The Face Shop-lovely me dessert lip balm in honey

Cutest lip balm I've ever seen! Korean cosmetics are truly adorable sometimes.

It's a thick firm jelly that melts and spreads onto lips, delicate honey scent and SO moisturizing. My lips are chapped due to cold weather and this was a pleasant surprise in my rose rose shop order. 

I really enjoyed this lip balm!! Will repurchase and makes a great gift

Sonia Kashuk Undetecable Cream Bronzer "rich bronze"

So Target opened in Canada, and after an initial frenzy (and tantrum-they brought two brands from US Targets with them the rest is the same old shit we get in Wal Mart) things have calmed down a bit. They still aren't fully stocked, but I did pick up this wicked awesome SK bronzer. I have to say that this stuff is fantastic. Packaging is attractive and functional-cream pan flips up to reveal mirror and sponge. I use this on bare skin and over foundation and it looks amazing. It really does blend in for a natural glow. Even though I can't possibly need any more product I still find myself buying things, which is why I write about them here. I suppose the reason I am so excited about this particular bronzer is that I can use it without foundation. During the summer I think that it's best to let as much of your natural skin show as possible, and this is coming from a super heavy foundation user. Slap that stuff on!!

I don't know if there will be any other shades coming, since my Target is missing a lot of stock.

Orly Mirror Mirror

Orly Mirror Mirror was a fall or Christmas collection from a few years ago, perhaps four? I bought it back in the day when I made huge hauls from places like TransDesign, before they raised their prices significantly. It's a light, airy grey creme and is opaque in two coats mostly, but three really makes it nice. I've used Seche Vite as a topcoat, and you can see some of my nails went gnarly from it. You can see the teeny weeny charm attached to the bottle. And my giant Frankenstein middle finger-that nail is just so much bigger than the others.

NARS light reflecting setting powder-pressed

Even though this came out a few months ago and I'm obviously behind the times I thought I would share my thoughts so far.

At 39 bucks this isn't cheap. That's my biggest complaint with NARS, since the quality of the brand does not always meet the price point unlike others like Guerlain. I've found NARS to be hit and miss with a few of their products-I loathe their foundation on my generally oily skin, but adore their tinted moisturizer (St Moritz). I like their eyeshadows, hate their lipglosses and lipsticks. I can't stand the waxy unscented smell of them. Fortunately blogs like Temptalia receive press samples and post good reviews to help folks like me, who purchase.

Generally I look for mattifying properties in a pressed powder, since it is made to be portable and for touch ups throughout the day. NARS claims it regulates shine throughout the day. This powder has sparkle without being shimmery, it's a very neat product. Right now I'm testing Becca's new matte primer under hourglass's primer and then with hourglass's oily skin foundation on top, it's been 3 hours and I have zero shine break through. I'll have to update the shine regulating properties of this powder on a combination of primer/foundation that's not as tough as this one. I went for the pressed instead of the loose formula simply because I am still plugging away at my jar of Ben Nye's banana powder that I bought last year.

NARS light reflecting powder comes in the traditional flat black packaging, and with a very whisper thin application sponge and pouch. My first complaint is that you cannot store the sponge in the compact, instead it all goes in the pouch together. The pouch is a nice touch, but I would rather the sponge fit inside the compact THEN in the pouch. It's just less dicking around in my opinion. But a very small complaint.

What's in my purse? Mostly garbage!!

I see a LOT of beauty bloggers do these posts, and while I enjoy them for the sheer voyeurism of it all I do think a lot of folks set it up to appear more splendid than it really is. So I took a photo of my purse while I had some downtime at work a few nights ago. Just dumped it on the floor and Voila! A rats nest of lipgloss and receipts. So here we go!

I blurred out my pills. But yeah, lots of receipts and paper garbage. And a spoon!?

My wallet. I like wallets that zip up. This is a DKNY one from winners. I'd like a leather one from coach in lime or fuchsia,  but this one has been fairly serviceable.

My bikini for tanning. Yes I know it's bad, no I don't care what you think. 

I fear the day when I need a hair elastic and don't have one. I keep multiples.

Random earrings, the star one has been solo for ages yet I still carry hope it will find its mate. Hair clips for bangs, eyelash curler.

Perfume sample, sunnies and random change. 

A cool bracelet I bought on the ferry, headphones and empty sample jars because you never know

Random things. Nail file from Sally's, this one is particularly awesome. Glycerin based hand cream. Nature Republic lip balm (so kawaii) Lush lip tint, which I do like but a pot form is miserable as it is really pigmented. USB drive, coconut sarong tie, eyeshadow pot. Lip balm, aleve.

Tangle Teezers brush. Seriously the Holy Grail. I bought one for myself and a friend who has fine hair that always tangles and they work great. My ends are bleached and this breaks way less hair than a traditional comb.

What also is in my purse ? Oh a crap ton of make up.

All nice and organized. 18 lip products. 6 eyeliners. One tube of primer , one eyeshadow quad yet to be tested, one foundation sample and one bronzer. No wonder it's so damn heavy all the time.

So that's it. A real mish mash of stuff, lots more than what needs to be. 

Zoya Liberty

Scooped this at my local winners today. 6.99, which is less than Canadian etailers. I would describe this as a azure ? blue with blue glitter. It's a very pretty polish. I probably have something similar, but Zoyas formula is lovely. Opaque in two coats.  I'm testing out a new top coat, which as it turns out is not good with glitter. It just doesn't have the high gloss finish of seche, although I do like it on non glitter polishes. You can see the difference on my pointer and the rest of my fingers.

Smashbox Studio Pop for eyes

9.99 at Winners? Yes please! I swear I buy stuff from other places. I do. Four mini eyeliners and a mini mascara. I love purse sized mascara! Lets hope it hasn't dried out.

Currently wearing the purple eyeliner. These are smooth and creamy and make no claims about being long lasting from what I can see. I will probably give the gold away to a fairer person, I can't see myself wearing it on a regular basis.

Icing gel polish Something Blue

I bought this the other day while downtown and doing touristy stuff-I was sneering at the bottle as I bought it. Gel like polish? Come on, Icing, stop lying. But when I put the first coat on this polish quickly wiped the sneer off my face. This stuff is pretty pigmented, and the texture is amazing. This is two thick coats, although one is nearly opaque. It's a thicker formula but it settles on the nail so well! Love this, going back for more maybe. A light robins egg blue with teal blue sparkle shimmer. Not as visible on the nail as in the bottle, but still there. Extremely pretty, and at bogo 50% not a terrible deal, this polish is similar to for Audrey by china glaze, that family of colors.

Zoya Piaf

I always wondered when Zoya would regret naming polishes after girls names, and I have decided its Piaf. I first discovered Zoya in 2003 when they still shipped to Canada, I bought a box-full- a few that I might still have.

Piaf is a pastel lemon chiffon yellow with silver sparkles. The color of Easter and spring-very, very pretty. This came in my last glossybox, or my first ipsy bag. 

It is a bit gloppy, as you can see from my application, which diminishes it for me but does go completely opaque.

State of the Nails address

Nails. This is about as long as they get before I chip and break them. My beds are so small I have to have a lot of free edge to make them long. Hands are dry from acetone. PS I got new pillows from Ikea I LOVE them

Zoya Stevie and worst vacation ever

Picked this up at my local winners yesterday, they had the full display. This and the sparkly green one. The formula on this was very nice, and with seche vite on top (actually I tried to use an unlabeled bottle of clear color club as a top coat but it was probably base coat and then put seche on it cured like JESUS had done it) the entire thing lasted three days. Which is a miracle, I'm ham fisted and clumsy. The photos are from day three. Anyways, I've come back from a cross country trip that involved exorcist like vomiting, diarrhea, an IV in the hospital AND affidavits. I'm covered in mosquito bites and I need to get my hair done. BLAH. I took two weeks off of work, that's the worst part.

Stevie is a light blue toned lilac with silver glitter, very pretty. Edit-ha ha, I'm a maroon-didn't even realize this is a textured polish ....

Illuminare Sienna Sun and Florentine Fair

Swatches. Done on the inside of my wrist Sienna looks dark but it really matches my level of tan right now. All three shades are identical across finishes, which is nice for ordering online .

State of the nail address

Left hand. Did a wee bit of filing as much longer than this and I can't lift things or open things properly. I chipped my right pointer today shampooing the carpet :( 

I will be sad when/if I have to file them back to nubbins . I took this while waiting for dinner.

Illuminare Foundation Trial Size in 3 finishes

So I bought this, I think I stumbled onto this brand off of a site that sells oily skin products called "Mattify Cosmetics" 

I am always, ALWAYS on the hunt for a foundation that holds up on my skin. I generally stick to long wear formulas with full coverage, but I also love illuminating foundations as long as they hold up to blotting and powdering touch ups. I have oily skin, and will usually get shine 4-5 hours after application of a really good foundation with primer. But blotting and powdering normally allow me to get through a full day. I just tested the matte formula on this when I went out to dinner tonight and the coverage is amazing. It says to use a pea sized amount and they aren't kidding. I used slightly more and was borderline chalky-I tend to over apply-I could have buffed a smaller amount further as it remains pliable until you set it. But the matte is very matte and really sticks onto your face. I think my T zone is less oily now than in my 20's and I got fantastic wear. Normally my nose gets shiny during dinner but this was matte until I got home. I'll try to post swatches. My match was the darkest of the trio, Sienna something. I'm tanned, perhaps NC35? At the max. Bought this from ebeauty.ca , the shopping channel owns them I think.

Edit #1

Used the fantastic finish today in Sienna Sun-walked down to the mall and back in pouring rain. This foundation has a dewy effect and is a tad more sheer than the matte. It's been several hours and my skin still looks glowing and natural. I did set with powder. I've always identified with oily skin-I did use a different base (skinn orchid gel primer) than with the matte yesterday-but for a moisturizing formula it did not get shiny. Very pleased with this-I'll try it again during an oiler skin day to be sure.

Edit #2

Fantastic finish and humidity are no bueno on my skin. Took it on vacation, I get quite shiny. Humidity is no ones friend however, and I would still use this here. Extra coverage and the matte seem so similar I can't tell the difference. 

Zoya Wednesday

I don't even remember buying this, did it come in a glossy box ? No idea. It is similar to China Glaze "for Audrey " which is a nod to Tiffany blue. No top coat on this, I was worried the seche would yellow and this blue does seem to have yellow tones already. Two coats, faint visible nail line, all in all a nice light blue.

Real Techniques Brushes

When I stopped in to Winners to troll the beauty section before work today I saw.... THESE. Pixiwoo's Sam Chapman brand brushes. These were available in London Drugs of all places, and they were inexpensive. I got them for even less!! 7.99 CAD each, and the eye brush set for 14.99 rather than 19.99. These brushes are amazing quality for a very low, low price and it's commendable that Sam wanted to keep her line affordable for her viewers. Why spend upwards of 50 bucks on MAC brushes (or any other brand for that matter)when you can use these? I'm not a huge fan of using any kind of brush to apply foundation since I feel the results aren't as even as using your fingers or a beauty blender, but I am always willing to try-and using a brush keeps your hands clean and uses much less product than a sponge. I've got various other foundation brushes-they're like paddles-clarins and another I bought off Sephora ages ago, and I have a few MAC stipling/duo fibres as well as a Kabuki but I don't like how they move the foundation around my face. Which is probably due to my lack of skillz, but whatever. I REALLY like the foundation brush, it's compact, dense and easy to use. The brushes are sturdy, and have great handles. They're synthetic, which makes no real difference to me as I'm not super big on the cruelty-free bandwagon, and I really urge you to keep an eye out for them at your local winners. Powder brush is big and fluffy, and I can always use powder brushes since I always set my foundation with some kind of powder.

http://realtechniques.com/videos/blog#the-brushes

Ojon Full Moisture soufflé

Oh Ojon. Once you were an indie brand with a cult following-now you are just a small finger on the giant hand of Estée Lauder. Now I love the brand Estée Lauder - their stuff is quality with a capital Q - but ever since Ojon was sold the quality of the brand suffered, and i read they had placed the key ingredient of South American palm oil with African ( a sub par substitute) The new peeps took away my favorite product, Tawaka and Batana. You can still find tubes and jars of each on eBay at inflated prices, I found my last precious tube of Tawaka cream at winners for 12.99, it was a huge score considering that stuff was 60 bucks new. I loved the Batana hair and body line also and grieve it, especially the hair smoother. Weep. The scent of both lines was glorious, like I imagine Valhalla would smell like.  Full moisture is the replacement. I ordered mine from the shopping channel last year, and have just finished it now. It's very emollient, lighter feeling than the heavy Tawaka cream. I had to order it, I needed to know what it smelled like. The smell of Ojon products was seriously addictive, I miss them. A lot.  Full moisture smells like Ojon hair paste with a hint of lemon pledge. It's nothing like Batana or Tawaka, so if you were expecting that you will be disappointed. It's expensive, I can't remember what I paid but over 35 I am sure. I won't repurchase unless it gets marked down though, i don't love it enough to pay full price. RIP Tawaka, I will always love you.

Nubs

I tore my pinky nail and had to file them all down to nubs so I wouldn't chew them. I have short, stubby nail beds, and to have them long it's all free edge and gets on my nerves after a while. So they are nubs. I envy girls with beautiful nail beds. Right now they are wearing skin food milky apple, with no top coat-this stuff does not chip. Amazed with this brand!

Further to my last

This is the bronze glitter from Hard Candy I put on over my pink. It was very pretty, but had to go on so thick that I could peel it off the next day. Using a shitty top coat from Sally's didn't help. I find seche vite works best, although it tends to yellow certain blue based pinks and greens. And you really do need to buy the seche thinner, nothing else will do when it starts to glop at the half full stage.

Hard Candy little Bo pink

I bought more HC at Walmart today, and I am using this as a base for another polish so I thought I would swatch and get this out of the way. Two coats, needs three at least. I would say this is Barbie pink leaning to rose with high shimmer. Jelly base, golden shimmer

Orly Sparkling Garbage

This is the only one of orly's "mash up" collection that I purchased ( at the same time as the CG texture ) from Sally's, and it's the best of the lot. Scattered holo, not gritty at all. Absinthe green sheer jelly base, this was two thick coats. I found it easy to achieve opacity. Left the bottle at work.

China Glaze itty, bitty & gritty

One of the new texture polishes released by China Glaze-similar to the OPI sands except these have no glitter in them. IB&G is a bright coral, I would say leaning towards the pink spectrum but what do I know? I bought mine at Sally Beauty but I have seen them in Chatters salons. Sally also has the new China Glaze holo collection which I have not seen anywhere else yet. I really like these, they are very much slap and go polishes, the texture feels like non skid paint. These pictures are two coats. The downside is they do chip on me and show tip wear however because of the texture touch ups are seamless. I'd like to go and get the lime green for sure.