Sunday, March 31, 2013

$1 Off ANY Hard Candy Product!

Hey all. I just found this coupon that entitles you to $1 off any Hard Candy product. I know this should probably have been posted AFTER I post my swatches on Tuesday, but here you all go. And just in case you have issues printing off this coupon, here is the link to the PDF so you can download it yourself!



New Ceramic Glaze Line Of Polish - All Swatched



So I was perusing through the aisles of Shoppers Drug Mart last week and came across a new line. Ceramic Glaze. Now there seems to be a lot of confusion as to what this line is. Apparently Shoppers Drug Mart is getting an exclusive line of polishes from China Glaze made only for them to sell. Is this THAT line? I truly have no idea. It would seem to make sense, but at the same time there is no mention of China Glaze anywhere on these bottles and I cant seem to find any info online. So if you happen to know PLEASE comment to let me know!


These polishes are 10.99 and come in 16 shades. To be totally honest, they seem like rather boring shades at a price tag that does not really induce impulse shopping. With the exception of one red glitter, ALL are shimmers.




Now my pictures are not the best. My cell phone takes ok photos but nothing great. And I had to do it on the sly. The security guard kept giving me dirty looks and came over halfway through to tell me I was not allowed to take photos in the store.


But these are the eight on the top row. The colours from left to right are: blueberry, watermelon, santorini blue, honolulu, tropical guava, lychee cocktail, exotic dragon fruit and copacabana.





And the bottom eight are



The names of the bottom eight are tuscan blush, peep toes, russian rouge, hong kong diva, sexy stilletto, leather mini, little black dress and strawberries and milk. Hong kong diva is the one that is glitter all the rest are straight up shimmers.





So there you have it. All 16 Ceramic Glaze polishes swatched. Kind of boring if you ask me. What do you think? Have you picked any of these up yet? Wanting to? Lemming any?

Saturday, March 30, 2013

New Caviar Manicure Sets For Spring Summer 2013

If you loved the Ciate Caviar manicure kits from last year (or was it two years now? It seems older than just a year!) you might really dig these new 2013 Summer kits from the same brand.

Ciate Caviar Manicure in Lemon Fizz


Ciate Caviar Manicure in Tutti Frutti


Ciate Caviar Manicure in Cotton Candy


Now I will admit, I don't hate this trend, though I do think it has come and gone. I still do an accent nail from time to time. But that is about it. And after getting BOTH sets from the holiday collection I think I am super stocked up on colourful caviar beads to last a life time. That and I will be honest. The lack of comment from anyone from Ciate (I emailed, PM'd on facebook and left numerous comments on their wall) about the damaged brushes and bottles from those advent sets has left a bad taste in my mouth. They commented on posts above and below mine, never commenting on my defective products, and then to add insult to injury, THEY LIKED ONE OF MY POSTS that asked them to respond to the quality issues in the sets.

OK. Rant over. Kind of like the look of some of these sets but pretty sure I might even have the exact same colour combos in mini bottles. What about you? Love fish egg look? Hate it? Or are you like me? Its ok for an accent nail once in awhile but not worth jumping up and down for?

Friday, March 29, 2013

Ciate Corrupted Neons Summer Collection

Hey everyone. I have a bit of a sneak peek at a new collection Ciate is going to be releasing later this summer. I have no info for it. But I assume based on the promo pics that its going to be glow in the dark.



What do you guys think? Yay, or Nay?

I'm posting about Briney Spears? Really?


So this is the promo add for Britney Spears new fragrance, Island Fantasy. Now I bet you are expecting me to go in to the cologne now. Well, its supposedly sweet and fruity. But that is not why I am posting this. I really don't give two figs about a new scent of hers. I LOVE my Escada summer scents and my Ralph by Ralph Lauren.

But hot damn does Britney look amazing in this photo. I know we have all taken our turn taking shots at this girl in the past. Let's be honest, she has given us a lot to work with! But She looks  so gorgeous and healthy in this photo I had to do a double check. And thought I would share it with all of you.

Thursday, March 28, 2013

Laura Mercier Limited Edition Exclusive Custom Art Portfolio


Ok, so while I was in Holt Renfrew today I saw this Custom Artist Portfolio from Laura Mercier. And OH MY GOSH I WANT IT! I am totally smitten with this makeup bag. I might even like it slightly more than my Dior one I just showed you all. The only problem with this one is the large one The one that I really want, comes with a price tag of $120! I can NOT in any way shape or form justify it.



Just like my Dior one this one has removable pouches (four in this one I think!) a place for full sized makeup brushes and unlike mine, a solid hard backed case. Now this will not hold as much but its oh so gorgeous.


And this set below had a price tag of....... Over $200. I think it was $225. But don't quote me on that. I do however really love the eyeshadow palette that it comes with! Sadly for me this will be the closest I get to showing it to you all. But its oh so pretty and I know what I will be dreaming of tonight!


Revlon Baby Sticks In Sunset And Tahitian Swatches & Review


So I have been loving the Revlon Lip Butters recently which you all know. So when I saw the new summer Gucci Westman limited edition display FINALLY I was overjoyed. Even better, at London Drugs right now all Revlon products are buy two get one free. And with a $10 off Revlon coupon burning a hole in my wallet, I jumped at the two new Lip Butters (to be reviewed later) and these.


Now while online it says there is three colours and reviews (that I should have read FIRST) seem to show three. And they say that the displays only have a spot for one of each colour. Well our displays had spots for two Baby Sticks. One each of these two colours. So I do not know if the third one is going to arrive on this side of the border or not but I am happy I did not buy three. Two was bad enough.


These are a pale peachy/corally pink and a bright tangerine colour in the tube. The pictures above show them turned up all the way. As you can see, you get very very little product (.1oz) for the whopping $10.49 price tag. The price is slightly outrageous and the craptastic product inside makes the price even more disgusting. As Nouveau Yuppie Beauty said, even if these were being given away, they would STILL not be worth it.



Now I apologize for the photos. I am away for the week and all I have is my Samsung Galaxy SIII so that is what I took the photos with. Let me start with the pros of this product........ Ok. Done. Now on to the negatives. Ok, I am slightly exaggerating. They do slide on nicely. But since they are a waxy lipgloss formula that makes sense. That really is the ONLY positive thing I have to say about them. In theory a gel blush should glide on to the skin effortlessly and then sink in. These don't. They feel like what you would expect an old chapstick would feel like if you swiped that on to the skin. They are a thick waxy dewy formula that just sit on the skin. Add to that the fact that there is ZERO colour pay off and you get a good idea of this product.

The first picture is of FIVE swipes of the minuscule blush/lip product. FIVE!! And as you can see (my skin is glow in the dark its so white. So imagine it on someone who had a colour to their skin!) there is almost no colour. The bottom two pictures are with TWENTY (yes, literally TWENTY swipes) swipes of the product. Now who wants to swipe a product on their cheek twenty times? And then to have such a build up of waxy gloss that does not sink in to the skin. And forget about blending it. You will end up with the colour rubbed off and STILL have a waxy residue on the skin.

This is far and beyond the WORST product I have ever tried makeup wise. And to make matters worse, EVERY SINGLE REVIEW seems to say the SAME THING! Lesson learned - read a review before buying.




Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Saks Fifth Avenue Spotlight On Dior Collection



Saks Fifth Avenue currently has a limited edition capsule collection for nails and eyes that is completely exclusive. Now I will show you the eyeshadows but its really the polishes that I am super excited about.

The shadows are available in Bow, Cruise, Pareo, Swan and Lilas Mitzah.

The nail polishes seem to have been repromotes from past limited edition and exclusive collections. I already own Aloha from a summer collection that came in a duo with a fast dry top coat and Ultra Violet from another collection. I also know that Mayan Red had already come out so I assume that the two I just ordered (Cristal and Nymphea) are also from collections I missed. If like me you did miss out on any of these, I highly suggest running to the Saks Fifth Avenue website and jumping on them!


Aloha (orange), Cristal (shimmering white), Mayan Red (crimson), Nymphea (aqua) and Ultra Violet (purple)







Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Urban Decay Eyeliner Vault - All The Details & Photos


If you all recall, last week I showed you all this:


Well, it is now on sale AND I have more details for you all!



Now, I dont have  my hands on this set yet, but Musings Of A Muse has the set in HAND and hand and has swatched them all HERE!

Here is one pic from her blog to give you a slight tease of the 13 brand new liners:


Again, this photo is from the Muse and you can click the link above to see her swatches! Below is the list of all colours included in the set:



PLEASE NOTE! IT HAS JUST COME TO MY ATTENTION THAT THE ABOVE IMAGE IS NOT A STOCK IMAGE BUT THE GIRL WHO SENT ME THE STOCK IMAGES ACTUALLY SENT ME AN EDITED VERSION OF A TEMPTALIA IMAGE. THIS WAS NOT INTENTIONAL AND I WANT TO APOLOGIZE FOR THE HOUR OR SO THIS IMAGE WAS ON MY BLOG WITHOUT PROPER LINKS OR CREDIT. IT IS AN EDITED VERSION OF A TEMTALIA PHOTO FOUND right here AND IF YOU CHECK OUT HER LINK SHE HAS ALL THE SWATCHES IN  NORMAL AMAZING TEMPTALIA STYLE!
  • Perversion – blackest black matte
  • Zero – zealous black cream
  • Smoke – deepest grey matte (New)
  • Uzi – dark gunmetal shimmer with silver micro-sparkle (Previously Exclusive, Revamped)
  • Oil Slick – black shimmer with silver micro-sparkle
  • Underground – metallic taupe shimmer
  • Mushroom – metallic taupe-pewter shimmer (Previously Exclusive)
  • Smog – copper shimmer (Previously Exclusive)
  • Roach – deep copper brown shimmer (New)
  • Bourbon – brown shimmer with gold micro-sparkle
  • Hustle – metallic brown shimmer (Previously exclusive)
  • Whiskey – rich brown matte (Previously Exclusive)
  • Corrupt – dark metallic reddish brown shimmer with silver micro-sparkle (Previously Exclusive)
  • Demolition – deep brown matte
  • Desperation – deep taupe/gray matte (New)
  • Scorch – bronze shimmer with silver micro-sparkle (New)
  • Goldmine – gold shimmer with gold micro-sparkle (New)
  • Loaded – dark green shimmer (New)
  • Freak – bright green shimmer (New)
  • Invasion – deepest dark green matte (New)
  • Mildew – deep metallic green shimmer
  • Stash – dark metallic green/gold shimmer
  • Junkie – metallic teal shimmer with gold micro-sparkle (Previously Exclusive)
  • Mainline – deep green/blue matte (Previously Exclusive)
  • Deep End – bright metallic peacock shimmer (Previously Exclusive)
  • Electric – bright metallic aquamarine shimmer with silver micro-sparkle
  • LSD – navy shimmer with bright turquoise micro-sparkle (Previously Exclusive)
  • Sabbath – deep navy matte (Previously Exclusive)
  • Abyss – bright metallic blue shimmer with blue micro-sparkle (New)
  • Chaos – vibrant cobalt blue matte with slight floating pearl (New)
  • Ether – pale smoky gray shimmer with violet and fuchsia micro-sparkle (New)
  • Delinquent – dark purple shimmer  with light purple micro-sparkle (Previously Exclusive)
  • Vice – pearly red eggplant shimmer (New)
  • Psychedelic Sister – bright purple cream (Previously Exclusive)
  • Rockstar – darkest eggplant shimmer
  • Empire – dark eggplant matte (Previously Exclusive)
  • Asphyxia – vibrant pink/purple duotone with tonal and blue micro-sparkle (Previously Exclusive)
  • Woodstock – sparkly hot pink shimmer with silver sparkle
  • Yeyo – metallic white shimmer
  • Cuff – metallic silver shimmer with silver micro-sparkle (New)

Monday, March 25, 2013

Chalkboard Nails



We have all heard the phrase "like nails on a chalkboard" before. In fact, just typing it sends a chill down my spine. But thanks to Ciate, we all may soon have a very different association with nails and chalkboards. Leave it to the company that brought us caviar manicures, velvet nails, sequin nails and more. Now its chalkboard nails! The packages will include black chalkboard paint nail base, four liquid chalk pens (in blue, green, pink and white) as well as a clear top coat. Now for someone like me with super short nails I am not so sure I am dying to try this, but I sure can't wait to see it in action!


So what do you guys think of this of new trend? Are you dying to try it, totally NOT digging of feeling it, or reserving judgement?

Glossybox One Year Anniversary February Box!


Last week I got home from work to find a package on my bed that really surprised me. I got a Glossybox. Why did this surprise me? Because I dont subscribe! Now I have been sent two boxes from the company for review in the past (and one to giveaway to a reader) but in all three of those instances I have been contacted ahead of time and asked if I was interested in receiving a box for review. This time I had no contact with the company at all. So needless to say I was surprised.


Now I want to explain a few things before I go on. I know there are some bloggers out there who get a box review it, rant and rave about how great it is and you never see the box reviewed again because it was a sponsored post and they don't subscribe. I always think "If its such a great box and you love it so much, why didn't YOU subscribe?!" Well, I am someone who does not subscribe to ANY beauty boxes. And I never had (aside from Julep which I feel is a different animal all together). I am a girl who is extremely sensitive, reacts to some products if they look at me the wrong way, and who is so glow in the dark white that even Casper The Friendly Ghost makes fun of my lack of pigment. Add to that a fear of colours (on the face. Obviously not an issue on the nail) and you can see why I am not the biggest beauty box fan. I am just a very very fussy girl who likes what she likes, and sticks to what works for her. So for ME, the beauty box concept just doesn't work. I love some boxes. I love some products. But I would say 65-75% of the products I would never even try or attempt to use.  It doesn't mean I don't see or find value in some of the boxes, I just don't find the value is there for ME.

Now that I have gotten all THAT out of the way, I would also like to state that I pay little attention to the drama around the beauty box industry. I am aware that some of the boxes have had expired products in the past, some have products from other countries not readily available in Canada, some have little inherent value in the boxes, others have stolen images and such. I have NO clue which drama is associated with which boxes. I know some friends who love Glossybox and some who have been offended and no longer use the brand. But I truly don't know which drama associates with which boxes and can do no more than share MY experiences as I have experienced them.

Ok. Now that all that is out of the way. On to the good stuff. THE BOX!! And the reveal of course!



So Glossybox has been in Canada for one year now. It seems like just yesterday they were the new kid on the block, but this is the box celebrating Glossybox's First Birthday. And in honour of that, they have a very nice box. Its a glossy black with a big pink ribbon printed on it. The box is actually a really useful box that could be regifted or used somewhere else in your house.

Now when I saw reviews of this box I was sooooooo jealous  It was the first time in forever I wished I got a box! My all time fav. lip gloss as well as a few other things had me super excited and kind of wishing I got one. So I already knew even as I opened it that I was going to love the box!


And inside the REAL ribbon  matches the one printed on the box.


The first thing I pulled out of the box was a discount coupon for Globlove. Now I know that this was printed by Globlove and not by Glossybox so my comment is directed as such. If you are going to go to the money and energy of putting out a discount card in a box, DESCRIBE WHAT KIND OF COMPANY YOU ARE FOR GOSH DARN SAKE! I had never heard of the brand before and had no idea what the company sold. My girlfriend saw it and based on the name thought it was for adult toys and the like. It turns out its a lingerie company, but seriously? The PR team needs to do some work!


Next up was this. Now, I know a lot of people didn't see the connection with cupcake holders and a beauty box but I think it was the PERFECT extra for the box. Its a birthday box after all, so cupcakes seems appropriate. Also, whenever I have friends over for a manicure or beauty night, I bake something, so this seems perfect. I do love to bake muffins and cupcakes so this will definitely get used.



Full sized product number one. Now I personally HATE anything that smells like roses (and I mean HATE. Least favourite smell on the planet) and will not even TRY this. But my mom liked the smell so I gave it to her and hopefully it will be used!


The next thing in the box was another full sized item. Yes, it only has a retail value of 3.99 but I really like Essence beauty products. Too bad I am a colourphobe and wont wear green eyeshadow. Once more, my mom has taken possession of this. Are you starting to see why I tend to NOT buy beauty boxes?



And a small skincare sample that also went to my mom! I think she did pretty well for a box that was NOT sent to her! lol!


Now on to the good stuff. I posted in a facebook group I am in a few weeks ago asking if anyone had tried the Biore Strips before, were they any good, and where was the best place to buy a few to test out. I was sent some from someone who wasn't going to use hers and I was hooked. So full sized item number three was a big score for me! I was thrilled to get this box!


Now another item that MADE MY DAY! Givenchy Interdit Glosses are the bestest bestest glosses in the whole wide world. Really. I just love them. And I was thrilled to get a sample one (quite generous, about 33% of the size of a full one) in the box and better than that - a colour I will both wear and don't already have.




Another little foil pack sample. A hand cream I am likely to never use. Not because there is anything wrong with it. Simply because I have enough hand cream to moisturize the entire city I live in.



And full sized item number four. A Healing Oil Treatment I am really looking forward to trying! I have heard really good things about this product and can not wait to try it out myself.


The full sized products:


And everything all together!


Now the details. If you want to sign up for Glossybox, click HERE! I want to start by saying this is a general link. This is not a referral link or anything like that. I get zero benefit for you doing so and there is no way to even track (as far as I know) if you do or not based on the link. I merely went to the sign up page on their website and cut and pasted it here.

The cost/promotions:


Do I think its worth $21? I must say I think this box was worth $21. But it was a special anniversary box. I can not say if other boxes have nearly as many full sized products (FOUR!?!) or are as exciting as this one. I personally LOVED this box and based on this one I would suggest giving it a go. But maybe wait another month or so and see if the value is maintained?

It was for sure the first time I really took notice and wanted a box (Somehow Glossy must have known!) and I am really happy I got it!

If you have any thoughts or experiences on the brand, please let me know! I would love to hear! And if you have previously subscribed to Glossy, do you still? What did you like about the box? Dislike about the box?

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