Crabtree & Evelyn Nantucket Briar Hand Cream

My hands are getting a little chapped from driving- I think, and they were really bothering me, so when I was in the mall I decided to buy this, after trying the tester and walking around with it on my hands for a while.




It really made my hands soft and smooth, like velvet.  It's really soft, creamy, and not greasy or sticky. The problem is, the smell makes me almost gag.  I have no idea why I didn't notice it in the mall. I remember I've only been in the Crabtree & Evelyn store once in my life, and I hated it because it was too "grandma-y".  Too mature I guess would be the more proper term.  This scent especially is soooo powder room like, it's straight up orchids with powder.  It even stayed on my hands after washing, which would be great if I liked the smell. I do like the metal tube and the size is perfect for your handbag though. I know they have other scents but I don't think I'll be going back.

(New feature I'm adding)

Pros: lightweight, creamy, soothes dry hands immediately, long lasting fragrance
Cons: for me, the scent

Naked 2 Palettes!

So technically this was my first purchase for July, but I've been spending some time with it... finally getting around to posting about it!

I won't bother to bore you with swatches of the whole palette, but I do have some pretty interesting comparison swatches.  Here is a simple look I did with it. 

Now, for the comparison swatches... just a few.  

The first is Pistol vs. Inglot 444 Pearl.... almost indistinguishable.  

Snakebite (L) vs. Inglot 409.

Next is Blackout vs. Inglot 391... I think you can see the winner here. 

You may have noticed "Palettes" - plural in the title... I made my own "Naked 2" palette out of Inglot shadows!  

The ten shades I chose were- top row: 353, 405, 395, 12, 390. Bottom row: 409, 402, 444, 329, and 391. 329 (matte dark brown) isn't in urban decay's palette at all, but its a shade I love and use quite often. I think I'll use all of these Inglot shades more often now though, I like the arrangement.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Repurchased: Sally Hansen Cuticle Eraser Balm

I didn't fly realize how awesome this stuff is until I ran out about a month ago. Since then I've used a lot of oils and balms, but none of them actually breaks the cuticle down and away like this does. I couldn't find it in two stores so when I did get it I got four.... It lasts me about two months so hopefully it is permanent or I'll find something like it before I run out!

Lush Aqua Marina

I don't know if I'm the only one who can smell a Lush store a half mile away? Lol! But even if its next to the food court, I can smell it before the food.

I went in to see about some hand cream (less intense than helping hands) but I bought this... for some reason.

I am just not loving any of their products lately at all, this has to be the third or fourth one in a row that just doesn't work for me. First, this has a lot of seaweed in it so the smell is nauseating every time I open the tub. On my face its not so noticeable, but I don't get a really clean feeling either. The worst part is how painfully drying it is for me, with already dry skin, it just feels chalky and dry, almost itchy. After rinsing I've had to moisturize heavily, but that leaves my face feeling greasy so that's not really a solution.

I really need to be more diligent about checking labels rather than taking the employee's recommendations- things like calamine, kaolin, I know these are too drying for me. However, this was a really soft and smooth cleanser, I wonder if different skin types would fare better with it.

As for me, I think I'll wait until Christmas time to buy anything from Lush again....

Rimmel Sexy Curves Waterproof Mascara

I ordered this in the original version, but I got waterproof by mistake, and by the time I got it, the seller only had brown-black left, so I stuck with this one.

I really like the brush, it's a soft rubber and it's really nice to use.  

My results: 

I almost always avoid any waterproof mascara since I've had bad experiences with it in the past, and unfortunately this one is no exception.  It is really too stiff, and it flakes off in little bits that really irritate my eyes.  I tried it a few times to see if it got better, but it didn't and I ended up having to remove it.  I wish I got what I ordered, cause I really can't use this.  I wonder if I'm even missing out on anything in the regular version, since I didn't get much curl with this even when I did use it.  I still like the brush, it was easy to get to most of the lashes.  

Pass or Splurge: Chanel Azure Polish

So I finally saw this in person today and thanks to the tester, had it on a nail for a few hours. I can't say I don't like it, but I don't love it and in my opinion I don't think it's that unique. I swear I had a Sally Hansen just like it, and I own a couple similars now..... Plus I'm still burned that their polishes chip just like any other, and they increase the price a dollar or two every year.

UOUO "Extreme Glare" Eyeshadow Trio

I am sorry for back to back eyeshadow posts, but I am having some issues with photos at the moment.

I bought this not too long ago, but it's such a convenient size and great shades, so I've used it a lot actually.

It really reminds me of a Wet-n-Wild trio, but the plastic case is a lot sturdier.  I've travelled with it and it hasn't broken, so that's a good sign.  

Swatches: 

I bought this for something like 3 dollars, just to try it., and honestly I wasn't expecting it to be any good..... how could everything I try from this very low budget brand possibly be decent???  

But these are.  They are all really good eyeshadows, very pigmented at first swipe, and I had no problems with them lasting on my eye the entire day.  No fading, creasing, nothing... and that's impressive at any price point!!  

12 HOURS!!! 

I really like this trio, it's so convenient.... although it is missing a highlight shade but can't complain!!  They have other trios available and when I get a chance I'm definitely checking them out!! 

Essence 3D Eyeshadows

I had read so many rave reviews about these, so I purchased a couple to try them.  They are all called "irresistible" something.  The first ones I bought were irresistible chocolates and irresistible vanilla latte.

The swatches looked good, and they felt really smooth and buttery, pigmented densely at first.... but they all faded almost immediately on me- even with a primer.  Vanilla latte barely showed up, so I tried it damp, still not good.  Then barely an hour in and you could just see a little bit of glitter, none of the colour.  

Irresistible Chocolates was a little better, but I still wasn't impressed.  It didn't even last a few hours.  

I didn't want to give up, so I went back and bought a few more shades.  Why a few more??? I don't know, but the testers swatched well so I wanted to go with a few that were different.  They had a bright blue and sea green that I passed on.  

The next time I got Irresistible Caramel Cream, Purr-ple, and First Love.  

CARAMEL CREAM 

PURR-PLE

FIRST LOVE 

They were ok, and definitely better than the Essence regular eyeshadows by far, but there are so many better eyeshadows out there.  But then there are worse, so thats kind of where I stand with these- in the middle. I actually did love Purr-ple, for some reason I didn't have any problem with that one at all. But still, I don't think these last very long compared to other eyeshadows I've used, and I had a hard time getting some of the shades I tried to show up well.  I am just stating my experience, cause it looks like "everyone else" thinks these are great. I don't think I'd buy these again, but if you don't have shades like these, I'd recommend Purr-ple, it is such a rich, beautiful shade and for me it is an inexpensive way to try new colours that you might not wear very often.  

New Purchase: BBW Daisy Dreamgirl

I think scents are my most powerful memories.  I haven't smelled BBW Country Apple in years and years until recently, but I still remember it was one of my faves, and a happier time in my life.  I am kinda overwhelmed by that store, maybe I'm wrong but I don't remember them having soooo many scents before.

I bought a few (ok, a lot) things from their sale, but only these I was able to find matching.  It's daisies with clementines.  

It's all right, but I don't think it's one of their best. Maybe I just prefer their "classics".  The scent doesnt last very long, but I do like the body cream much better than the traditional lotion since it's so much thicker and absorbs quickly.  I was worried that the lip gloss would be flowery but it's actually exactly like the other one I tried, grape bubble gum-like flavour.  

What did you get from their sale??? 

Happy 4th

Everyone have a safe and nice day :)

Honey Perfumes...Like or Not?

I personally love honey perfumes, but I know they're not universally appealing, and are even repulsive to some people.

This new Marc Jacobs is on my wish list right now! Hopefully it won't always be Sephora exclusive....

Some H & M Stuff....

I am really getting burned out trying things from them, but I did find one gem recently.

This was a nail kit, I just got it for the cuticle cream which was runny as water and really sucked.

This was some lip balm, which was so greasy and horrible flavour. 

I thought for sure I'd have better luck with the blush.  

I was pleasantly surprised, it's actually an excellent blush!!! Such a pretty shade, would suit a lot of different skin tones, and highly pigmented.... recommend that for sure!  

What have you guys tried from H & M??? 

Makeup Storage Suitcases

So again I need a storage thing. I honestly don't have that much anymore, all of it including polish will fit in a Helmer and I think I was down to half of one before I left. I promised myself I wouldn't accumulate more than a Helmer's worth of makeup, and I have kept up with that or a long time. I may increase it to exclude polish in the future, but I need something travel-able as well, or maybe even something I could use for both. I am not trying to complain and yes I do value my safety but I have to say travelling internationally is so different, I think I will be travelling by car from now on. But anyway....

I like, well love, the idea of a modular system like these where you can take the top part off to use as a small bag. But I also like drawers or little compartments. The bags I have now are just for travel and they don't have sections at all. Only one has a shoulder strap. It would be so much better if I cold consolidate them!

I really like my Heys bag, I could maybe just get pouches for it and have some drawers for at home. They actually do make some really nice packing cubes.

I might just use a regular suitcase and pop some drawers and pouches in it. Seriously, once I saw a suitcase that opened straight out, but at the time I didn't know why that would be useful.  I could maybe get a business case, the one with the space for a laptop or ipad, those usually open by zipping down, not around.

I saw some excellent train cases at Inglot but the soft sided one was a lot smaller than the hard one and I didnt like the way it opened, plus it was really expensive.

Some of these look nice, but I dont know. It would have to be sturdy enough to support the contents! I see a lot of cases like this at makeup events, what do you guys think??

Bourjois Intense Eyeshadows 07, 05

Everybody knows about Google Reader, right?  Ok then.  :D


These are the first Bourjois eyeshadows I've tried.  I wanted one neutral but the green I really thought was beautiful.

I knew before purchasing that these are really supposed to be used wet, but I have read a lot of complaints about the lack of pigmentation.  It has to be dry though, because they don't look or do well dry, and the comparison swatches are obvious: 

I honestly didn't even attempt to use them dry cause I knew it wouldn't turn out well.  I really like these though, and even when I used them with dry shadows they blended well.  

This is 07, the initial application: 

And this was the final look: 

They're really nice eyeshadows!  

UOUO Loose Blush #3

I have tried a few loose blushes in the past, but generally I prefer pressed.  Since I had to order this online, I thought I'd have better luck with a loose one.  Or, "Phantom Meteor", as it's called.

It comes with a puffy type applicator, which did make it easier for me to use: 

The shade is so pretty, it reminds me a lot of my favourite, Pan Tao, only this is a lot deeper.  It is very pigmented.  

The easiest way for me to use it was to dab on my cheeks using the puff top, then blend out with a highlighting brush.  It's just really pigmented so putting too much is really problematic, it's easy to go overboard and then end up having to remove it all and start over.  

This is a deliberately much too heavy application, but it shows the colour best:

Unfortunately, I found this type of product a little too inconvenient to work with.  It was so messy and then I had to blend it so precisely right, so this is why I prefer pressed blushes.  But as far as the colour and pigmentation goes, it really is outstanding, so I guess it just depends on your preference and skill level.  I didn't have any issues with it staying on, and it lasts the whole day too so that's a plus.