Products I Finished This Month - October 2014

Purchased Myself Press Sample

Hello readers,

Another month gone by means another pile of empties.  Lots of stuff to go through this month so let's get started.

Face

I finished up lots of face products this month.  The first was L'oreal Go Clean 360 Deep Facial Cleanser.  I really liked this face wash.  It was gentle on my skin and seemed to help keep occasional breakouts under control.  What I really love was that it came with a little silicone 'scrublet' which I can keep on using even after the bottle is done.  I would buy this again.  I also finished a jar of Clinique Moisture Surge Extended Thirst relief moisturizer.  This has become my go to daytime facial moisturizer.  It's really hydrating but doesn't leave my skin shiny.  I've already purchased a replacement.  Finally I finished up a tube of Clinique Acne Solutions Oil-Control Cleansing Mask.  This mask was... alright.  I think I prefer The Body Shop's Tea Tree clay mask though.  It's also cheaper so I'll likely not purchase the Clinique one in the future.

Nails

This month I finished up another small bottle of Emerald&Ash cuticle oil.  This was one of the bottles I received for review a few months back.  I really like these cuticle oils and have already purchased a big 10ml bottle to keep me going.  E&A also released a bunch of new scent combos recently and I may need to stock up on some of the new ones as well.

Bath & Body

You're probably used to seeing the Bath Retreat energizing epsom salts in my empties by now.  I love them.  They smell delicious.  There are already two more bags in my bathroom.  I also finished a couple products I received in a Sweet Delights Divalicious sample box.  The first was a Champagne Shower Gel from Kootenay Bath Products.  It smelled really yummy but the gel was quite thick and difficult to get out of the bottle.  For that reason I won't be purchasing it in full size.  I also finished an Egyptian Jasmine goat milk bar soap from Polka Goat Farm.  I used this as shaving lather and it did lather up quite nicely. The scent was subtle but nice.  Overall I'm just not a bar soap kind of person so I won't be purchasing this again.  Finally I finished a Hand And Cuticle Stick from Julep.  The reason I have this in the "bath & body" section is that I actually used this on my feet.  I found that the thicker formula did a better job of sticking to and penetrating the skin on the soles of my feet.  I was really pleased with how much softer they were after prolonged use.  I do find this item overpriced though (as I find with pretty much all of Julep's products).  However, if it goes on sale for a decent price I would definitely consider purchasing another.

Hair

Last up is hair products.  I finished a lot of Herbal Essences Naked Shampoo and Conditioner this month.  This stuff smells delicious, keeps my hair moisturized but not greasy and is paraben and colorant free.  It has become a staple in my house.  I also finished a bottle of Pantene Curl Protection conditioner.  I find that if I use curly hair products too often they end up building up in my hair.  A bottle tossed into the mix every so often is ok.  I would probably buy a different Pantene variant in the future though.  Last up is a bottle of Herbal Essences Set Me Up hairspray.  I use this stuff pretty much every day to tame frizzies.  I'm using the Naked version of the hairspray right now, but sometimes I have a hard time finding it.  This one is the back up for when that happens.

Happy polishing,

- Michelle

Tarte Bon Voyage Collector's Set Swatches & Review

Purchased Myself Affiliate Link

Hello readers,
Time for another holiday set review!  I was instantly drawn to Tarte's Bon Voyage set when I saw it on the Sephora website because the palette looked like it was filled with a good mix of cool toned shadows.  I find that a lot of 'neutral' palettes tend to lean a little warm which doesn't really work for my skin tone so I had to give this one a try.

The set includes an Amazonian clay eye shadow palette with 20 x 0.07 oz shades, a 0.13 oz Deluxe lights, camera, lashes 4-in-1 mascara, a 0.17 oz Limited-edition deluxe cheek stain in Muse, a 0.27 oz LipSurgence lip gloss in Visionary, a 0.06 oz LipSurgence lip tint in Romantic, a 0.23 oz Deluxe maracuja oil, a 0.07 oz Deluxe smooth operator Amazonian clay finishing powder and a limited-edition collector’s travel bag.  I absolutely love the design of the bag.  Especially that it's wide and flat so you don't have to dig to the bottom to find what you're looking for.

Now what you've been waiting for... swatches!

LipSurgence lip tint in Romantic

The Lip Surgence lip tint in Romantic is a neutral peachy pink.  It feels nice an moisturizing and wasn't sticky.  I did find that the colour wore off fairly quickly but because it's such a neutral colour it wasn't obvious.  Definitely counts as a my lips but better colour.

LipSurgence lip gloss in Visionary

The LipSurgence lip gloss in Visionary is a neutral shimmery pink.  It was very sheer and the shimmer is much more prominent in the tube than on the lip.  It does have a fairly sweet smell which I personally don't mind but some people may find the scent too strong.  Another my lips but better colour.

Cheek Stain in Muse - Direct Sunlight

Cheek Stain in Muse - Indirect Sunlight

The cheek stain in Muse is a very soft shimmery pink creme blush.  It would also make a great highlighter.  I really like the formula.  It felt very moisturizing without being greasy.  It is quite shimmery in direct sunlight but it blends out nicely to a soft dewy rose colour.

Bon Voyage Amazonian Clay Shadow Palette

Finally, the shadow palette.  The swatches above show the shadows on bare skin without any primer.  I was a little disappointed with them as they were a lot less pigmented than I was expecting.  The shimmery shadow's seem to be better pigmented than the mattes with the exception of On A Good Notre Dame which built up very nicely.  I hope that using some primer will help bring out the colours more as they do look lovely in the palette. From some other reviews that I've read it does look like primer makes a big difference.  My personal favorite shades are C'est La Vie, Chantilly Lace, Fall in Louver and Le Cordon Bleu.

Overall, I think this set is worth the price.  You get a lot of stuff to play with and the products are colours that can be used for a variety of looks and occasions.  I would love to see some bolder lip colours in the future though.  This is a holiday set after all and it's fun to play with bolder looks for those holiday parties.  You can find this set at Sephora for $59USD/$71CAD or on the tarte cosmetics website.

Happy polishing,

Michelle

Angular Colour Blocked Nails

Purchased Myself

Hello readers,
Today I have some more nail art to show you.  I broke out the striping tape a some creme and glitter polish to create this look.  I used Zoya Cosmo for the base colour and Zoya Natty for the colour blocking.

To make this look I started with my Zoya Cosmo mani that I had already been wearing for a couple days.  I added a coat of HK Girly top coat to smooth everything out and let it dry completely.  I then marked out the are on the tip that I wanted to fill with my creme polish with striping tape.  After painting the tip I removed the striping tape while the polish was still wet.  I then waited for the tips to dry and repeated the process at the side of the nail.  Finally I topped everything with another coat of HK Girl top coat.  Photos show this mani in daylight spectrum lighting.

Happy polishing,

Michelle

Zoya Cosmo Swatches & Review

Purchased Myself

Hello readers,
Today I have one of Zoya's magicalpPixie dusts to show you.  I wasn't sure about these textured polishes initially because I thought the larger hex glitters may stick up and catch on things.  My curiosity eventaully won out though and I gave Cosmo a try.

Cosmo feature silver shimmer along with small and medium hex glitters in a clear base.  It layers nicely and achieved good coverage after two coats.  It isn't 100% opaque and if you look closely you can see the nail like peaking through.  The formula was very easy to work with.  The only issue I had with this polish was the drying time.  I found that though dry to the touch I could still dent the polish over an hour after applying.  I have found this among some other textured polishes too however.  Photos show two coats of Cosmo without top coat under daylight spectrum lighting.

In the end the larger hexes turned out to be just fine.  I had no issues with any edges poking up or the polish feeling any more textured than a normal pixie dust.  The wear time was also very good.  I got four days of wear without any chipping whatsoever.  I'll have to give more of the magical pixie dusts a try.

Happy polishing,

Michelle

Tarte Pigment Of Imagination Deluxe Cheek Set Swatches & Review

Purchased Myself Affiliate Link

Hello readers,
A little something different today.  I've gone on a bit of a makeup shopping spree with all the holiday sets that have been coming out and I wanted to show one of them to you today.  I've heard good things about Tarte's blushes and I love cream blushes so when I saw this little duo I had to have it.

The Pigment Of Imagination set comes with a 0.05 oz Amazonian clay 12-hour blush in Mirage and a 0.17 oz Cheek stain in Fantasy.  These mini sizes are a good way to try these product types without breaking the bank.

In the packaging the Mirage Blush appears as a soft peachy pink.  It has a nice subtle shimmer to it.  The Fantasy Cheek Stain is a very shimmery champagne beige.  My only concern was how soft the 'stick' appears.  Mine was kind of slumped to one side before even using it.

Now for swatches!  The blush was quite sheer.  The swatch above took multiple finger swipes to get any colour to show.  It is also very similar to my skin tone in terms of darkness so for me this will give a very subtle dewy finish rather than a highly pigmented blush look.  I think it would show up more prominently on fair skin tones.  The cheek stain feels very soft, creamy and moisturizing.  It is very shimmery though so I wouldn't apply a lot of it at once.  I think it would also make an awesome brow bone highlighter.  You can find this set at Sephora for $10USD/$12CAD or on the tarte cosmetics website.

Happy polishing,

Michelle

Navy Blobicure

Purchased Myself

Hello readers,
Today I have a nail art attempt to show you.  It's been way too long since my last one!  I used two newly obtained polishes from the Essence Aquatix collection.  I happened to be at the store when the display was put out and immediately snatched up most of the polishes, haha.

I started with a thick coat of Loreal After Hours.  Then I immediately dripped drops of Essence Under Water Love and Aquatix Bay randomly on the nail.  Finally I topped everything off with a coat of CND Super Shiney top coat.  In hindsight, glittery polishes tend to be a little thick which explains why the drops didn't spread out as much as expected.  However, the large polka dotted result is still really cute.

Happy polishing,

Michelle

Orly High On Hope Swatches & Review

Purchased Myself

Hello readers,
Today I have a polish from the Orly Spring 2013 collection... which I managed to not wear until Fall 2014.

High ON Hope has a blue jelly base filled with microflakes that shift from pink to purple to gold. The formula was easy to apply but slightly sheer. It took me three coats to get a nice opaque finish. Photos show three coats of High On Hope with one coat of CND Super Shiney top coat under daylight spectrum lighting.

Happy polishing,

- Michelle