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Thursday, January 31, 2013

Turkish Drugstore Haul

Well, this wasn't actually my haul.... one of my friends recently returned from a trip to Turkey with a suitcase full of lotions, cremes and stuff and so she gave me all this!


There are some olive oil cremes which have really helped my son's dry skin- he had red patches on his cheeks but within a day, they were completely gone!  The purple cleanser "Eva" she told me it's from Egypt, and it's for dry skin, and it smells amazing.  A couple of the other things I tried didn't really work for me, but it's always fun to try new things from different places!    

And I bought these myself last night: 


Gel topcoat- Yaaayyy!! 


Tuesday, January 29, 2013

L'Oreal Gentle Makeup Remover

I don't really buy anything from L'Oreal anymore... not even the Infallible eyeshadows.  But my Neutrogena wipes keep getting dried out, even though I've put them in a ziploc bag.  I needed a eye makeup remover, but a non-oily one.

I bought this, and I really like it.



It removes all of my mascara, eyeliner, everything.  And it feels like water- it's really soft, and not harsh at all.  

Natural Makeup/Brunette Look

I think the colour looks nice, and it's a change from my ordinary blonde.

Sunday, January 27, 2013

Nail Stamping: Image Plate Storage Ideas

I am so thankful that Bundle Monster has a plate organizer, otherwise I don't know what I would have done.     I am sorry I am not trying to offend, but I really don't like the appearance of the baseball card thing, as well as I don't have those near me so I can't even see the plastic in person, as some I've seen look really too thin for metal plates.

First, here's a photo of the exterior of the case.  It cleverly happens to match my iPad cover.




But what about the plates that don't fit in the Bundle Monster?  Well, until someone comes up with a larger one, here's what I'm using.


It's called a Monster Binder.  It is for cards too, but the plastic is thick and each pocket has a black textured backing.  It fits two per page.  They do make larger ones but plates are really heavy- my Bundle Monster is totally full and weighs a ton.  So it's not that practical to get a larger one, there is no reason for me to carry that many plates at once.  

Here is how they fit: 




The Cheeky plates fit really snug.  This is great so they don't fall out, but they can be a pain to actually get out.  I've ripped a few of the pockets, but it's just a teeny rip so it doesn't really prevent them from being stored.  

Each pocket has a little lip, presumably from keeping actual paper cards from coming out: 


I store this book flat, mostly because this is what it looks like if I try to shut it: 


But also, because when it's open, it's about the same exact size as the Bundle Monster holder, so they can be stored pretty neatly: 


In this Monster Binder, none of my plates have ever drifted towards the spine, no matter how I leave the book, and I actually bought two of these since they do fit the octagonal plates so well.  It doesn't have any metal in the middle either, it's crimped.  

The only thing is that it doesn't fit the 7 cm plates at all.  Because of this, I was contemplating actually getting a ring binder, and getting all different size pages so it can fit them all together.  

The 12 pocket pages are 5.7 cm so they would fit most plates since they are 5.5. 

The 8 pockets are 6.6 x 10 cm, so they would fit the octagonal and the new Cheekys. 


The only pages that would fit the 7 cm plates are the 4 pockets. 


But, I am pretty happy with the Monster Binder and I only have about 20 of the 7 cm plates.  This is how I am temporarily storing those: 


The problem is, they're still too loose in there. 



I have to be really careful with it, and I haven't filled it on both sides because I know they would just fall out.  For now I just leave it in a shelf standing up, which isn't good for the long term by any means.  


I don't really know what to do about those, I thought about taping the pockets but that's kind of tacky and I don't even know if it would work.  So I'm still looking!  

Saturday, January 26, 2013

Small Lush Haul

Ohhh that Lush they are going to really get me!

This is what I got this time:


I thought Let the Good Times Roll was seasonal, but I just bought these yesterday so I'm not sure if it's still around, or if it's permanent now.  I really hope the latter because I just love it.  I also got Angels on Bare Skin, Helping Hands, and Honey Trap lip balm.  

Friday, January 25, 2013

Inglot AMC Cream Concealer

I have been using this concealer for a while now.  It has petroleum and silicon in it, so if you have allergies/sensitivities, please be aware.  It is really different from the other concealers I've used, so it deserves a post!

First, um.... this is not the right shade for me, but the Inglot I went to pretty much caters to darker tones, so this is all they had.  The employee didn't sell me the proper thing in my opinion, but the fault is just as much mine.  I had been using the concealers in the small round, refill pots for the round palette, but they were really, really small, so it only took a few months to run out.  Also be aware that the shades are not the same as the round refills, and also the numbers do not correlate with lightness, just another quirky Inglot number system.




It's a thick, really creamy, glossy product: 


Now, there are pros and cons to this.  It has great, complete full coverage for blemishes, spots, etc.  But the bad thing is, you can't really wear this alone, it needs to be set with powder so it doesn't look weird.  It t doesn't feel heavy at all, but it does take a bit of blending out and it is a full coverage.  

It was sooo hard to photograph this, but I tried: 


Overall, I really like this concealer but it's kind of more for heavy coverage.  


Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Prestige Exxtra Black & Volume Effect Mascara

I am very glad I decided to take a chance on this mascara, cause I havent stopped wearing it since I got it!


It's the first wand I've seen like that.

It doesn't smudge, clump or flake at all, and it doesn't feel heavy or cakey either.  What I love most is that it seems to really grip my lashes and lift them up and out, the effect is really amazing!

I am sorry but I am quite burned out of taking my naked eye pics, so I just took them with the mascara on this time.



Love it, and I would definitely recommend!!

Monday, January 21, 2013

Konad vs. Fauxnad: M83

So Konad m83 was my very first nail plate.  Thus, it suffered a lot of damage since I had no idea what I was doing!  It's all scratched up (even though it still works just fine!) so when I bought a set of Fauxnads, I decided to get a replacement.  As a bonus, now I get to compare the two!

Here is a reference what M83 looks like:


To my eye, the two plates are identical except for the very center image, and the difference is so slight that it's really hard to see- it's just the lines are skewed a little differently.  

Here are swatches on paper, for each image Konad is on the left, Fauxnad on the right: 




To me the Fauxnad is a perfect dupe.  Even the cat's eyes details are the same, so I am impressed with this plate.  

Saturday, January 19, 2013

Hair Product: Schwarzkopf Hair Serum

I never mention hair products, and there's a couple reasons for that.  I don't use very many besides shampoo and conditioner; I don't like stuff on or in my hair.  Also, if I started being overly concerned about my hair now, I would just end up losing a lot of time, energy, and certainly money.

I do like straightening my hair, although it's thin, it's slightly wavy but not in an unruly way.  When I wear my hair down it just looks and feels so much better when it's straightened.  I like the sprays that are heat activated that you use before using the iron.

When I don't have time to straighten it, I like to use this just to make sure it stays down and makes it easier to brush.


It's a clear, thick serum like all the others.  I used to have something similar from Fekkai but they don't have that here, and it was a teeny bottle.  This one is huge, 5 ounces, and it's not very expensive, but it is really effective for keeping away frizz and flyaways.  Just to be clear, it doesn't straighten it though, but it does make it smoother.  

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Rimmel "ScandalEyes" Mascara

This is the other Rimmel mascara I bought.  It is a really huge, bright orange tube.  When I got it out of my basket when I was checking out, my friend thought I was getting a highlighter, actually.


The brush is long and wide: 


The handle is really annoying and hard to get a grip on because it is just so huge.  


I thought I could overlook the huge handle if the results were great, but to me, they just weren't.  I also found it annoying that I can't use it on my bottom lashes without gouging my eye out, it's just too big.  I honestly don't know what I was thinking buying this, but sometimes you just want to try stuff, you know?  





I felt like the product itself was really heavy on my lashes and weighed them down quite a bit, especially as the day went on.  I would not buy this orange highlighter mascara again!  

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Another Nail Polish Haul!

Ohh but I am excited to try these out!  I am what... a year late for these??

 and these...

As a bonus, I now have a peach stamping polish!  The other two were not bad for stamping either, but the peach one is so thick I couldn't hardly use it as a regular polish.  



I also got my cousin two Sally Hansen Runway collection polishes... she got Blue Rose and Gilded Lily, the last ones they had, and they looked pretty!  Since my iPad isn't compatible with the camera I usually use, I took this photo with a different one that I will be using from now on.  It's great for photos of people and places and it even has a rechargeable battery, but I can't quite figure all the settings just yet.  



The burgundy and bronze magnetic polishes are the ones I am looking forward to the most!   

Sunday, January 13, 2013

Needing a Replacement!

For this.....


This is actually the second one I brought with me, so it gets a lot of use!  You wouldn't think something as simple as brow wax would be hard to find, but it is.  The only other one I like is a potted one from Inglot but here they only have dark brown and black.  I love this one because it's a harder wax and it is clear so I don't have to worry about my brows being too dark.  

Any suggestions???  

Saturday, January 12, 2013

Models Own Boogie Nights w/Purples

I had a really hard time with this polish- I love the shards but it was sooo difficult getting an even placement on my nails, and the base is so thick and goopy.  On top of that, it smells really horrible, and I could still smell it on my nails after I applied two thick coats of top coat and had it on for a day.


I used Nars Purple Rain and the light one is Bourjois.  I thought Purple Rain was going to be too dark but I actually like it much better, it brings out the colours in Boogie Nights more.  

Friday, January 11, 2013

Rimmel Max Volume Flash Mascara

I recently purchased a couple of Rimmel mascaras to try them out.  This one is "Max Volume Flash" in Ultra Black.





The brush/wand is average, although I did find it a little small.  


Before and After: 



It's all right, but I didn't feel like it gave me "Max Volume".  I also found it a bit dry and stiff, which makes me wonder exactly how long it was sitting on the shelf, because I used it the very next day after purchasing and it was like that from my first use.  

I'm not loving their mascaras so far, and this was one I tossed.