November 2016 Empties

It's the 21st of December, but it's never too late to do an Empties post right? Let's get into it.

Lots of the usual suspects...

Another tube of Estee Lauder Double Wear Light foundation has bit the dust. My shade is 2.0.

I have finished yet another bottle of the Klorane Floral Water Makeup Remover. I have already repurchased two more bottles...I just realized I have been using this product for 5 years straight. Crazy!

My bottle of Beautyblender Liquid Blender Cleanser is finally finished. I had some mixed feelings about this product and I have linked to my thoughts on it in aforementioned product name. Think I will stick with the solid and have bought just that already.

I have been trying to get rid of this hand soap for years and I finally did. That being the Bath & Body Works Sea Island Cotton Moisturizing Hand Soap. I moved it around my two guest bathrooms and it took forever. Partially because I don't have a lot of guests spend the night and also because I am foolish enough to offer my guests more than one hand soap option in my guest bathrooms. I liked the smell of the Sea Island Cotton at first but the smell got old on me after awhile.

Another First Aid Beauty FAB Pure Skin Face Cleanser is done. I am not crazy about this product but one of my good friends loves this. I got this tube in a set and I felt compelled to use it and get rid of it. Will not be repurchasing.

Ok on to the sample tube of Origins By All Greens Mask Cleanser or whatever this is. Will not repurchase. Link to review in the product name in last sentence.

Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair - another one gone. I fear my stash of these little gems is coming to a end. I might actually have to dig into my pocket and buy a full sized bottle. Shiver me timbers! It would be worth it though.

I finished a trial sized Kat Von D Tattoo Liner in Trooper. Good stuff. I have a couple more of these lying around but this one is now bone dry. I can't believe it but I have never done a review on this! Sheesh. Ok must do in the new year.

Last, but not least, I finished a tube of a MAC Cremesheen Glass in Double Dare. This was a Coral Red. I really like the formula of these Cremesheens. I will be buying more but perhaps in another shade even though I liked this shade well enough but I wasn't in love with it.

So there it is, my November 2016 empties! Tarte palette review is up next.

Bobbi Brown Everything Eyes Palette - Review and Swatches

I have had this palette sitting on my vanity for months in anticipation of doing a review on it. I am so behind but I am finally getting to it now. This palette was a nightmare to get ahold of. None of the Bobbi Brown counters in the Toronto area seemed to have them. Sephora didn't have them. The only place I could get it was on Nordstrom's website. I agonized for months over whether or not to take the plunge and order it. It cost me a fortune with shipping, duty, currency exchange etc. not to mention the jacked up ridiculous price that Bobbi Brown charges for their palettes in the first place. I don't remember exactly what I paid for it in the final analysis and I think I prefer not to remember. The total burn came when I saw it for sale at the Estee Lauder/MAC show back in September. It was around $40 or $50 even at the sale! Still that was a hell of a lot less than I paid for it. I can tell you that as of this blog post Nordstrom still has it in stock and it is 25% off as I type. It's still an outrageous price in Canadian dollars 25% off and all.

Ok, moving on from the price point. You get 9 eyeshadows for 0.33oz. or 9.6g total palette weight. Not bad. The palette has some cool old school silver hinges on the back of it. Four brushes and a beginners guide to eyeshadow application is included. I haven't tried any of the brushes but I am sure they are fine.  

I have to have a mini rant now. This is a rant I meant to have months ago and it's been a long time in coming. I'm just going to say it and put it out there. Bobbi Brown and tarte make terrible light coloured eyeshadows. Their pigmentation, brightening effect, application and longevity suck. Every single palette I have ever had from either company, and I own quite a few, the light colours have blown. That's my rant.

The good news is that Bobbi Brown makes great dark matte eyeshadows. That's the consolation.

I have to say that the swatches below of the lighter shades look fantastic except the middle one - Halo. They do not look that great on the eyelid I assure you. From left to right we have Ivory, Bone, Halo, Hot Stone and Birch. I like Hot Stone and Birch but Bobbi Brown can keep the other three as far as I am concerned.

Below we have Buff (really pretty), Royal Navy, Smokey Brown and Rich plum. All four are solid eyeshadows. Great pigmentation, easy application and lasting colour.

I am glad I have this palette? Yes. Do I wish I would have paid a lot less for it? Yes. None of these colours are super unique but put together they make for a nice palette.

Packaging: 10/10   

Pigmentation: Light Shades 3/10  Medium Darker Shades: 9/10
Easy to Work With: 6/10 (average of all shades)
Longevity: 6/10 (average again - they stay on as they go on with no change)
Colour Stays True: 10/10
Texture: 7/10
Price: 4/10
Ingredients: 8/10
Travel Worthy: 10/10
Attractiveness of Product: 6/10 some great some not so great
Would I buy this again? Sigh yes but only at the sale price!
Overall Rating: 6/10 (price sucks and the lighter colours are just bad - dark colours are awesome though!)

Zoya Nail Polish Lacquer in Storm - Review and Swatch

I had heard how pretty Storm was for some time. So I picked up a mini bottle of it a couple of months ago. I finally put it on the other day and it is super nice. My nails haven't chipped yet and we are going into Day 3. For me, that is impressive. Everything chips on my finger nails. Zoya describes Storm as full coverage, holiday black with a high concentration of micro fine diamond holographic glitter. Storm is elegant, powerful and versatile their website says. I would concur. For some reason this shade just screams Christmas and New Years. Not sure why as I don't normally consider black nail polish particularly Christmasy. I plan on reapplying Storm again once this chips off. I'm really taken with it. Somehow it goes with everything. Here is what it looks like on my nails. Not the best manicure I know, but I was in a rush the other day. I am wearing two coats and a clear top coat. You can not get away with one coat of this stuff it's too sheer but two coats is perfect.

I own only a couple of Zoya polishes, but this is the first time I have actually worn one of them. Sad I know. I will definitely be buying more. I like that they are 5 free as well.

I finally had my exam this past week for a professional work related course so now I can relax and get back to blogging. I have my November empties and a palette review both going up over this weekend so stay tuned!