Origins Clear Improvement Mask - Review

This is one of my favourite masks. It doesn't smell like roses and it doesn't look very nice but it does a decent job. My husband screams every time I wear it. That never gets old. He always asks me why I use a grey, brown, white or green mask when I wear a mask. What colours are left? Pink? He is too funny. This mask is a grey brown.

This is a charcoal mask which is supposed to get rid of environmental toxins and clean deep down into your skin. Does it? Not sure. I will tell you what it does do. When my face is breaking out, especially right before that special time of the month, and it is red, blotchy and not happy, I reach for this. I find that this mask calms my skin and reduces redness immediately. My skin looks much more relaxed and normal toned the next day. It is not a miracle worker and my skin doesn't look like a movie star's afterwards but it does show vast improvement.

Sadly, I am a bit lazy so I only use this when my skin looks like trash. If I used it weekly or somewhat regularly, I would likely notice an overall general improvement with my skin. Because then I would be proactive not just reactive all of the time. Maybe my skin wouldn't be in such a bad state as it sometimes does if I am not careful. I tell you what. I will use this weekly for the next month and report back to all of you. I will update this post then.

One tube of this costs $27 Canadian. You can get it online, at Sephora or at The Bay. I have had my tube for a year or more and it doesn't even look used! I think this tube will last me forever. It does make my face feel super dry after I use it so I do apply moisturizer immediately afterwards. Just warning you! If you want to try it out for free, go to the Origins counter at The Bay or whatever department store carries Origins and ask them for a sample - they will make you one in a little cup with a lid. That's my suggestion.

Packaging: 10/10 

Easy to Work With: 8/10 (messy as heck though)
Texture: 8/10
Price: 7/10
Ingredients: 10/10
Husband Rating for Attractiveness: 0/10 (haha)
Would I buy this again? Yes
Overall Rating: 8/10 (wish it made my skin soft)

My Coach Purse - On its Last Legs and Worth Every Penny

 

I am going to go a bit off topic today. I know everyone and their mother (literally) has a Coach purse these days whether its the real thing or a knock off. When I got my first Coach purse they were at their peak of being "hot" and then within a few months everyone had one. They ceased in the fashion sense to be the "in" thing. Everyone went Michael Kors mad after that. I do own a Michael Kors purse by the way and I have never used it but I will this summer!

 

Back to Coach. I own 5 Coach purses. It's a little obsession. Anyone who thinks they know me will tell you that I am full of ^%$# and I only own the one. Not true. I am simply a creature of habit and I use the same one all of the time which is pictured above. Can't go wrong with a black purse I always say. Three of my five Coach purses are black by the way.

 

My husband bought this purse for me as an anniversary gift and I have had it for just over 3 1/2 years. I believe it is a Coach Signature Zoe purse. It is the real thing. I have used and abused this purse non-stop almost everyday for 3 1/2 years. It is on its last legs. The fabric is worn on back where it rubs against my body and the lovely baby blue satin liner is looking dingy. The strap is slowly starting to tear.

 

I decided to do this post because I love my Coach purse. I am sorry to say that my days with it are coming to an end. What I really want you to know is that Coach makes ridiculously good quality purses. Until I had this purse, I have never had a purse last longer than 10 months tops and usually 6 months or less. I am hard on my purses. They shop with me, commute to work with me, go dining with me, travel with me...

 

I thought when I got this purse that if it lasted a year I would be happy because then I would know that this was a far better quality purse than any other I have ever used. I have had a lot of Nine West and Guess purses before this one and they were garbage. When a year passed with my Coach purse and it was still in great shape I was impressed. Then another year went by and then another. I know my purse is looking a bit dated but I don't care. This thing is made of some nearly indestructible stuff. Hell, this purse even survived my house fire! The baby blue satin liner is still intact - no rips or tears.

 

Because of my experience with Coach I assure you that they have got themselves a Coach purse buyer for life. I also love the Coach symbol - so cool. If you go to a Coach outlet store you can pay half or a third the full price. That is what I do. When you do the math in terms of money paid for amount of time used, those Nine West and Guess purses cost me a hell of a lot more than this Coach purse cost. Since I have 5 purses, you probably guessed that I already have the replacement for this purse lined up and waiting in the wings.

 

If you are thinking about buying a Coach purse, I can tell you from personal experience that they are worth every cent, even if you pay full price. Mind you, find an outlet store and then you don't have to.   

theBalm Nude 'Tude Nude Eyeshadow Palette - Review and Swatches

I heard so many great things about this palette so I just had to get it. I love most of theBalm products too, especially their eyeshadow, so I was hell bent on picking this up. A couple of months ago Hautelook had a sale on theBalm and I snatched this baby up for less than $20. Is that insane or what? Normally, I believe they are $36 U.S. I really like this palette a lot. The colours are so pretty, blend like a dream, are soft, smooth and work well together. It is a great nude palette and my only complaint is that there isn't a good nude or bare lid colour. If there was, then I would just take this palette alone with me when I travel.

The palette I have is the "naughty" version. That is the only one Hautelook was selling. Mine has the pin-up characters "naked" - the other version is a bedroom backdrop. I think the naughty version is kind of cute, but I would just as soon have the "clean" version. A crappy brush came with the palette and I have already chucked it aside. The palette has 12 eyeshadow colours totalling 11.08g or 0.382 oz. So each eyeshadow is just less than 1g each. It was still a fabulous deal.

The mirror in here is huge. Overall, the eyeshadows are very pigmented but I do find a couple of the shimmery browns do fade a bit over the course of the day. The colours are from left to right, top to bottom, Sassy, Stubborn, Selfish, Sophisticated, Sexy, Serious, Snobby, Stand-Offish, Sultry, Seductive, Silly and Sleek. Four of the shades are matte - Sexy, Serious, Sultry and Sleek. I would have to say my favourites are Stubborn, Selfish, Sexy, Stand-Offish, Sultry, Silly and Sleek.

The swatch colours are from left to right Sassy, Stubborn, Selfish, Sophisticated, Sexy and Serious. Sassy is a multi-purpose shimmery white. Stubborn is a mid-toned peachy pink with just a little shimmer. Selfish is a taupe shimmer with silver in it. Sophisticated is a very shimmery milk chocolate. Sexy is a more red purple version of MAC's Folie. Serious is matte jet black.

The swatch colours are from left to right Snobby, Stand-Offish, Sultry, Seductive, Silly and Sleek. Snobby is more yellow brick road than golden and I don't really love it. I mix it with Sassy sometimes to tone down the yellow. This is where a nice buff colour for the lid would have come in handy.....Anyway, Stand-Offish is a very frosty pale pink which has some beige in it. Sultry is a very nice medium brown that works great as a crease colour. Seductive is a more golden version of Sophisticated. Seductive is my least favourite and is most boring colour in here for me. Silly is an awesome sparkly blackened red. I love this colour! Finally, we have Sleek which is the darkest shade of brown bordering on black that you will find. This is a gorgeous colour. Most of these colours double as excellent eyeliners and stay put and stay true all day long. Very impressive.

Packaging: 10/10 (so cute! and thin) 

Pigmentation: 8.5/10
Easy to Work With: 10/10
Longevity: 7/10
Texture: 10/10
Price: 10/10
Ingredients: 10/10
Travel Worthy: 10/10 (for overnight travel not daily purse travel)
Attractiveness of Product: 9/10
Would I buy this again? Hell Yes
Overall Rating: 9/10 

Sigma Beauty Paris Palette - Review and Swatches

I have had this palette for ages and I am finally getting around to doing a review. I left a bit of a teaser a couple of blog posts ago saying that I had a Sigma Beauty product to review which I was really pleased with. Well here it is!

In case any of you are wondering, I am quite fond of my Ikea duvet cover which is featured in the background of many of my blog pics. I have other duvet covers, but this one is my favourite and even though it has flowers on it, because it is grey/black my husband likes it too!

I digress. So this palette comes in a case with Paris "symbols" on it - Arc de Triomphe etc. There is also an insert. All that is in the insert is pictures of the blog contributors who came up with the colours and what their inspiration for their colour was. No tutorials, no suggestions as to how to pair the colours and so on. Honestly, I thought the insert was a total waste.

The palette comes with two brushes (E55 which is a quasi dupe of the MAC 239 and F40 which is a dupe of the MAC 168 I believe). Both are excellent brushes by the way and I am very happy to have them. There are also 8 eyeshadows, 2 blushes and 1 highlight/luminizer.

The box is a bit chunky monkey, but there is a lot of shizzit in here. I have to say that the eyeshadows in this palette are phenomenal. They are smooth, creamy, highly pigmented, blend like a dream and look really gorgeous on. They are extremely long lasting. I have the Sigma Dare and Bare palettes and the colours in the Paris palette are much better quality. The colours are as follows, left to right, top to bottom : Eiffel, Seine, Louvre, Orsay, Elysees, Notre Dame, Triomphe, Versailles, Rouge, Peche and Lumiere.

The ingredients are listed above. Sorry they are so small. Hopefully you can blow it up on your computer or mobile device. The ingredients are better than what is in the Bare, Dare and Flare palettes too. I have to say that I totally love Elysees, Notre Dame, Triomphe, Versailles and Eiffel the best. Elysees, Notre Dame, Triomphe and Versailles go so well together. When I want to look glamorous and like I spent a lot of time on my look, I reach for these 4 colours. Also, they really suit my colouring so when I want "going out eyes" and I am strapped for inspiration, these 4 do in a pinch. Eiffel reminds me of MAC's Black Tied except that Eiffel has rainbow shimmer and Black Tied is more of a silver shimmer.

Elysees, Notre Dame, Triomphe and Versailles are shown in the swatches above left to right as listed. They are the colours on the right side of the eyeshadow row obviously. Triomphe has a dupe in terms of colour with that of one of Maybelline's eyeshadows in the Olive Martini quad. The texture and quality of the two can not be compared though. Triomphe is head and shoulders above Maybelline's version. Versailles is super shimmery and glittery, but it looks amazing on. It is a little gritty but I can overlook that here.

From left to right we have the blushes in Rouge and Peche. Then (if you can see it) the highlight colour in Lumiere. The eyeshadows after that are Eiffel, Seine, Louvre and Orsay. Rouge looks like one of my favourite blush colours, Clinique's Mocha Pink, at first sight. I find it actually transfers a bit on the orange red side. It is brighter and heavier than it looks. I think I may need to work with it more, but so far I am not a fan. Peche is nice, just not overly my kind of shade. The highlight, Lumiere, is really subtle but nice. I have other loud highlighters so this is a nice simple touch to my makeup when I use it. You can see it if you look hard, but it is very natural looking.

Seine, Louvre and Orsay are all great quality eyeshadows, they just aren't my thing. Orsay is loud! I would wear it on my lower lash line or to a crazy party, but it is really bright on me. I bet if you have dark skin, this would look amazing on you. Louvre is nice, unusual, but again, kind of crazy for me. Looks great on the lower lash line. I like blue eyeshadow, but these are really teals. Finally, we have Seine. It's nice but I have Tarte and Urban Decay dupes for this one so I can't get too excited over it.

Overall, this is a fantastic palette. The two brushes are fantastic bonuses and they are excellent quality. The blushes would work for anyone, but in my case I have to use a light hand. The highlight - awesome. The eyeshadows are fabulous quality. If a couple of products were taken out of this palette, I would still think it was worth buying. My only other complaint is that the eyeshadow colours are all bright and there are no neutrals here. This is not a palette I would pick up to do say my office makeup. Therefore, it may not be for everyone. I seem to hit and miss with Sigma products but this one was well done!

The price was $59 U.S. (I got a TiffanyD discount but this is what I essentially paid) and it is on clearance right now on Sigma's website for $49 U.S. If you have been thinking about picking it up, pounce now!

Packaging: 7/10 (insert is a waste and it is a little chunky - pretty though!) 

Pigmentation: 10/10
Easy to Work With: 10/10
Longevity: 10/10
Texture: 10/10
Price: 8/10 (considering how much you get it is priced fair)
Ingredients: 7/10
Travel Worthy: 3/10
Attractiveness of Product: 8/10
Would I buy this again? One is enough but I would buy some of the eyeshadows separately
Overall Rating: 8.5/10

Too Faced Eyeshadow Collection in Exclusive Lavendar, Satin Sheets, Ever After and Birthday Suit - Review and Swatches

A little while ago I bought a set of Too Faced cosmetics called The Iconic Collection. This eyeshadow palette was part of the package and to my knowledge, is not sold separately. Inside is 4 eyshadows - Exclusive Lavendar, Satin Sheets, Ever After and Birthday Suit. I really wanted Satin Sheets and that is what drew me to this. Satin Sheets is in Too Faced's Naked Eye Collection palette. Birthday Suit is also part of that palette. I also got Ever After which is from Too Faced's Romantic Eye Classic Collection. Finally, Exclusive Lavendar is just that - exclusive to this set.

I had never owned any Too Faced eyeshadows before this so this was to be a treat. I have to say I was very happy and pleased with these eyeshadows. They are super smooth and creamy and blend well. All of these colours are shimmers though. My favourite is Satin Sheets with Exclusive Lavendar as a close second. Birthday Suit is my least favourite. It's kind of dull and sick looking to me. It reminds me of dirty, uglier version of MAC's Jaunty. Birthday Suit is not very flattering on me. All of these colours are long lasting with a primer.

On the top, left to right, we have Exclusive Lavendar and Satin Sheets. On the bottom, left to right we have Birthday Suit and Ever After. The whole palette is 7g or 0.25 oz. That is 1.75g each eyeshadow which is bigger than a MAC eyeshadow. The Iconic Collection also came with a blush, bronzer, mascara, lip gloss and a sample of their Shadow Insurance. The whole kit was $39 U.S. or $47 Canadian which is a good deal for all of that. I have reviewed the mascara already and I will get around to the rest soon.

Here are the swatches. They are left to right Exclusive Lavendar, Satin Sheets, Birthday Suit and Ever After. They look good together too on the eye. You can actually do a few looks with just these four colours.

Satin Sheets is a lot more golden on than it looks. I thought it was more of a very light pink with a golden hint but the golden is predominant on the eye. The pink in it though helps balance out the golden hue. It is very unusual colour wise. I don't have anything like it in my collection.

By the way, Too Faced seems to be taking out parabens and few things out of some of their eyeshadows. I find even with some of their old colours (like Satin Sheets) when repackaged into this palette and as well as some of the newer merged palette collections some of the nasty ingredients are gone. Good for you Too Faced! Now maybe I will buy more of your stuff!

Packaging: 8/10 (love the disc and there is a huge mirror)

Pigmentation: 7/10
Easy to Work With: 10/10
Longevity: 7/10
Texture: 10/10
Price: 6/10
Ingredients: 8/10
Travel Worthy: 9/10
Attractiveness of Product: 8/10
Would I buy this again? Likely and other colours too!
Overall Rating: 8.5/10

Sephora Online Order Haul

I still order from Sephora online once in while even though I now have a Sephora within 15 minutes drive from my house. There are two reasons for this 1) better Beauty Insider rewards perks and 2) more product selection. What drove me this time was the Beauty Insider goodies. I really wanted that free Stila cream blush! Just look at all of the goodies I got! I only ordered and paid for 3 things out of all that you see above.

I purchased bareMinerals Broad Spectrum Multi-Tasking Concealer in Well Rested which is an eye brightener, Cover FX Natural Finish Oil Free Foundation in N25 and bareMinerals Deep Cleansing Foam.

Since I had some Beauty Insider points, I also snapped up the following 100 point gifts: Stila Convertible Color in Peony (small size), Givenchy Le Rouge in 103 Brun Lipstick and Tarte Amazonian Clay Double Detox Facial Mask.

In addition, I got the Clarins Body Lift Cellulite Control since it was a free offer. If that wasn't enough, I also got 4 free samples - a Bumble and Bumble Shampoo and Conditioner, Boscia Self-Defense Vital Antioxidant Moisture, Philosophy Miracle Worker Miraculous Ant-Aging Retinoid Eye Cream and a Miss Dior Eau de Parfum.

Not too shabby. Reviews of these products will appear here on my blog sooner or later.

Urban Decay Lip Junkie Lipgloss in Strip, Wallflower and Naked - Review and Swatches

So I have kind of fallen in love. I am not referring to my husband, whom I already love, but specifically with the Urban Decay Lip Junkie Lipglosses. I had a sample of this product in "Naked" for I don't know how long. It came with my Naked 2 palette. I am the pickiest person on earth when it comes to lipgloss and I took one look at this plastic shimmery tube and said "yuck". Fast forward to February 2013. I acquire Urban Decay's Feminine Palette and there is another one of these Lip Junkie's in there. This one is called "Wallflower". I have since bought a full sized "Strip".

As I have mentioned in some of my previous posts, I had an allergic reaction to some facial soap a few months back and it has wreaked havoc on my lips. They are on the mend and are much better. They frequently peeled and burned for weeks after my reaction. One night out of desperation, I reached for Wallflower because I remembered that it is supposed to "Cool & Plump". Well it did cool the fire on my lips and I loved the soothing mint smell and effect. The gloss was nice and slick and sticky (the right kind of sticky) but not too sticky and it lasted and lasted. There was no offensive smell (unless you hate mint) and the shine was out of this world. It looks fantastic alone or over any lipstick. One of the best parts? The ingredients aren't too scary. Seriously, one of the best lip glosses EVER!

I'll admit that the full tube I purchased did smell a bit plastic for the first couple of uses but that is all gone now. I would prefer something easier than a squeeze tube for this product but I will deal with it. If you love lip gloss, you have to try one of these. If you are like me and aren't the biggest fan of nasty, smelly, burning and yuck feeling gloss, you have to try this! I don't notice any plumping with this product which suits me fine because I don't need it. This soothes and moisturizes my lips and does not irritate them in the least, and believe me, they were irritated before I started using this and now they are getting back to normal.

From left to right we have Strip, Wallflower and Naked. I have almost finished Wallflower and I enjoyed it very much indeed. The small size was perfect for my purse. Wallflower is a nude sheer. Strip is nude mauve colour and I quite like it. Naked is a shimmery rose. No clue why they called it Naked. To be honest, I prefer Strip and Wallflower over Naked because I like sheer glosses and Naked has shimmer. However, Naked is very attractive on by itself with a pink lip liner. I just prefer sheer - personal preference. I will be purchasing more of these in other colours. I wish they would change the packaging though. These are $19 U.S. and $23 Canadian. I can guarantee these will be in my best products of 2013 when the time comes.

Packaging: 4/10 (I like the lid but the packaging is weird and awkward)

Pigmentation: 7/10 (they are pretty sheer) 
Easy to Work With: 10/10
Longevity: 10/10
Texture: 10/10
Price: 7/10
Ingredients: 9/10
Travel Worthy: 10/10
Attractiveness of Product: 10/10
Would I buy this again? In a heartbeat
Overall Rating: 9/10