MAC Haul

One of the gifts that I got for Christmas was a MAC gift card from my darling husband who knows I like makeup just a little bit too much. One thing he knows is that he can never go wrong with getting me a gift card for MAC or Sephora. Amen.

So what did I get? I got 4 pro palette eyeshadows in Vapour, Nylon, Ricepaper and Soba. Four colours that I have never had for some unknown reason. I decided it was about time to pick them up. I also got MAC's lip pencil in Cherry. Never had that either. In addition, I finally got Ruby Woo lipstick. Looking forward to giving that one a try. Finally, I got the Prep + Prime Lip which is supposed to help keep vibrant lipsticks from bleeding and to help them stay put. With Ruby Woo, this might be a good move. So there you have it, just a quick little post tonight on my recent haul.

Estee Lauder Pure Color Envy Lipstick 240 Tumultuous Pink - Review and Swatch

There has been a lot of buzz the last few months about Estee Lauder's new Pure Color Envy Lipsticks. I own one so far in 240 Tumultuous Pink. This is a very vibrant, warm pink. It is described as a deep berry pink. I personally prefer more of a cool toned pink because it just looks better with my colouring, but this is a very lovely warm pink and I think I am pulling it off. In fact, I would guess that just about anyone with any skin tone could pull this colour off as long as they are brave enough to wear it. I have had several compliments on this colour since I started wearing it a couple of months ago. The pigmentation is out of this world. The colour is crazy vibrant. You don't need to apply a lot to get a full coverage, matte lip. Here is the swatch:

Is that wild or what? I think I need to start modelling these lipstick colours so that you can see what they look like on. Mental note to do that next time. The problem is that half of the time when I do these blog posts, I am home in my PJ's and bunny slippers at the end of the day and am not in full makeup.

This lipstick is very comfortable to wear. Your lips feel moisturized the entire time you are wearing it. I have seriously worn this (with only one application) for 8 plus hours and the colour is still on there even after a meal and drinking lots of water. The colour does fade of course over several hours, but there is still some on and you can see the colour several hours later. One curious thing I have noticed is that I find my top lip fades a lot more than the bottom lip with this lipstick. I have never noticed that before with any other lipstick. That being said, this has to be one of the longest wearing lipsticks on the market. When you look at it, smell it, apply and wear it, you know this is no cheap lipstick. It's smooth and glides on like butter. If you are like me, this type of lipstick makes you feel dressed up and luxurious instantly.

Pure Color Envy lipsticks are sold at Sephora for $34 Canadian or $30 U.S. Not cheap. I bought mine from the Estee Lauder counter and I think I paid a few bucks more, but maybe I am mistaken. Will check that out. The case is magnetic and is quite nice. You are not likely to lose the cap in your purse and make a big mess as a result. Good quality stuff. As you can see from the picture below, my tube looks hardly used. I have worn it several times so you can see that you don't need a lot of product. This is not the type of lipstick that you would blow through quickly.

 

 

I already have my eye on Insolent Plum, Vengeful Red, Dominant and Reckless. How about you?

 

Packaging: 10/10

Pigmentation: 10/10
Easy to Work With: 10/10
Longevity: 10/10
Texture: 10/10
Price: 7/10 
Ingredients: 8/10
Travel Worthy: 10/10
Comfortable to Wear: 10/10
Attractiveness of Product: 10/10 
Would I buy this again? Yes in a split second
Overall Rating: 9.5/10



Clarisonic Mia 2 Hollywood Lights Collection - Review

I purchased my Mia 2 "Hollywood Lights Collection" close to 3 months ago from The Shopping Channel (QVC for those of you who are Americans) for about $150 Canadian. They were having some big promotion at the time. The Mia 2 retails for $180 Canadian and $149 U.S. on Sephora's website. You can also buy them at the Bay in Canada. I know Sephora use to carry this particular colour, but I am not sure that they do anymore.  I avoided purchasing one of these for years because I feared it was a gimmick. Once everyone and their mother started using these and the rave reviews came in, I caved.

I currently have the Sensitive brush head attachment and that is all I have used so far. The Shopping Channel also sent me the Deep Pore brush head which I haven't used. I am scared to use it. I have read so many reviews online of people who say it ruined their skin. I have even heard people saying it to each other while I was shopping in Sephora. Now if I do use it, I would likely only use it once a week or so. Twice a day sounds like suicide if it's as harsh as people say. Have any of you tried the Deep Pore brush head? I would love to know what you think of it.

So yes, I have been using the Mia 2 for almost 3 months and I am very happy with the results. I used to always feel like I needed to exfoliate my skin at least twice a week. I always had bumpy, dry patches. I don't have those any longer and I don't bother to exfoliate now. One advantage of buying this and that you won't need to buy an exfoliation product for your face ever again.

On top that obvious advantage, my skin is a lot more clear that it used to be. I would say it took nearly 2 months to notice a significant difference, but I have very few blemishes now. My skin also seems more glowy and even toned. I do find that the skin on my face looks a tad more white than my neck and chest now, but that's ok with me. Gives me a nice, unearthly glow haha. I have noticed that other vloggers who use a Clarisonic have a similar thing happening when I see them without their makeup.

I would definitely say that buying the Mia 2 is worth the splurge. Hopefully, I will have it for years to come. Other people seem to. It has two speeds by the way, which is nice. The only thing that I am not crazy about is the fact that the charger takes 18 hours! That's a long ass time. Also, the lights on the Mia 2 fade in and out while it is charging and it has freaked my husband out a couple of times when he has awoken in the middle of the night and seen the light show coming from the bathroom, Luckily, I only have to do it every 20 uses. I will say that I use the Mia 2 usually at least once a day, usually at night. It's great for helping take your makeup off and clearing out your pores. I don't feel I need to use it twice a day and sometimes I skip a day. I am really into scrubbing my skin and teeth etc. (strange quirk I know) so I enjoy using the Clarisonic very much for that reason! I do wonder if I should try the Normal brush head because sometimes I think I would like a harder scrub. I don't think I need a harder scrub because this brush head is doing the job, I just think a harder scrub would be more enjoyable. Ok, I am a total weirdo, I know. But if it's not broken, don't fix it, so maybe I should stick with the Sensitive head.

Oh, I will mention that the cheapest case ever came with the Mia 2. It's for travel supposedly. Looks like it's disposable packaging to me. I guess I won't know if I don't give it a try. The replacement heads are $31 Canadian or $27 U.S. so if you replace them every 3 months as recommended, that could add up fast. It appears you can purchase a set of two for $49 Canadian or $44 U.S. from Sephora which is a much better deal if you plan on using your Clarisonic religiously. Since I don't use mine twice a day very often, hopefully I can get a little bit more than 3 months out of each head. I find the device easy to hold and very comfortable. It's a good design. You can take it in the shower with you too it says, but I don't see me doing that just yet.

Packaging: 10/10 (except the case is seriously cheap and fugly)

Easy to Work With: 10/10

Skin Texture: 10/10

Blemish Blasting: 9/10

Softening: 9/10

Gets Rid of Dead Skin Cells: 10/10

Evens Skin Tone: 9/10

Price: 8/10 (it is expensive but it works)

Would I buy this again? YES and sorry I didn't buy it sooner

Overall Rating: 9.5/10

Bite Beauty Agave Lip Mask - Review

I picked up this little beauty a couple of months ago. It's $30 Canadian or $26 U.S. Each tube is 0.52 oz. I decided to take this product photo straight from Sephora's website as my tube is squeezed up and the packaging is chipping. Photo below. Despite my tube looking a bit worse for wear, I have to say that I love this product. Some of you who have been reading my blogs for the past couple of years may know that I have been suffering with some extreme dry lip issues the last couple of winters. I think it started as an allergic reaction to some soap and it went from there. I was a bit scared that this winter I would have to revisit this issue. I swear this Agave Lip Mask has saved my bacon. When I so much as feel a tingle of dry lips coming on, I pop this on and I am good to go for hours. Hell, I have been just wearing this out to work or shopping or whatever by itself most days lately. Sometimes I add a touch of red lipstick to it and then I have a nice shiny, muted red lip that goes with everything.

I wear this to bed every night too as you can imagine. Now I love my Burt's Bees Lip Balm and I love my Fresh Lip Treatments, but this Bite product is far superior. It reminds me of Vaseline but it's way better. Tastes better, smells better, works better. Not to mention far better ingredients. It's really thick and sticky but I like it because it stays on your lips. It has a great shine. Better than any old Vaseline.

I am starting to panic and think I need to buy a case of this stuff in case it is ever discontinued. Bite Beauty, please don't ever do that to me! I will cry. I cannot recommend this product enough. I think the tube is going to last me quite a while. The tube below has been used at least twice daily for the past couple of months and as you can see, there is still lots left. The quantity of product in the Agave Lip Mask certainly lasts a heck of a lot longer than any of the Fresh Lip Treatment tubes.

Packaging: 7/10 (as you can see...) 

Pigmentation: N/A
Easy to Work With: 10/10
Longevity: 10/10
Texture: 10/10
Price: 10/10 (for what you get it's a reasonable price)
Ingredients: 10/10
Travel Worthy: 10/10
Comfortable to Wear: 10/10
Attractiveness of Product: 10/10 (great shine!)
Would I buy this again? I would by the case
Overall Rating: 10/10


Bits and Bites

• It's been a long time since I did Bits and Bites. I must remember to do them more often.
• I am going to post a review on my Clarisonic Mia 2 within the next few days. Also have a lipstick review to do.
• Thinking I might start to do monthly favourites. What do you think?

Stila In the Know, Garden, Moment, and Light Palettes are being Discontinued!!!

I have been scrambling the last couple of weeks to get my hands on a couple of these palettes. For those of you who don't know, Stila has discontinued their popular palettes In the Light, In the Know, In the Moment and In the Garden. These have been around for the past few years and frankly, I naively thought they would be around for ages so I never rushed to buy them. They retailed for around $39-$45 U.S. and around $50 Canadian I believe at full price. Stila's website currently has most of them still in stock for $20 U.S. as they are a clearance item. Since Stila doesn't ship to Canada (guess they are living in the dark ages) I couldn't snag them there. If you live in the U.S. and you want one of these, I beg you to act swiftly.

I actually realized they were being discontinued when I saw the above In the Garden palette on Sephora's website under sale items a couple of weeks back. Yes, I stalk Sephora.com sometimes daily. It was on for $26 Canadian and then I got an extra 20% off. Sweet, I know. I tried to snatch up the In the Light palette, which tends to be thought of as the best of the four, but they were sold out practically immediately. Sephora is completely sold out of them now and I believe Ulta is as well.

I just discovered that well.ca has them in stock for $50 Canadian as of this moment. They probably won't have them for long so if you live in Canada, please pounce. I actually ordered my In the Light palette from beautybay.com (a U.K. retailer) a couple of days ago out of desperation. I have used them before successfully so I decided to use them again. There are some sites still carrying these, but they are going fast.

**UPDATE January 8, 2015: I saw some of these palettes still available at some Shoppers Drug Marts, if the specific location carries Stila, in Toronto this past week.**

December 2014 Empties!

Happy New Year!

My December 2014 empties are a tad sad this past month. I have a feeling January will be a bit better. I only have 5 empties this time around. Let's get into it.

1. Estee Lauder Advanced Time Zone Night Age Reversing Line/Wrinkle Crème - This was actually pretty good stuff. This jar is a small gift with purchase sample but it lasted me a good couple of months. I confess that I sometimes used this as a daytime moisturizer under my makeup. It was light enough upon application, but very moisturizing. It worked great on super cold, dry winter days. I haven't done a review on this product as yet. I think I still have some more of this in my stash so no need to repurchase yet.

2. Klorane Floral Water Make-Up Remover - You guys know how much I love this stuff and how much I rave about it. I bought a small bottle this time around because I though this travel sized bottle was cute and would come in handy. The lid is very secure and I plan on keeping this bottle for travel in the future. After recently buying the Bioderma make-up remover, I know for sure now that it's Klorane or bust. Here is a link to my full review on this product:

http://mymakeupissues.blogspot.ca/2012/02/klorane-soothing-make-up-remover-lotion.html

3. First Aid Beauty Face Cleanser - I didn't think much about this product. Rather than babble about it again, here the is the link to the full review of it:

http://mymakeupissues.blogspot.ca/2014/12/first-aid-beauty-face-cleanser-review.html

4. Clinique High Impact Mascara - I have said for years that this is Clinique's best mascara. It isn't my favourite mascara, but it will do more than a decent job in a pinch. I gladly take them for free as a gift with purchase each and every time. I don't believe I have ever done a review on this mascara. I will say that it gives you great volume and some length but it does tend to get clumpy and dry out fast.

5. Dr. Hauschka Rose Day Cream Light - There is no contest, Dr. Hauschka's Rose Day Cream is way better than the Rose Day Cream Light. However, I snagged this tube of the Rose Day Cream Light for nearly half price at Winners so I couldn't resist. Love the Rose Day Cream. You are probably sick of hearing me rant about it so here is the link to the full review:

http://mymakeupissues.blogspot.ca/2012/01/dr-hauschka-rose-day-cream-and-rose-day.html

So there you have it! 2014 is behind us now. I will try to get up another post or two over the weekend. All the best to you for 2015!

Avon Nail Art Design Strips in 1733 Winter Wonderland - Review

I recently busted out some Avon Nail Art Design Strips in Winter Wonderland that I have had kicking around, for dare I say it, a year or two...

Yes, most embarrassing. I was feeling extra festive last week so I decided to give them a shot. This was the first time that I had used nail strips so I knew this was going to be an education. I don't believe that Avon carries this design or colour anymore, but I could be wrong. I think I paid somewhere around $11.99 Canadian for these. I think for what it is, that is a bit steep. Other Avon Nail Art strips sell for $10 U.S. I believe. I just checked their website and they appear to currently be having a sale on what they have for $3.99 U.S. which I think is a very fair price. You get 18 strips in total.

To me, this was a very pro and con product. What I mean is that for every pro there was a con. As a result, I am still not 100% sure how I feel about them and likely I would think that I would feel the same about nail strips in general. Okay, let's talk about the pros first.

The first pro is that they are easy to apply. I am usually a dumb ass when it comes to things like this so that is part of the reason why I avoided trying them out for so long. I thought they would take forever to apply or that I would fudge them up. Basically, once you have selected one that reasonably fits your fingernail in question, you just centre it and fold the excess tip over the end of your nail. You can then either tear it off (not recommended) or file it off. The filing takes 2 seconds, literally. My original idea was to wear one of these on the 3rd finger of each hand and to paint the rest silver. I ran out of time between shopping, wrapping etc. so I decided to put all of these on once I realized how quick they are. In fact, I did a whole hand, in the car, on the way to a family function and it was not a long drive. I think I could easily have done all 10 fingers in under 10 minutes.

The second pro is that they look like nail polish at first glance. I got a number of compliments on my nails when I wore them and people were surprised that they were "stickers". The third pro is that they adhere quite well. I had serious concerns that these would be flying off or lifting but they didn't for the first couple of days. They even survived a couple of full showers and a couple sinks full of dishes and they didn't come off. Sleeping in them was no biggie. Fourth pro was that they are fun! I wouldn't get nail strips in a pale or solid colour though. I will get into that momentarily. Fifth pro is that there is no drying time. Instant manicure done and you don't have to be overly careful with your fingers I would say after about  10 minutes of having them on. Lastly, the final pro is that when I was tired of them, I was able to easily peel them off and there was hardly any, if any, residue from the "glue" left behind. They were off in under 2 minutes and my nails looked the same as when I put them on.

On to the cons. First con is that the base of the nails (part that you would place near your cuticle) is awfully square. Maybe my nails are weird, but mine are quite round. As a result, some of the nails overlapped onto my skin and that was not so attractive. Others that fit my cuticle bed area better were too small to cover the whole nail on the sides. Bizzare. The second con is the price - $11.99. I can get a whole bottle of OPI nail polish for that price or less and I would have how many applications??? Countless. So I guess you are paying for the convenience of it all, but for a one time use, it's pricey.

Although they felt good for the first couple of days, they really started to bug me after that time period. They started to feel like stickers on my finger nails. I think they started looking more like stickers too. That was the third con. The fourth con was that I noticed after a couple of days that the tips started to chip, tear and crack. The fifth con was, and I should have mentioned this earlier in the list, that after I applied them, I got a few creases in them that I couldn't flatten out and I think may have been unavoidable. Hence, my suggestion to avoid light colours in these strips or ones with no design. The design on these covered a number of application sins.

I have a Sally Hansen set of nail strips which I will have to try one of these days. I will give a full report when the time comes.

So what do you think? Do you like nail strips or hate them? I would love to hear what you think.

Packaging: 7/10

Pigmentation: 10/10 

Easy to Work With: 7/10 (points off for creases and shape of the nail strips)

Longevity: 6.5/10

Texture: 8/10

Price: 6/10

Ingredients: N/A sort of

Travel Worthy: 10/10

Attractiveness of Product: 810

Would I buy this again? Not Sure

Overall Rating: 7.5/10