Wednesday, August 26, 2015

Epic Rewards to Epic Failures to $50 Apologies

A few weeks ago Sephora hosted what could easily be described as one of the most horribly executed events ever seen in the beauty industry. A week long bonus points event was held with the promise of EPIC REWARDS the next day! Which sounded awesome! The rewards were amazing!





See? AMAZING rewards! Now I work a pretty a flexible job and like many I was updating the website pretty much non stop for 12 hours. LITERALLY. I feel kind of embarrassed saying that but its true. And the reason I like many others was updating non stop is because Sephora REFUSED to tell anyone when the rewards would be loaded. And then at noon PST (2pm my time), BAM! They were there! But within seconds (Sephora denied when called later that the rewards only lasted a minute or two and say they lasted much longer) they were all gone. Literally by the time I was forced to log in again all the rewards were gone. If they had 20 of each reward I would honestly be shocked!

Now, having only a few, being ultra exclusive could have been ok. IF they had been honest about it. If they had not sent 3,323 emails to every beauty insider, VIB and Rouge member for the entire week leading up to it reminding everyone to shop now to get bonus points to use on the Monday. It was going to be EPIC! EPIC REWARDS!

That turned in to EPIC FAILURE! It also lead to mass returns from insiders who felt conned in to shopping. I bet Ulta couldn't have gotten as much publicity or sales that resulted if they tried! Not that us Canadians had that option. I was beyond annoyed. I then get this email from a friend on facebook:


I guess this was tweeted out, though I never ever would have seen it if not for the message from a friend. So I did email. I had NO IDEA what would come of it, though I was pretty sure it was going to be a totally lame discount code for 10 or 20% off. It turns out, we all got $50 gift cards! No minimum purchase amount, no hoops to jump through, and good unitl the end of September (and holiday sets should start coming out pretty soon!!).

Let me just say, this was a HORRIBLE way to solve the problem. Yes, I am happy. Yes, I am sure everyone who saw the tweet and got the $50 is at least somewhat happier. But what about everyone not on twitter? Everyone who got screwed who did not happen to see this email? There was no attempt on Sephoras part to distribute this to everyone. Sephora as a brand did not tweet this. Who is @Calvin_Sephora? I assume many of you know who this Calvin McDonald is, but I sure don't. And I bet a lot more also don't .

So while I am thrilled to get a $50 gift card, I feel awful for all those who were equally disappointed in the sale who are all sitting here now upset that they were not informed of this email.

What do you guys think? Did you take part? Did you GET an epic reward? Did you see this tweet and get a $50 I'm Sorry Gift Card?

Monday, August 24, 2015

Rituals Yogi Flow Foaming Shower Gel Sensation Review


This originally came in a Glossybox. I say originally because this is my 4th or 5th bottle since. I picked up a few different scents at the Birchbox store in Soho. I was also gifted another one from the lovely peeps at Glossybox when at their headquarters.


I have not used skintimate shave gel in 20 years (quite literally) but I have to say this just reminds me of that. Its that EXACT same texture. That runny gel that you rub and it turns into that same thick foam.



Oh, and it smells so good I have also had to use it in my bathtub at least a few times!



In general, a shower gel is a shower gel. Not usually much to say other than "its shower gel" or "it cleans you" and hopefully "it smells good". And the truth is that aside from the "its basically shaving gel that is shower gel not shaving cream" it basically is just that. A shower gel. But one that smells so good and that is just a weird texture. I freaking love it!

Sunday, August 23, 2015

Jelly Shoes?! REALLY?

I remember wanting a pair of jelly shoes sooooo much when I was 12 or 13 years old. They were the "in" thing and I was so excited when my parents FINALLY got me a pair. I have no idea how quickly they did or didnt jump on the trend and get me a pair, but I know I was dying for them and it felt like forever until I got them. And while I have no idea where MOST of shoes or beloved clothing went that I had when I was a kid (a pink dress I loved that my grandparents brought me back from a trip to Paris stands out in my head which is ironic since I hate pink and never DID like pink) these jelly shoes I know EXACTLY where they went. An ill fated swim at a 3 week sleep away camp was the downfall of my beloved jelly shoes. I was wearing them in the water and one fell off in the lake. Since plastic doesn't biodegrade I can safely assume that it is still in the bottom of that lake.

But that was my first and last foray into the concept of jelly shoes. And yet it seems now, more than 20 years later I am all of a sudden seeing them EVERYWHERE again. Maybe they have been around all this time and I have just had blinders on, but I have never noticed them before. And now all of a sudden, I see them wherever I turn. It almost seems counter intuitive that all these high end designers are coming out with them. And while $200-$350USD for plastic jelly shoes seems INSANE, its also kind of a great way to get a little piece of luxury at a manageable price point.

These Salvatore Ferragamo Preita Jelly Bow d'Orsay Flats retail for $240 and I will be honest. The only reason I do not have them on the way to me right now is I can not find the blue or the teal ones in my size! OBSESSED WITH THESE!!


While these Rockstud PVC Thong Sandals from Valentino do nothing for me and have me wondering what the appeal of them is,


THESE Valentino Rockstud Ankle-Wrap Jelly Sandals I am kind of digging!


Both Rockstud jellys come in at the $295 price point and while A LOT for plastic jelly shoes, its manageable for many. But the ones that finally hooked me and got me were these Givenchy Chain Jelly Flat Sandals. I just saw them and could NOT walk away. At $295 they are an insane price point for what they are, but also quite reasonable...... right? Yeah, yeah..... I know! But they come in Nude, Black and Fuchsia and I finally caved and ordered the black version of them. I wanted the nude ones but they don't seem to exist in my size and in a store that will ship them to me without raping me on the customs, duty and handling fees. $295USD is insane enough! Thats FOUR HUNDRED dollars! Not paying an additional hundred dollars in taxes, duty and importing fees!! But anyways, the shoes I have been obsessing about since I saw them:



Would you spend crazy amounts to get JELLY shoes? Even if not, are there any jelly shoes you are really feeling? I know there are some cute Kate Spade ones out there also! What are your thoughts on jelly shoes?

Friday, August 21, 2015

FACEMASK FRIDAY - Kate Somerville ExfoliKate Intensive Exfoliating Treatment


OK, this really is not a face mask. But it kind of is. I am calling it close enough! And omg do I freaking love this. Its harsh. It leaves my skin very red. But my skin LOVES THIS. This is basically what you get if a scrub, a cleanser, a mask and a peel  were all had a big orgy and spawned this little monster. I really am not sure how else to describe this.

This is an EXPENSIVE product. As in "HOLY SHIT!!" expensive. As in $102 or $219 a tube. This is the itty bitty travel size which retails for $25.

Its a thin seaweed green cream that is very grainy. It smells AMAZING. Like a cinnamon, pumpkin, clove mixture that is so oddly refreshing and so unexpected based on the look of the product.


Directions say to rub a dime sized amount on to wet skin and let sit for 2 minutes.



It is irritating on, not really burning, but uncomfortably tingling. and it left my skin totally red and sensitive. But surprisingly, it also left my skin not at all dry or tight. And within an hour or so the redness was totally gone and my skin was smoother and more comfortable than it has been in AGES. I have already ordered another tube, though a little goes a very very long way. That travel sized tube should last at least 8 treatments so at least a month.



Thursday, August 20, 2015

Chanel Rouge Allure In 05 Desirable


Just a quick post today to share my current lipstick obsession. Rouge Allure Desirable. Its a pretty shimmery pink-violet color that is totally NOT my normal colour or shade. And its got shimmer. Its pretty much everything I hate in a lipstick all put together in to one fabulous tube of something I somehow LOVE.




Wednesday, August 19, 2015

Joe Fresh $5 vs $12 Shadows - Is There A Difference?


I recently bought some eyeshadows from Joe Fresh. I really was digging some of these shades and decided it was worth breaking my "I dont buy single shadows" rule (because I never wear them, I just grab a palette) for. I realized as I was grabbing them that they were more than what I would typically expect to see for Joe Fresh items. It was only as I was walking away that I realized that they were the limited edition collections and that the regular ones were less than half the price. So I HAD to pick up a $5 shadow as well as the $12 ones so that I could see the difference. Or if there was one.


These two are part of the Future Effects collection. $12 each.





Here is one from the basic collection. Meaning it comes in at a mere $5. I think its even less if you buy multiples. 3 for $12 or something like that? Not quite sure, but its less if you buy more.






And these are three of the four from the Spring Pastel Palette collection. Also $12 shadows.








So with that, is there a difference? Yes. The difference is the $12 ones come in plastic packaging that is silver and the regular ones come in a clear plastic case. To be honest that is really the ONLY difference I could find between them.

Across the board the quality didn't wow or excite me on ANY of them. They were not at all bad, but nothing that makes me jump for joy. From my limited experience with drugstore beauty (lets be honest, almost nothing I buy or use is drugstore or has been in MANY years) these are on par with the offerings. Which is fine. And that is not to say that I don't think there are FABULOUS drugstore products out there that rival the luxury brand offerings. There are. I just have little patience to seek them out.

BUT - if you are going to charge more than 220% of the cost for a limited edition one, it sure as hell better be WORTH the price difference. And these are not. And they are not even a BIT better in quality which frankly pisses me off. There is no excuse for such an exorbitant price hike for the same quality. A dollar or so more, fine. Limited edition has a value (or a perceived value) that gives a brand some room to up a price. Yes, these are still affordable, but that to me is really neither here nor there.





Tuesday, August 18, 2015

I'm Back!

So after four long months of messages and comments (which I appreciate more than you will know) I am back! Its been a LONG four months. I started a new job days after getting back from Las Vegas mid April, finished writing all my exams for the semester and was ready to get going again after a few week break when a lot of personal stuff kind of snowballed. I am sorry for my long absence and the blog will be back up and running, business as usual by mid week.

Today however, I thought I would share this picture with everyone. A project I took part in a few months ago while in NYC sadly created some tension. I learned that unfortunately a lot of my family is far less open minded (is that a nice way to say what I am actually thinking? Trying to not be so disrespectful here) than I would have hoped. And when I saw how many people this STILL offends and insults it just makes me want to share it more.

Celebrity photographer Adam Bouska started the NOH8 campaign in 2008 as a direct response and social protest against Proposition 8 and to stand for marriage equality but the project has grown to stand as a statement against discrimination and bullying of all kinds.



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