Body Shop Haul #5156227

It's no secret that I lovelovelove the bodyshop! Here's a review/post about some items I recently picked up (and because I'm so behind on my blogging, by recently, I mean just before my Euro-trip in July):

 There was a promotion, where, if you bought the clear makeup bag (pictured above), you received half off whichever makeup products you fit into it! The bag was perfect for my travels...and who can say no to 50% off makeup? 

So I picked up 2 honey-bronzing powers at $9.25 each instead of $18.50 each, you can read my review on the honey-bronzing powders Here

I also picked up a basic face-powder, at $9.50 instead of $19.00, you can read my review on the pressed-face-powder Here

My haul included one of my all time favourite products: tea-tree skin clearing exfoliating pads. These were full price ($15.00) but I needed them for my trip and couldn't wait for a sale. I am in love with these! You can read my review on them Here

The last three products were part of a getting-rid-of-stock sale, and were at an amazing price.... 

The Spa Wisdom Moroccan Orange Blossom Finishing Mist (The purple bottle above) was on sale for $3 (originally $16). It smells really really nice, but I don't use it as a perfume - that's just a bonus! I use it as a finishing-mist over my makeup in the mornings, and because of the orange scent it really perks me up/gets me feeling more awake. I love it :) 

 The Macadamia Straightening Balm was on sale for $4 each (originally $12 each), so I picked up both for $8 instead of $24 - woohoo! I have used this product before, and while I mentioned in This Post   that I don't think any product can magically keep curly hair straight in the midst of humidity and rain,  I do find that this straightening balm makes the process of drying/straightening my hair easier/faster. Not "humidity resistant" as it claims, but definitely helps get it straight to begin with!


XO

John Frieda Samples and Reviews

I don't know what I did to luckily deserve these, but every couple of months John Frieda has been sending me free samples in the mail! I am definitely not complaining!!

Here are the products I have received thus far...

Full Repair Shampoo

 I liked this Shampoo, but I didn't find it did anything special compared the the multitude of other shampoos I buy. I haven't found a "signature" shampoo yet - so I tend to just buy whichever ones happen to be on sale at the moment between the "slightly higher-end" brands.

Full Repair Conditioner

Just like with my shampoos - the same goes for my conditioners - I don't have any loyalty to any one brand. This definitely works as a conditioner, but again, did not wow me enough to start only using this brand.

Full Repair Styling Spray

 Did this "heat protecting" styling spray protect my hair from flat-iron damage? I don't know. But I use my flat-iron so often that I'm willing to fork up some cash for a "heat protector" every now and then.

Frizz Ease Sheer Serum

 This serum is supposed to keep you fly-away-free. I don't see a huge difference, and probably would not purchase this, but maybe that's just because I don't usually have fly-aways to begin with....

Frizz Ease Finishing Creme

 I don't usually wear finishing cream as it tends to leave my hair greasy, but in small amounts, this does seem to give my hair a bit of shine/ease from frizz.

Frizz Ease 3 Day Straight

Did this leave my hair straight for 3 days? definitely not. Can any product that claims to keep your hair straight fulfill those claims? I don't believe so. If you have curly or wavy hair, any way you slice it, humidity/rain/sweat/life is going to catch up with you and your hair will start to curl. This product might have kept my hair straight for an extra 10 min - but eventually, the inevitable happened. No product, despite their lofty claims, can keep your hair straight for 3 days....

XO

Curel Samples

This is a long overdue review of some Curel goodies/freebies I received in the mail a while back..... I first heard about Curel from my May Glossybox  which included Curel foot cream (which I loved by the way! very soft and I liked the smell). There was a promotion for Vancouver residents for Curel samples a while back, so I jumped on it, and this is what they sent me:

"Moisture Milk"

 

 

 The Curel "moisture milk" is really just a lotion/moisturizer - I wasn't sure if it was for face and body or just body, so I used it as a body-lotion as I was too scared to put it on my face. It soaks in really well - despite it's name, it's not "milky" at all! It's really creamy and left my hands/legs feeling really soft. 

Intensive Moisture Cream

I figured the packaging on this one meant that it was in fact a facial moisturizer....I used it as such, but it tended to break me out so I wasn't a huge fan....,maybe it's not meant for the face? :0

Makeup Cleansing Gel

 The makeup cleansing gel works really well! It even takes off my waterproof mascara! I would not replace my face-wash with this, but it works as a great make up remover. 

Anyways, I am really sorry for the lag and lack of posts here, but I am trying to keep up with my busy back to school schedule. Hope to be back at this more frequently soon. In the meantime, I love catching up on all your blogs! 

XO

Travel-o!

When I said BRB last month, little did I know that my travel would be super-extended. I just got home yesterday! I ended up staying in London for the Olympics and it was amazing! After that I traveled a bit around Europe. Needless to say I did not have any time to keep up with Blogger. Sorry girls! School is starting up again soon, so my posts are going to remain a little sporadic depending on my workload, but I will post as often as I can, and will certainly continue reading everyone's lovely blogs on the daily! I have a LOT of reading to catch up on!

xoxo

Oooh and look what I bought for my trip which I am in love with / am about to rave about:

A Travalo!

 If you haven't heard of a Travalo before, you need to go pick yourself up one! I bought this for about $10 at Shoppers Drug Mart, and it is amazing! It was perfect for my trip! But it's also perfect to keep in your purse! Rather than lugging a huge perfume bottle around with you on your travels, or in your purse, this tiny little container can hold your favourite perfume! It pumps straight in, so you don't have to worry about pouring/spilling your perfume everywhere. It doesn't leak, and the spray works really well. It's perfect for a pick-me-up when your perfume starts to fade throughout the day/night. I highly recommend it!
 

BRB

Sorry I have been M.I.A the past few weeks...I've been away on holidays! Back in town next week and looking forward to catching up/reading all your lovely blog posts!

xx <3

Beauty Crazed Panasonic Swag

One of my favourite blogs Beauty Crazed, posts  daily beauty reviews (my favourite posts are the reviews done from the perspective of her cat - Marmalade), and often holds bi-weekly contests.... well I won one of those contests! 

I was extremely surprised and thrilled! Not to mention GRATEFUL!

I received:

1) A Panasonic Electronic Body Shaver ($39.99)
2) A Panasonic Electronic Precision Facial Hair Trimmer ($39.99)
3) A Panasonic Heated Eyelash Curler ($39.99)
4) Panasonic Replacement Double A Batteries
5) Panasonic Replacement Triple A Batteries

Everything

A Closer Look at the Products

1) Body Shaver:

After getting over my fear of electronic shavers, I tried the body shaver to shave my legs, and it wasn't scary at all! It was actually much more gently/softer than shaving with a regular razor! But here is the best part...... NO WATER! It's surprising how many time I realize I forgot to shave my legs when I showered but want to wear a dress/skirt/shorts - this is perfect for those times! Quick and Easy, and way better than a "dry shave" with a normal razor, which leaves your legs prone to razor burn/dryness/itchiness/etc. None of that here!

2) Pecision Facial Hair Trimmer:

This is meant for Facial hair, Nose Hair, Eyebrows. I don't really have the former two, but I tried this on my eyebrows and it did the job. It is just a trimmer though....so they grow back pretty quickly - definitely not as good as tweezing....but if you are scared of that, this is perfect, it's super gently/not painful at all.  Sometimes I get peach-fuzz on my upper lip, so when that happens this will be perfect - as that is an area I definitely would not tweeze!

3) Heated Eyelash Curler:

I have always wanted to try a heated eyelash curler!! To be honest though I have been kind of scared/super rushed in the morning and have not tried it yet :s  I have a date tomorrow though... so I am going to definitely use this then - will report back - with hopefully amazing results ;)

 

Thank you thank you thank you!

And head over and check out her/their lovely blog :) http://www.beautycrazed.ca/


XX

June Julep Mystery Box

If you haven't heard me talk about Julep before....you can see my first post about it Here - I won't get into the details about the company or the Maven program here, but if you are interested in reading about this innovative company and amazing Maven Membership Program you can read about it there!

Anyways, Julep often hosts Mystery Boxes (separate from the Maven Program) where for $19.99 (including shipping) they send you a surprise box full of nail polish (and sometimes other goodies like sunscreen, lip gloss, lip balm, lotions, etc). I previously purchased the May Mystery Box  and absolutely loved it - so when they announced the June Mystery Box, I jumped on board immediately!

Here's what I received:

Pretty packaging :)

A file, Lip-balm, Nail Strengthener, and 3 polishes!

 Julep Lip Balm in Vanilla Mint: This smells AMAZING! Also, I cannot underscore the importance of lip balm with SPF! Lips need sun protection too! ($6 value)

Julep Nail Therapy: I first heard about this on Chelsea's Blog and was just about to purchase it when voila, it came in my Mystery Box! This stuff truly is amazing. I have used it a mere 2 times and already my nails are stronger than they have ever been! Definitely will repurchase this when it runs out! ($16 value)

Pippa: This looks more pink in the photo than it does on my nails. I LOVE this colour. It is extremely neutral/perfect for work. Very creamy looking. "An updated neutral camel creme, sure to upstage!" This has been on my nails for a few days now and now sign of wear/chipping/dents even though my hands take quite a beating from day to day -  great quality. ($14 value)

 

Juliette: Secret - this is  my first white! I can finally do french manicures AND I have heard that white underneath neons really makes them pop! Also, good for a base for when I attempt to do splatter some time..... Very happy to finally have a white in my small but growing collection! This is a "soft, white creme"($14 value)

 Jodie: "deep rose with a golden shimmer". I would describe this as wine-coloured (it comes out a little darker on the nails than it looks in this picture). The nice thing is that it has little golden speckles that are super subtle, and not too flashy, but add a little pizzazz. With all the Julep polishes I have tried, I have always been thoroughly impressed with the quality and lasting power, this one however, started to chip after a day! I was not very impressed. Maybe I just painted my nails sloppily/in a rush...I'll have to try again with this one and give it another chance. ($14 value).

So overall, I am very happy with my mystery box! A little disappointed about the chipping with Jodie, but ecstatic with Pippa/Juliette/Nail Therapy and Lip Balm! Overall, I spent $19.99 and received over $65.00 worth of products (4/5 of which I am extremely happy with!)

XX 

Peacocks and Leopards, oh my!

Sorry I have been slightly M.I.A - I have been very busy this month. I have lots of pictures and posts to catch up on though, so except a slew of those soon!

As I mentioned Here, Steph from Canadian Beauty Reviews was amazingly kind and sent me these Julep Peacock Nail appliques. I finally grew back most of my nails (slightly) and had a chance to apply them! 

 They were super easy to apply. My one qualm is that none of them reallllly fit perfectly to my nail-bed (I must just have really wide nails?). They are still absolutely gorgeous!! Without further ado....

 

 I also had a chance earlier in the week to copy a super cute leopard print nail design I saw on pinterest the other day. This is my attempt.....

 

The polishes I used for the leopard-print are, Wet 'n' Wild in black, American Apparel Neon in Red, and my first ever Julep Polish, Charlotte.

xx

Neutrogena 60th Anniversary Gift

About a month ago, my friend told me about a promotion Neutrogena was having on their facebook page to celebrate their 60th Birthday....this is what they sent me!

 Goodies Galore!!!

I am really picky about sunscreen because I hate greasy/sticky sunscreen on my face - Neutrogena Dry-Touch is actually one of the only 3 sunscreens that I will put on my face! I love this sunscreen! It is completely matte/non-sticky/greasy. I also love that it's 55 SPF. I'm basically albino, so SPF 30 doesn't cut it for me on a bright sunny day!

I'm not normally a bar-of-soap girl (I use shower gels/cleansers/exfoliators/etc) but this one is apparently really good for oily skin/meant to help with breakouts - so I'm looking forward to giving this one a try!

I already posted about this Here - this is one of my favourite hand creams!!! And this is the perfect travel size for your purse and it lasts a long long long time (I had this tiny size last time). I am in love with it! This is the only hand cream I know that is a gel and not a cream, but it works amazingly!

This is great because it has SPF 45 like a sunscreen, but is also a lotion/moisturizer for your skin. It dries/sinks in after about 3 min, so it's perfect for wearing under makeup as a primer + SPF protection!

 

 I love make-up removing pads - they are perfect for on the go or when you don't have the time to fully wash your face before bed. I have already raved about the Body Shop Tea Tree Exfoliating pads Here! These Neutrogena Wipes don't leave my skin as "clean" feeling as the Body Shop ones, but they do get off all the makeup, and Bonus, unlike the Tea-Tree pads you can use these on your eyes and it easily takes off even the most intense/waterproof eye make up!

All in all, this was an amazing free gift!! I am so happy my friend told me about this and am loving all these products!  Do you use any Neutrogena Products? What are some of your favourites?

XX

May Glossy Box

As I mentioned in my Luxe Box Post, I signed up for several beauty-boxes (Luxe Box, Glymm Box (Bag?),  Glossybox, and Julep Maven) and am deciding between just 1. I signed up for all, then cancelled all, and will be signing up for just 1. I received one of every box to try - but because I didn't decide I was going to be cancelling them all until recently, this will be my 2nd Glossybox.....

 Glossybox is a Beauty Box in Canada where a curated box full of beauty products is sent to your door monthly! 

This box costs $15 a month andyou can easily cancel your membership and will not be charged for any future months after cancellation.

If you want to sign up - and you've first read about it here/or been motivated to sign up based on my post I would really really really appreciate it if you use my referral code! (Sign Up Here) 


So what was inside my May Box??

All wrapped up in a bow :)

 

 

 

First up, Sebastian Professional Volupt Shampoo: Pump up the volume with Volupt shampoo. This is the 250ml FULL SIZE and Retails for $15.78. Okay, so my box is already paid for itself in full with this first product! I haven't tried this yet, but am looking forward to it. I'm a little nervous because I already have quite thick hair - so I don't want tooooo much volume.....

 
Simple Facial Wash Gel:  Leaves your skin thoroughly cleansed and revived, is a perfect blend of our purest skin-loving ingredients. The full size is 150ml and retails for $9.99. So at 50ml, this sample is $3.33. I have yet to try this out, but I have heard nothing but good things about Simple.

Simple Eye Make Up Remover: Effectively removes even waterproof mascara. Dermatologist tested. Opthalmologist tested. Safe for sensitive eyes, contact lens users, etc. Hypoallergenic, Noncomoedogenic (what does that even mean??). The full size is 125ml, and retails for $9.99, so at 56ml, this sample is about $4.50.

Curel Foot Therapy: Significantly improve the look and feel of even the direst heels and feet. Hydrates and softens dry, cracked feet in just 2 nights. This is the full size at 100ml and retails for $3.99. I'm looking forward to trying this! 

Finally, I swear I'm the only person who did not get a Boxx product in my Glossy box... I received an IMAN Red Luxury Lipstick. 

 This is the full size product - it says they are $16.00 each in stores. Though I looked and you can find them online for about $8-$10. It claims "this is the perfect shade of red for everyone, it's creamy texture provides full coverage and gives a long lasting smooth finish while conditioning and moisturizing the lips." 

The tagline for Iman cosmetics is "cosmetics for women of colour".... well I am not a woman of colour, and although this is apparently "a shade of red for everyone" I found this red to be far too dark/strong for my albino pale skin. It makes me look rather gothic/freaky. If any one knows a way of cutting it down/toning it down PLEASE LET ME KNOW!!!!!!!

They also included this card for a free "IMAN luxury Radiance Liquid Makeup Deluxe Sample" - that's nice, but:

1) I looked online and since this is a company for "women of colour" the lightest shade would be 10x too dark on me, and 


2) I live in Vancouver and IMAN cosmetics is only in Calgary and Toronto. 


So I am not very pleased with Glossy box for sending me this coupon when my address is clearly a Vancouver address, nor am I happy about receiving a shade of lipstick meant for "women of colour" when I am clearly albino and stated I was "pale" in my beauty-profile.  If anyone is from Calgary or Toronto, and has a tanned/darker skin tone and would like this coupon, please leave a comment and I would be happy to mail it your way!  




XX