BEAUTY | Sephora Collection Outrageous Plump Lip Gloss x Tabasco

Purchased by me

How many of you are Hot Ones fans? If you haven't heard of the show, it's where host Sean Evans ask "hot questions with even hotter wings" and the hot sauces they use change every season with the exception of Da Bomb which is known to be just pure pepper extract and meant to annihilate. I love the show and while I am not normally a spice lover when it comes food, but I AM a spice lover with my lip products so can you imagine my delight when the Sephora Collection Plump Lip Gloss x Tabasco Collaboration popped up as a suggestion while I was browsing the Sephora app?!

NAILS | Happy St. Patrick's Day! #CBBxManiMonday

 

Some press samples

I have not painted my nails in a month and I missed it! As you can see, my nails are much shorter than usual as they have been suffering from multiple breakages in the last few weeks. They have been really weak and my cuticles have also been a bit of a mess so it's going to take some time for them to come back, but at least they have some shape to them for me to do a bit of nail art for St. Patrick's Day! 

SKINCARE | Laneige Open to Wonder Midnight Minis Holiday Gift Set

Purchased by me. Affiliate links.

OMG, it has been soooo busy at work these last two weeks! Don't get me wrong, I love the client aspect of it, but it is the admin side and the constant worry that I have forgotten something that stresses me out! Plus, I find this is the time of year where because things are frantic, staff get messy, forgetful and their brains stop functioning. I will say that it truly is a skill to keep your brain working under stressful periods. Basic math can go out the window or you suddenly forget how to do things you've known how to do for years. One thing that I have NOT forgotten to do is to hydrate my lips especially overnight! Don't you love my super smooth segue?

SHEET MASK | Sephora Glow Booster Mask

Purchased by me 

How is everyone doing? Are the holidays getting to you? Or is this your favourite time of year? I definitely love the making extra money side of it and how generally people are pleasant, but then I dread the unpleasantness that comes with January...people are like extra grumpy OR they get into follow up mode. For now, I will enjoy the Christmas magic and let you know of this Sephora Collection sheet mask that was interesting...

HAIR | Sol de Janeiro Brazilian Joia Set and Bum Bum Cream

 

Purchased by me

I feel like I have been writing this Sol de Janeiro post for the entire day, but when I look at the clock it has only been about 2 hours. I think because I woke up at the regular work time on my day off and then proceeded to do some stuff for my day job for like four hours which was way longer than I had expected, but I feel a bit better now going into tomorrow that I have gotten some the things on my very long to do list done! 

SHEET MASK | Sephora Collection Golden and Silver Masks

 

Press samples

My apologies for not being more prepared with #SheetMaskSunday as it may still be another two weeks until I feel comfortable enough wearing sheet masks and doing some serious skincare again. I am waiting for the redness to die down a little more as well as the scab on my cheek to be completely gone. For now, this has given me a chance to get through, I kid you not, years of backlogged sheet mask reviews! Although the pandemic has definitely messed with my sense of time, I still cannot believe that even these Sephora Collection foil masks were sent to me most likely in 2018 based on the colour of my hair!

HOLIDAY | Sephora Wishing You Collection

Press samples

I honestly had no plans to do any holiday blog posts just because of my crazy retail schedule, but for Sephora I will make an exception as this year's "Wishing You" gift sets were just too cute to not share! As always, Sephora has come out with a plethora of affordable holiday sets of showcasing their house brand which is actually one of my favourite brands to date. Their sheet masks and matte lipsticks are among my favourite in my collection to use which is saying a lot!

BODY | Evereden Golden Body Serum

 

Product provided by Influenster

Oh my goodness will you look at that?! I have something from Influenster! The last time I received something was back in early 2020 and so I am always surprised when I qualify for any of these Voxboxes as I often don't have time to do the snaps and I am generally much older than their target audience and do not have children which often disqualifies me from a number of campaigns. You can imagine my surprise when I was informed via the Instagram app that I had an Evereden Golden Body Serum coming my way as this is a brand that I had seen on Sephora catering to pregnant women/women with kids/kids. I actually came across the brand when I was searching for "sheet mask" and the Evereden Belly Sheet Mask popped up! 

SHEET MASK | Sephora Collection Instant Mattifier Hemp Mask

Purchased by me

Here we are with another sheet mask on another #SheetMaskSunday! How long have I been doing this? 2 years now? I think I started in 2020 as a way to regulate my blogging schedule a bit AND because it was the year my work started closing on Sundays for "pandemic times". We are actually STILL closed on Sundays now and I have to say it is just so nice having a set day off for EVERYONE where you know nothing can happen on this one day!

MAKEUP | Beauty Sponge Showdown featuring Beautyblender, Real Techniques, Sephora and Juno & Co.

I have always been a sponge girl when it came to foundation application and prior to that I would use my fingers, but that often got messy. I have tried brushes, but for some reason using them just never stuck with me. For awhile, the Beautyblender was the only option us sponge lovers had, but as beauty tech has evolved so have the sponges and the materials used to create them which has led to the opportunity to create this beauty sponge showdown!

Some PR samples

SHEET MASK | Sephora Collection Matcha Tea Face Mask

The Sephora Collection Face Masks have not been a stranger to Cosmetic Proof over the years and though I initially wasn't completely sold on them, they have become solid staples in my sheet mask collection and as new "flavours" get introduced, I just HAVE to try them all one by one! As I have been focusing on green coloured/packaged sheet masks this month, it only made sense to try the mattifying and clarifying Matcha Tea Face Mask!

Purchased by me, affiliate links

LIFESTYLE | Five on Friday - Mar.18th - The Woman in the House..., Sephora Haul, Lamy Pico, New Favourite Book and More Walks!

Wasn't expecting to not do a Five on Friday for such a long time, but lo and behold this is my first Five on Friday this month! There has been a lot going on in the world and my day job just ended up consuming so much of my mental and physical well-being that my attention span at home hasn't been great other than for watching movies. I feel like I will never catch up which is somewhat disheartening, but I am chipping away at my pile of stuff to do and hoping that as long as nothing new pops up, I'll be able to feel a little more accomplished! February was so nice and relaxing where I felt caught up at work and I was able to blog so much! It always feels nice to see a solid history of a couple of blog posts each week!

ONE

LIFESTYLE | Five on Friday - Jan 28 - Sephora Haul, New Candles, Wordle, Beekeeper's Naturals and Lab Grown Diamonds!

I have been doing these Five on Friday posts on the week before because sometimes things happen on the Friday itself so I figure doing a recap of the week before makes more sense! 

ONE

I placed a small Sephora order at the very end of December so technically, I still haven't placed a Sephora order for 2022, but should I proud of that seeing as how it's only the end of January? I have been wanting to try the Glo Lit whitening vials for awhile and when I saw them in the sale section they seemed worthwhile so I will be trying them out over the next couple of months before they expire. I also picked up a fun little cranberry-themed Violet Voss eyeshadow palette that seemed like a more compact version of the ABH Renaissance palette. Finally, the item I was most excited about was this Sephora Weighted Eye Mask! I like sleeping with weight on my eyes as I find it comforting and this one even stays on when you sleep on your side! 

SHEET MASK | Sephora Holographic and Blue Mask

My week has been so massively screwed up because I usually don't work on Sundays which sort of gives me time to prep #SheetMaskSunday and #ManiMonday posts, but because it is the holidays, I worked yesterday and came home utterly brain dead so the thought of sitting at a computer and typing vs. chilling on the couch with a Netflix Christmas movie (I think I have watched 5 in row!) seemed like an easy choice!

Purchased by me

SHEET MASK | Dr. Jart Cryo Rubber with Moisturizing Hyaluronic Acid

I was kind of obsessed with Dr.Jart's iconic rubber masks when they first came out a few years ago and it took me awhile to try them because they were almost $20 each, but in the end they were well worth the price! Last year, while we were in the throes of Lockdown, Dr. Jart stepped up their rubber masks by coming out with the Cryo Rubber masks! While still very similar to its predecessor in terms of hydration and soothing redness, these new masks promise to deliver a cooling effect and lower the skin temperature down to as low as 12 degrees Fahrenheit! 

Purchased by me

NAILS | Disco Flowers #CBBxManiMonday

I have been on vacation from almost 2 days and I am desperately trying to stop thinking about work, but unfortunately even though I had my vacation time planned for weeks, there were still some loose ends that I couldn't tie up before I left so I have been sneaking in a quick peek at emails here and there since clients are involved. I am one of those people who generally does not check voicemails or emails when I am off work as it makes me a happier person and I think it's good for clients and colleagues to give you personal time off. I rarely give my cell phone number out to clients and the few who have it are always told if I am off and they are super respectful about waiting until I am back in the store to communicate. I know this is not commonly the case in commission-based environments as failure to respond means losing a sale and push come to shove, if that's what it will be for me then I will make the time. I have met with clients on my days off maybe a handful of times in 5 years and that was ONLY for clients who live out of town. Are you good at putting up your work/home boundaries? I'm guessing for those of you who work from home, it's incredibly difficult!

 

Some PR samples 

SHEET MASK | Sephora Collection Mud, Bubbles, Charcoal and Primer!

You can tell by this packaging that I waited a long time to review these Sephora masks as the packaging has now been revamped, but these were really popular when they first launched as they were among the first generation of Sephora Collection masks when the sheet mask craze was at its peak so I am guessing that some of you have gotten a chance to try some of these over the years, but here are the OGs in a nutshell!

Press samples

MAKEUP | MAKE UP FOR EVER Rouge Artist Lipsticks

I miss you lipstick...while I have been saving quite a bit of money on lipsticks, I have been longingly looking at my precious babies over the last few months wondering when I will be able to wear them again. I did the whole full face makeup thing when I first went back to work, but it is tough trying to remove makeup from the inside of cloth masks! I have conical cloth masks so I don't want to throw them in the wash for fear of losing their shape which means hand-washing! Something I hate doing, but must be done! While I rarely wear lipstick now, I think I still remember a good formula when I see one and MAKE UP FOR EVER has always delighted in this area! Last fall, they launched their new Rouge Artist Lipsticks, an ultra-pigmented, satin finish with smoothing, blurring and hydrating effects all in one errrrr...interestingly shaped package!

Press samples 

MAKEUP | Sephora Wild Wishes Holiday Collection

I am almost done the last of my Christmas shopping which has been almost exclusively online save for a few bottles of wine that I would rather not ship. I have asked for digital gift cards this year as I don't want to overload the postal system even more and I LOVE online shopping so having gift cards to play with is a blast for me! My in-laws and I have a shared Google Doc that we have been updating with our wishlist and marking off like a baby/wedding registry as gifts get purchased and as today was my day off, I spent most of the afternoon ticking things off so I'm sure my VISA must be burning from use! Whether you are looking for stocking stuffers or gifts for the beauty lovers in your life, the Sephora Collection always has you covered with a themed collection of brushes, skincare and makeup! When it comes to quality, Sephora has always been one of my favourite "house brands" with products like their #Lipstories Lipsticks and sheet masks and there is no shortage of any of these items in this year's collection!

Press samples

SHEET MASK | Sephora Collection Vitamin Masks

Whenever I see a new sheet mask from the Sephora Collection, I HAVE to try it no matter what. In the past, there have been some serious duds, but also some notable positives and while I wouldn't put the Sephora masks at the top of my list, they perform solidly in my top 20 favourite sheet masks as they smell pleasant, have decent results and some of the most attractive packaging! During the VIB Rouge sale, I went wild with my skincare and haircare and spotted a new trio of masks with a focus on some skin-loving vitamins and knew I would need to add these to my #100DaysofSheetMasks challenge! 

Purchased by me