought they would be pretty easy since it's just a matter of using a dotting tool, but as it turns out, I am spatially-challenged because I kept putting  down more dots than I should have! They look kind of like bubbles...oh well, I'll know better for next time! I put glitter on top because glitter fixes MOST of life's problems ;-)

Another angle since the infamous "claw" isn't the best for this design...

Colours Used:

OPI - Black Onyx
OPI - You're a Pisa Work
Sally Hansen XTreme Wear - Blue Me Away
Sally Hansen XTreme Wear - Celeb City
Sally Hansen XTreme Wear - Disco Ball
F21 Love and Beauty - Mint

Hey Babe, Love That Smile!

I have been wanting to whiten my teeth for a few years now, but after trying a few different options, I haven't been good about religiously sticking to anything for more than a few days. I really hate the strips because of the taste so when I found this whitening pen by Love That White Smile (LTWS) it seemed worth a try. I won't lie, the shiny pink packaging with the heart may have also appealed to the consumer in me ;-)

LTWS is supposed to be a revolutionary new foam system of whitening that doesn't make your teeth sensitive, is less abrasive and has a formula that uses less than 1% hydrogen peroxide. You just put the foam on your toothbrush and brush your way to whiter teeth! It's safe enough for even pregnant women to use which is saying something! The whitening pen that I got is meant to be used "on-the-go", tucked away in my purse, to be used after meals or to freshen up. The "foam" is actually more of a clear gel that you twist out of the pen and is safe to swallow and even double as a bit of a breath mint.  

So, you can see that the whitening pen has a little brush which allows you to just "paint" your pearly whites and you're done! It was super easy to use and it didn't taste that bad, not as minty as I would have liked, but tolerable. I don't know if I would really rely on this pen to act as a replacement breath mint as the taste disappeared within a few minutes...I guess in terms of results, it's a work in progress since I'll need more than a few days to see a difference. I also think that I might need to use this pen in conjunction with Love That Smile's main whitening system and think of the pen as more of a maintenance tool.

Overall, I have my fingers crossed that this works even a little because I'd rather not pay $400 at the dentist for the trays...this pen was $10 and the main whitening foam system is $30 for a month's supply which is really not bad at all! I'll report back with the results in a few weeks!

NOTW - Remembrance Day Lest We Forget Nails...

This is yet another design by cutepolish, but of course she did it WAAAY better than I did! I actually found the poppies really hard to do and it got to the point where I felt completely blind doing the poppy petals because I didn't know what size they would come out! I know this is a nail design that is more topical, but I felt that they were appropriate for this week. Let us not forget those who fought and are still fighting all around the world...

Colours Used:
Sally Hansen XTreme Wear - Green with Envy
OPI - Red My Fortune Cookie
OPI - Black Onyx

China Glaze and OPI Christmas Nail Polish Haul

Ooooh, it's Christmas polish time! Where every nail polish just screams glitter! I personally really love glitter (until I have to practically scrub it off when it's time to remove it...grrr) and I'd been stalking my local beauty supply store for Christmas polishes from CG and OPI pretty much since mid-October...so when they finally arrived, you can guess what happened! 

The thing with the CG Christmas sets was that I wanted one or two polishes from EACH set, so in the end I just got one mini gift set and singles of  Tinsel Town (chunky silver glitter) and Blue Year's Eve (a glorious royal sapphire blue). What I love about CG minis is that they actually contain a good amount of nail polish in them and especially when it's a seasonal colour, you KNOW you're not really going to go through a whole bottle of a polish like "Twinkle Lights"...

China Glaze's Santa's Little Helpers gift set

The coveted Muppets collection from OPI is another collection that has been quite popular, but incredibly enough, I found almost all of this collection's polishes TOO glittery for me with the exception of Warm and Fozzie which is a really fantastic bronze. 

I wish I had swatches for you, but I can't seem to wear the nail polishes as fast as I can buy them! I DEFINITELY need a nail wheel...

Pur Minerals Haul and Swatches

Pur Minerals has had a couple of new kits filter in over the last couple of months and after some ogling, I decided to give some of them a try! I picked up the new Liquid Metal Eyeshadow Sticks, the Temptress Lip Shine Kit and a Mineral Eye Defining Pencil in Silver. Every order always comes with a little sample and this time I received a Color Correcting Primer in Neutral. 

Without flash - can't really see the glitter

With flash - Oh THERE'S THE GLITTER!

Without flash - from L - R: Entice, Enchant, Allure

With flash

Not very impressed with this pencil...

With flash - you can barely see the silver liner on the far left in comparison to the metallic eyeshadows

Overall the eyeshadow sticks were creamy, super pigmented and glided onto my skin very smoothly so I'm VERY happy with them. I love that I can use them as both an eyeshadow and a liner which is always a nice plus. I found the colours to be wearable for day-to-day as well as for a night out with a cool smokey eye and worked with my Asian skin tone. 

I was also pretty happy with the Lip Shine Kit with all the colours being fairly neutral as they are on the sheer side. They felt really creamy and smooth on the lips and definitely gave my lips a shine without feeling too oily and left them feeling hydrated and happy :-)  

I was least impressed with the silver liner as it barely showed up in natural night and looked more of a pale grey than a silver...the application was nice and smooth though which didn't surprise me as I own a couple of Pur Minerals eyeliners, all of which are really easy to apply on the eyelid. I guess my hunt for the perfect silver liner continues...