Sephora, Sephora, How Do I Love Thee?

Vancouver's first Sephora is open Downtown!

My eyes and heart are going a-flutter and I'm still at home and not in the store!

I am so afraid to go down there, though...I'm afraid of what damage I'll do! LOL

Vancouver: Makeup Forever - Sweetspot.ca

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My BeyondTheRack Purchase!

I told myself I wasn't going to shop online for a while. I mean, I haven't even received my Cake Beauty order in yet, and now I've made another order somewhere else!

But they were handbags, so what's a girl to do?

Have you heard of Beyond The Rack? Their catchphrase is "Luxury Brands at Exclusive Prices". It's a private online shopping club for men and women for brands up to 70% off retail value. Sales vary practically daily and last only 48 hours. Membership is free, but it's by invitation only (if you want an invite...email me or leave me a comment and I'll send you an invite! Or register using my personal invitation code NCM4E08405D - copy and paste!)

I've seen Gucci sunglasses on their list recently, as well as some high-end watches, and various men's and ladies' apparel that I can't remember which label they were from. I'm so slow on the ball, that A LOT of things get sold out before I decide to check out the site (due to temptation, I try and hold out checking, but ultimately do so).

So, I'm leery on buying any clothes online, since I don't have the perfect body (surprise!) and can't judge for certain that I'm not going to look hideous in it, so I check out the site for accessories.

Well, Smash accessories are on sale right now and since I had a $15 credit (it was like I was getting the shipping and taxes free...always looking for that loophole bargain...LOL!), I selected these two bags:


Cute, huh?

They're 18" wide and 10" tall, so, unless I'm really confused this morning, they're quite generously sized. I thought I could double-duty these and use these as smaller diaper bags if I were going out somewhere close-by. I mean, it's not nearly as large as the Reese Li bag I posted about earlier, or as expensive, but it's something different and fun.

They retail for $80 each but I got the black and white bag for $32 and the second, the flower duffle bag, for $29. With my "practically free" shipping (ok, I paid "60 cents"), two bags for $61.

I did hesitate on this sale, though. It's a little harder for me to part with $60 online, although you would think it would be easier with all the online shopping I do, but for me it's harder. But put me in an actual store? I could slap that credit card down real fast! So, I got to thinking...if I were faced with these two bags in a store, at these prices, would I buy them...hell, ya! Sometimes, my reasoning skills get the best of me, and I'm not necessarily the better for them, and most certainly not the richer!

Can't wait to use these bags for summer! Must calm down now....

Photo credits:
BeyondTheRack.com

Cake Beauty Sale 50% Off

I have never tried Cake Beauty before, but will be ordering what looks like a huge batch of products. Hey, at 50% off, anything on the site looks great to try out!

Cake products are 100% paraben- and petrochemical-free. An eco-conscious company, they continue to use 90-95% natural ingredients in all their products.

There's a 40% off sale going on now until June 26th with one code on their homepage, but if you enter SCARLETTSUMMER you'll get 50% off until June 24th, noon EST.

Shipping only to Canadian and US addresses only, free above $75. Prices in Canadian Dollars.

Some of the products I'll be purchasing...

The Satin Sugar Trio for Darker Hues
Their best selling line! As described on their website...

New Satin Sugar All Purpose Treatment Balm
Infused with 86% shea butter this all in one smoothes frizzy ends & flyaways, treats dry spots on skin, lips, cuticles, knees ... and the list keeps going on. It's 'da-balm'!

Satin Sugar Hair and Body Refreshing Powder for Darker Hues
This cocoa coloured powder is ideal for beauty queens with red, black and brown hair (or any hue in between!). This double-duty formula is talc-free and infused with calendula and chamomile to smooth and soften.

Satin Sugar Refreshing Hair and Body Mist
Mist onto hair and body whenever you need a delectable pick-me-up. Vitamin B3 refreshes and tones while aloe vera soothes and comforts, leaving you smelling fresh and feeling clean.

Last year, Nov 2008, Cake Beauty and Mattel launched their first bath and body Barbie collection to coincide with Barbie's 50th Anniversary. All the Barbie products are infused with the

BARBIE ® SIGNATURE SCENT:
A blissful twist of sweet lemon, toasted vanilla, sugar, caramel and fresh cream.

Sounds heavenly!

Some things I have my eye on are the Indulgent Lip Butter (pictured above), Solid Scentsability (a tin of solid perfume), and Sweet Smell of Success (a hair and body mist). They also have an enticing body scrub and luxurious body mousse.

I'm all about the summer mani/pedi so their Cake Walk TripleMint Foot Creme and Milk Made Smoothing Hand and Cuticle Buffer sound perfect.

So, only about 12 hours left on this short sale...don't forget to enter the code SCARLETTSUMMER.

Once I get my order in, I'll review them for you all!

Happy shopping!

Photos courtesy of
cakebeauty.com

Save 25% at MAC

Sumo Savings!

Enter SAVE25 at checkout, and save 25% on all your M.A.C. online purchases! Offer is valid only from June 16-18 on orders shipped to Canadian addresses, and not valid on Viva Glam products.

Free shipping when you spend $75, otherwise $7.50 for standard, or $14 for Express.

Happy Spending!

Edit: 25% is also applicable on the US website too! Different shippping rules apply.

FOTD...for no reason!

I got inspired by the beauty blogs I read to do a FOTD.

Ok, first off, I ain't no makeup artist or anything, so this ain't a work of art by any means. I've always enjoyed makeup and love to try new things. If you've read some of my past posts, I've been shopping a lot online and have recent amassed a sizeable collection of samples and full sizes from several mineral makeup companies. I'm currently awaiting my substantial haul (at least to me, a 20+ item order) from cherryculture.com , which I can't WAIT for, with all the NYX items I bought at 50% off during their last sale.

So, here's my FOTD. My son wanted to get in on the action; he's not wearing anything... LOL! I'm not going anywhere special, but thought I'd give this a shot:

Face:
AWG Oil-Control Powder Primer
AWG Hope 3.8 as concealer
Dreamworld Minerals foundation in Nammu
(Cloud formula)
Dreamworld Minerals cream topping in Peanut Butter Cream
(Clay/Silica formula)
AWG Shimmer Blush in Sensational


Eyes:
UDPP as base
Silk Naturals creme liner in Film Noir
Silk Naturals e/s in Brown Sugar
Cover Girl Lash Blast waterproof mascara in Very Black

Lips:
MAC l/l in Plum
Silk Naturals l/g in Skinny Dip

BTW: Dreamworld Minerals is having a 30% off sale, starting today and ending midnight May 25th. Code is MM30, min $10 order. The sale was also my inspiration to keep trying out Ellamae's samples. :)

Another Adorned With Grace Haul

After playing around with AWG blushes, last month I decided to purchase a 6-pack and grab a couple of GWPs (gift-with-purchase). They came in yesterday!

I love Franchesca's blushes! I was thinking of getting all of her shimmer blushes but thought I couldn't let her matte blushes get away too. And I also had to show SOME restraint, so I purchased a 6-pack instead of the also limited 8- and 10-pack of blushes.

I spent at least $29 so my free GWP was a FS of Illuminated blush. I forgot to swatch it, but it's a neutral, pale golden blush, that can be used to highlight cheekbones or as an overall glow.






Swatches are dry, with no primer, taken in natural sunlight.

Sensational and Ardent are part of the Shimmer Blush collection while the others are not, but the shimmer is still subtle for any-time use.

Sensational would be my neutral shimmer blush, Serene if I wanted a more matte look. Ardent is a great shimmer if I want a bit more colour. I'd use Sultry for evening or if I wanted a bronze just-in-the-sun look. Curious and Sassy are my mauve and pink blushes, Curious being a bit more muted to Sassy's pink. I love Curious, but after trying Sassy out today, it's winning my heart too.

I also bought the Blog Special brush for $5.99. It's a long-handled duo fiber brush similar to the Ingenue Petite Duo Fiber Franchesca carries (but I bought mine at Silk Naturals - it's the same brush). She's testing it out to see if she'll start selling this item in the future. Here's my quick visual comparison:




The new brush is obviously longer, and has a tapered matte black handle and black ferrule. It's almost as long as my MAC 129 blush brush, just 1/2 head shy of its full-length. Sorry for the annoying pink bristles...like I said, I tried out Sassy this morning. I don't know if it's because I just washed my Ingenue brush (I used my dollar store brush guard dupe to dry -- thanks, Janice!), but it appears to have a smaller head. This new brush also shed like crazy when I washed it, so hopefully it won't anymore.

Overall, I like the brush. It feels good in my hand, though I think I'll have to get used to it. The shortness of the Ingenue brush is nice when applying my mineral blushes, but it looks cheaply made (well, it WAS cheaper!). The new brush looks more attractive, though for the length of the handle, it's almost like you should be working with a larger, denser brush. It's easier to find amongst my brushes because it's taller. I'm glad I bought the brush, because it works similar to the Ingenue (which I love!) but I don't know if I would shell out extra money for it (it will probably retail between $7-8) unless I specifically want a longer handled brush. The little-bit of extra denseness you get with the new brush may be worth more to some.

I also bought myself two empty 30g sifter jars, large enough to swirl my brush in. I have my Earthen Glow mineral foundations in Helena and Soon which I have to mix each time, and this will definitely save me some time.

Along with 4 more blush samples, Radiant, Vibrant, Passionate and Felicity (I told you, I love her blushes!), I got 3 free eyeshadow samples in Thoughtful, Optimistic, and Resolute. Swatches to follow in another post.

With every purchase, buyers were given a special Earth Day bamboo brush that has interchangeable heads.

Image courtesy of definingtruebeauty.blogspot.com

And I received a lovely surprise too...a free tube of Luscious Lip Balm, AWG's vegan, organic lip balm. I love lip balms more than blushes, any day!

Stay beautiful!

It's in the Bag

I'm eyeing a bag that I absolutely need.

Ok, one that I absolutely WANT...but I could necessitate a need for it.

It's not the latest Madison addition to the Coach line (oh, they're so pretty!), but of all things, a diaper bag. The Lexington by Reese Li, in Black Genie pattern (photo courtesy of reeseli.com)


What a beauty!

A dozen inside side pockets, key clip, cell phone pocket, magnetic clasp, adjustable handles, waterproof inside and out, and WIDE interior to swallow all the goods I need in there, including a laptop (which is still on my List).

Only $150.

US Dollars.

Sigh.

$169.99 Canadian.

Double sigh.

I guess I'll have to save up a little for this baby. Maybe I can convince myself it's an early-birthday present. After all, the longer I wait, the less use I'll get out of it.

Hmm...not a bad point....

My Silk Naturals Haul

On Thursday, I received my super-fast shipment from Silk Naturals - 9 days (given it was only first-class not priority). My small order ballooned to over $30 again!

How pretty is all came:


Here's what I got:

• Perfect Harmony Foundation Sample Kit, contains Original Coverage Ivory plus 4 base shades in Buttery Gold, Warm Gold, Peach and Ebony, with scoop, empty 10g jar and sponge
• Medium Coverage Ivory Kit, with scoop, empty 10g jar
• Heavy Coverage Ivory Kit, with scoop, empty 10g jar
• extra Ivory samples in Original and Medium Coverage
• extra base samples in Buttery Gold and Warm Gold
• Tinted Oil Control Primer sample
  
• Oil Control Blur Finishing Powder sample
• Tinted Perfecting Powder in Love Lure and Tempt Tryst samples
  
• Sheer Bronzer in Tahiti Sweetie sample
• Sheer Blush in Lovelace
• Cream Eyeliner in Film Noir
  
• Flavoured Lip Gloss in Breathless and Skinny Dip
• and for free....a Cream Blush in Loverly and eyeshadow Terra, and a sample of Myst eyeshadow
  

I haven't tried formulating my custom foundation yet (waiting for a sunny day!) but I've tried out the lovely lip glosses. These two lippies are so nice...I like them more than Birthday Suit and Bliss.


Breathless is described on the SN website as a pink satin shimmer organic lip gloss. It's pink with a little brown in it, a neutral pink, made to look good whether you're cool or warm toned. Skinny Dip is described as a pinkie brown satin shimmer lip gloss, a medium tan colour with just a hint of pink.

SN says these two are hybrid colours: enough colour in them to almost call them a lipstick but glossy and shimmery enough to classify them more in the lip gloss category.

I love these lippies! I'm not a pink lipstick kind of girl (though, I must add, the very first lipstick I ever received was a Cover Girl frosted pink lipstick --- hey, it was the 80's!) but Breathless leaves me breathless! I like Skinny Dip over Bliss and Birthday Suit, maybe because it's got a little twist to the boring brown. I'll be buying more of these next time around.

I may hold off playing around with the foundation and the other powders I bought, until I pick up some samples of the foundation correctors Karen recently added to the website: a green colour booster for olive skin tones and a pure yellow if you need more yellow.

You see, SN's foundation is pretty ingenious, in that you mix your own foundation. There are 5 bases to choose from and you mix them with the appropriate scoops of Ivory. For instance, I might try mixing 1 scoop of Buttery Gold to about 4 scoops of Ivory and if it's too dark I can add another scoop of Ivory until I get it just right. And as I know I do have olive tones in my skin, I'll probably have to add a scoop of the olive too in there. I can't wait to start mixing...I feel like a mad scientist or something!

If I don't end up putting another order with SN soon, and I cave in to my urge to sample, I'll post my personal review on SN's Perfect Harmony foundation in a month or so.

Meanwhile....more shopping to do....Earthen Glow Minerals is having a BOGO sale that ends Tuesday night!

Hmmm, do I need more foundation?

My HG Foundation....at last!

I finally found my HG foundation with Adorned With Grace Minerals, in Hope 4.2. Not a hint of peach or pink in it, and the perfect balance of yellow and olive. It's amazing! I even went heavy handed with application and it didn't change colour on me, like all foundations have in the past.

See? (I hadn't put on any lipstick or gloss yet....)


Here's a pic with flash:


No ashiness! Love it! It's got a creamy feel. When I swirl my brush in the bowl, it's like it already creams softly on my brush. I use a flat top brush I bought from Silk Naturals (same brush you can buy from Forever Female).

Now, this doesn't help me and my spending habit....now I've got to go buy me a full-size, and while I'm at it, probably pick up a few more items as well. I'm still waiting for my Smoothing Powder in Golden Tint from Franchesca. I'll give my thoughts on that when it comes in: it's supposed to be her version of MUFE's HD powder, but with some extra ingredients to help in adhesion, and slight tint to take off the white cast.

Meanwhile, I wonder what I'm gonna do with my Silk Naturals order coming in? I bought their Perfecting Harmony foundation kit, thinking I wasn't going to find a match with Hope 4.2 or 4.5 that I just sampled, and take it upon my own hands to custom mix my special formula. Oh well, I guess I'll just have more fun playing, as the evil scientist within me emerges.

Eye Brushes, Anyone?

I may be slow on the ball here, but I came across a site that sells those black-barrelled Brown Faux Fur taklon brushes for, what looks like, a great deal. These are the same brushes that are found on Aromaleigh, Adorned With Grace, and Buff'd, but only stock the eye brushes. All of Kim's brushes are $4. 85 each and shipping is reasonable (at least for this Canadian!).

Shop at Kileng here!

There's a February special right now. You get 4 brushes, the Large All-Over, Pointed Sculptor, Line & Smudge, and Smudger brush in a romantic organza bag for $17. Shipping is $2 for you US folks and $3.50 for us Canucks. It's a very pretty site, complete with some tutorials on how some of these brushes can be used. There's even a cute set of bowls to pour your minerals on, ready for gift-giving too.

I'm very tempted...

For reviews, you can head to Aromaleigh. I've always wondered about these brushes, and the reviews are very positive! Aromaleigh won't ship their brushes outside the US, while AWG, while a little more pricey, includes free shipping on all orders to US and Canada.

Your choice...but happy shopping!

Too Many Foundations!

Since last week, I received a few more hauls in the mail. One from Buff'd, then Adorned With Grace, another from LaurEss, and yesterday from Blusche.

I only have one face! And so many foundations to try!

First off, here was my order for a full-size in Saffron foundation and Mais setting powder from Buff'd, in addition to some blushes and other powders I wanted to sample. More on my Buff'd experience later....


Then arrived my Adorned With Grace samples. How pretty they were, all wrapped up! Appropriate, it being Valentines Day soon...



I ordered her 15 baggies for $12, oh which 14 of them were foundation! I didn't want to reorder any more samples, so I thought I would just cover my bases. A lot of them I placed aside, seeing how fair the colour was. I settled on trying Grace 4.2, a combo of peach/yellow/olive. I found it the best match though I think there's a touch too much peach for my colouring. I'll have to try this out a few more days. Otherwise, it's still a pretty good match:



I ordered a full-size Divine Oil-Control Primer Powder. The first ingredient is kaolin, with mica being second, which is super great for my oilies. I actually kept forgetting to apply this primer, because it's in a 4g jar (with powder puff to keep everything under the sifter!) and not in a baggie like everything else I'm testing. I finally used it once a few days ago, and it's fabulous! I apply it with the puff to my T-zone and it really works!

I also splurged and bought the 12 eyeshadows for $7 baggie special - got some neutral shades and some for highlighting and base colours. I've tried a few colours, and they go on very nicely. I wish I had some pots of the ones I've already used: they're that nice I'd buy full-size ones now even though I've still got samples. In my FOTD above, I used AWG shadows, though I can't recall which I chose to test.

I also received as a bonus from AWG a sample baggie set of all 8 of the new shimmering blushes. They're all very nice...I can't wait to go through all of them!

Then my LaurEss samples arrived, shrink wrapped to cardboard, well-packed:

Of the four shades I bought (Pure Gold, Pure Yellow, Warm Gold, Fresh Gold) the one I tried and liked was Pure Gold. I think Pure Yellow would suit me too, but Pure Gold has a touch of olive in it, and it matched very well. A friend of mine dropped by Sunday morning, and I had already put my LaurEss Pure Gold on, but nothing else (no eyeliner, shadow, blush), and she had to stop mid-sentence and ask me if I had any makeup on, because she couldn't tell and my skin looked so perfect. Now, ain't THAT a compliment?! So I couldn't help but ramble on about how fabulous MMU is to her. I whipped out my samples and exclaimed it's virtues!

So with that, LaurEss gets a BIG checkmark as a HG foundation. I ordered the Elemental formula but realized a few hours later that I should've ordered the Minimalist formula for oily skin. I emailed customer service and got a reply that they would be happy to switch the formulas for me. Yippee! But when I received my package, I did not receive the Minimalist, only the Elemental. I emailed CS back to ask them if the shades are equal across the formulas (in case I loved one shade, I could just order the correct formula). They said yes, it's equal, but that they would send me the Minimalist shades anyways, at no cost! Even Lauren, herself, emailed me and told me she was sorry for overlooking the order, and they would send it out the next day (this was Friday when I emailed her) USPS Priority. How's THAT for Customer Service?!?!? I was totally floored about how they handled my order, that I just have to order a full-size in the Pure Gold.

I found the LaurEss foundation very fine-milled and creamy. The Elemental foundation didn't last as long on me as I think the Minimalist would, but its got buildable coverage, and very, very natural. I can't wait to try the Minimalist.

My new love, until then, has got to be Blusche Minerals! I finally have it on today, with Mocha Java being the best shade (Creme Brulee and Brazillian are too light for me -- all in the Warm category). It's finely-milled like LaurEss and goes on dreamily. I thought it went on too light, but I think it warmed up on my skin, as my forehead doesn't look as ashy as I thought when applying.


The problem with my skin is that I have uneven tones. It's like some parts of my face, namely my cheeks, almost down to the jawline, is a fairer, more pink/cool colour. That's why when I compare foundation between my face/chin and neck, there's still a stark difference, even though my face colour has evened out nicely. My chin tends to look the ashiest when I apply foundation...which is why it's so crucial to find the right shade AND formula!

I hesitate to add an unmade up, just-washed face, pic...see what I mean?



Anyway, here's my Blusche order...I got the Petal and Coral blushes for free!:


$1.75 CDN (yay!) for a three baggie set, so I ordered three 3-baggie sets, one for foundation, one for primer and finisher, and one in concealer and correctors. I got the Medium Primer, the Veil in Matte (other option is Glow) in Phoebe (neutral tone) and Shelley (slight yellow tone). I chose the Yellow corrector for undereyes and the Green corrector for any red spots on my face and a concealer in Medium. $5.25 CDN for 9 baggies. :) Had to pay $3.50 shipping (it's Canada Post, which sucks), but it should've been free, like Buff'd offers, since everything fit in a standard 6x9 envelope with a 56 cents stamp on it (or whatever the cost is for a domestic shipping...it's not $3.50!). Oh well, the samples were cheap to compensate.

On to my experience with Buff'd...

I tried the Saffron on last week, and I felt like I just left the tanning salon. The coverage is super thick, and goes on rather cakey if use a Flat Top like I was using. I tried to keep a light hand, but perhaps I need a kabuki or something. The samples I had were in Concealing, so I might need to try out the Original formula. If I didn't apply any primer, the foundation cakes pretty fast, and I get balls of foundation collecting on my nose. Not pretty.

I emailed Jenn at Buff'd to ask her what I could do with my full-size Saffron to lighten it up a bit (I know! I jumped the gun when I bought the Saffron!). She emailed back quickly, suggesting that I mix with Moccasin to get the right shade, as adding Porcelain, a pure white, may not work as well. Although I thought that Moccasin was too yellow, after not having much success with a 50:50 mix of Saffron:Moccasin, I decided to try Moccasin straight. This is what I got (I only have mascara and blush on...so it's not my final face):


It's a bit yellow on me, looking a little brighter in person, but it's a much better match than anything with Saffron in it. It just doesn't have any olive in it to tone it down. It's still cakey on me, as I only had my Flat Top to apply it. When I finish my Moccasin sample, I may order myself another sample in another formula, to see if I can get away from this cakeyness. Meanwhile, I have a full, unopened jar of Saffron which I can't open until I really tan. So unless someone wants to buy it off me, this baby will have to keep until August or something!

I'm wiped out! If only my skin could take habitual washing, I'd wash my face several times a day to test all the foundations at once! As it is, I can only test one a day....my makeup routine is taking so much longer now, now that I have such a selection of foundations to play around with!

My Hauls are Coming In!

Ok, so it's not as large as some you all out there, but it's always nice to receive anything in the mail.

So last week, I got my two hauls from Buff'd, with all the samples of foundations and powders I wanted to try. Here are the pics I promised to post.
Five foundation samples in Almond, Moccasin, Buff, Saffron, and Warm. The two bottom samples were freebies from Jenn, the owner, Cozy, an eyeshadow and a setting powder in Neutral.


Here, you can compare the colour diffs between four of them. Saffron suits me best, I think, and I ordered a full size yesterday.

Here was my second haul from Buff'd. Foundies in Caramel and Camel, an eyebrow powder in Midnight, another two free samples in Cozy (again!) and Tricky, a NARS dupe of their blush in Orgasm. Botton row: Setting Powder in Mais, Finishing Powder in Flax, a white blush in Whisper, and Illuminating Dusts in Canvas and Candlelight.

Last night, I received my ebay purchases...my UDPP and my Ben Nye's DC-01 Contour Rouge No.1. Yay! I love the Ben Nye...thanks Christiana!

The second vial is for my sis.

I think the colour turns out a little lighter here, but it's a nice brown for contouring.

And today I received my Silk Naturals package. 11 days posted from the States...that's pretty good, given it was shipped on a Friday and it's Tuesday today. It was wrapped all pretty in pink tissue:



I opened up the brushes first...ooh la la...I love the flat top. It's so dense! The fiber optic brush will be PERFECT for blush. Small enough to get on the apples of the cheeks!

Pretty dense flat top!!!

The lippies are very nice. Birthday Suit and Bliss, a Bobbie Brown clone of Brownie. Very creamy, not drying. Birthday Suit is very pigmented and much darker than I thought it would be, for a nude gloss, but it's very nice. Bliss looks like an extension of my inner lips, if that makes sense, and it a nice everyday kind of stick with still plenty of colour, with a slight pink.



I bought Climax which is a also NARS dupe of Orgasm. I should compare Buff'd's Tricky and SN's Climax together...too bad I don't have the NARS to compare with :(

The Brown Sugar eyeshadow I selected as my freebie is gorgeous! It's a rich brown with shimmering flecks of highlight. It's a very creamy feeling, not chalky. I don't know if I could use this in the daytime...it looks too sexy! :)

Same goes with the Mogul eyeshadow I got as a bonus. It's a silver white, great for the inner eyelid.



I wonder what will come in tomorrow!

I'm Blusche-ing: Blusche Minerals

I saw this website on Mineral Makeup Worldwide, listing many (but not all!!) MMU companies around the globe. I came across an entry on Blusche Minerals, listed as a Canadian company, so obviously I had to check it out.

After reading a positive review from trusting Shades of U and this review, why not! Samples were only 75 cents, 3 for $1.75. As my mom says, "You can't go wrong!" Right you are, Mom!

Although a Canadian company, Monica at Blusche intended for her target audience for The Philippines as there are no dominant MMU companies catering to them. When I read that in one of the reviews, I figured that SOME of her foundation colours must suit filipinos, therefore myself (I didn't fail Logic in university...LOL)

For the three samples of foundation I chose the obvious Medium Warm Creme Brulee, and chose the lighter Brazillian and darker Mocha Java to give me some custom mixing if necessary.

I figured since shipping was $3.50 for the samples, I'd add a few more items to the cart.

I bought a 3-baggie sample of Primer in Medium and a Phoebe Mineral Veil in Matte (there's a Glow formula that's more lustrous), a neutral colour, and Shelley Mineral Veil in Matte, a slightly yellow colour.

I threw in baggies of Medium Concealer, and a Yellow and a Green Corrector too.

$5.75 later (+the shipping), the samples came out to less than $1 per bag, and in Canadian dollars to boot!

I promise, this is the last thing I'm buying....this month. Oh look at that: is tomorrow the last day in January?

Slightly sM.A.Cked!

It was like the world was in slow motion as pushed the stroller closer and closer. Like it was a dream, fate, karma, if you will. Yes, I was so close, as my eyes widened in amazement, a sight I haven't seen in years, it seemed...the M.A.C. counter!

My toddler in tow, I managed to convince him that we go in the store "just for a little while".

- Mom, that's girl stuff!
- But Mom is a girl...
- No, you don't need makeup...

I sighed and blushed as the SA looked up and greeted us with what probably would have sounded like an "aww!" if I were any closer to her. Either that or she was telling herself, oh shit, don't come any closer.

I browsed around staring at all the new items I have only seen online, while constantly removing pans of concealer and foundation out of my son's hands. What should I buy today? Concealer? Lipstick? Hmmm....

I didn't know how to select a concealer so I asked the SA about the various kinds. She tells me that on February 5, M.A.C. is revealing a new line called Studio Sculpt that provides full-coverage yet won't crease or fade. The current products, she said, either provide medium-coverage and don't crease or full-coverage and can crease. The Studio Sculpt coming out would be the best of both worlds.

I looked up more information and found out this on Makeup and Beauty Blog :

Studio Sculpt Concealer: Inspired by the needs of M·A·C makeup artists, who demanded a full-coverage concealer that never becomes dry and cakey, the gel-based cream formula slips onto skin, effortlessly hiding imperfections. Its silicone coated pigments help retain color purity for superb coverage that blends easily yet covers completely with just a small amount of product.

It'll probably cost around $20 CDN since it will be $16.50 USD. So I booked an appointment next Thursday to try it out. And maybe, while she's at it, she can colour type me too...and try some other products that I'll be tempted to buy!

So I bummed around the place a bit more. I fondled the Paint Pots (how lovely! Groundwork would look great as an eye base with my skin colour), and tickled a few of the lipsticks.

Before I left, I picked up a pot of Lip Conditioner SPF 15. I heard great things about it, and although it was $15, at 15g of product, that's about on par with the Kiehl's lip balm I used to use, and that was just "ok". So far, I love the slight vanilla taste and it applies smoothly. A little bit goes a long way. Right away, I can tell it'll work better for me than my current pomegranate Burt's Bee balm.

I can't wait until next Thursday!

Re.Edit. Karen at Makeup and Beauty Blog posted a review on the Studio Sculpt Foundation and Concealer....check it out!

LaurEss Pure Minerals

Ok, I'm weak.

I made another online purchase today to try out LaurEss foundation.

I got my second order from Buff'd Cosmetics today, with the darker shades of foundation. I thought the Caramel was darker than I needed, so I thought I'd mix 50:50 with the Saffron I had. Once applied, it gives off a darker finish, but it's a little bit too tanned for me. There's almost like a faint peachy look to it. Sigh. Should I try 75:25 Saffron:Caramel? Maybe tomorrow...but for the meantime...

I googled around for "Buff'd" and "filipino" thinking, just maybe, someone out there actually found a good colour match, other than Christiana. I bumped into a forum discussing the differences between Buff'd, LaurEss, and Monave.

I hit the LaurEss website and was instantly drawn. I don't know if it's the case with all MMU, but the LaurEss website claims that its makeup is water and sweat resistant. And they have free shipping to Canada! I thought perhaps their shipping was free for only samples, but I put in 3 full-size items in the cart and shipping would be free. Granted, the samples are a little more expensive, at $2.50 each and the foundations and powders run around $22. Hey, if I can get a match, great!

These are the colours I chose for samples, with swatches taken from the website:

Pure Gold - Medium Golden with Yellow Tones
Pure Yellow - Medium Yellow Tones
Fresh Gold - Dark Medium Golden with Yellow Tones
Warm Gold - Medium Dark Gold with Yellow Tones

The Warm Gold could be too dark, but at least I'll have a sample to mix with if I need a more intense shade.

LaurEss' foundation shades come in 3 formulas: Minimalist, Elemental, and Ethereal. Minimalist is the sheerer formula but buildable, Elemental is their medium coverage, neither flat or shiny, while Ethereal has a creamier, heavier coverage. All the shades come in any of these formulas. I believe I counted 54 available shades, at 10g for a full-size.

And since I was purchasing 4 samples already, I figure I'd try out a primer and a finishing powder, just to complete the look.

They have 3 primer formulations: Kick Start, Fresh Start, Jump Start. Kick Start is for dry complexions, Jump Start for oily complexions, and Fresh Start somewhere in between. They have shades Light, Medium, Tan, Dark for each of these formulas, each shade matching the foundation you choose. Since most of my samples were from the "Fresh" or "Pure" colours, Jump Start Tan would compliment well.

They have similar formulas for their finisher powder. Finishing Touch for dry, Fantastic Finish for oily, and Ultimatte Finish is probably somewhere in between. Obviously, I got the Fanastic Finish in Tan.

So, $15 later, free shipping, I ordered 6 samples? Worth it? We'll see. Hopefully I'll get a chance to do a proper review.

I guess I should post a better pic of myself, to show you what colour skin I'm dealing with here. Another day, I guess. Hmmm....thinking of checking out Monave now...

Re.Edit. Monave sounds promising but they don't offer USPS First Class Mail. It's USPS Priority for $19, as high as $55 UPS Worldwide. For a $5 cart! Yikes....forget it! I guess I'm done shopping for now!

Re.Re.Edit. Turns out that after reading a few forum posts, Minimalist Foundation is for normal to oily skin, as most closely resembles their Original formula which was discontinued not too ago. Elemental is best suited for normal to dry skin. I shot an email to LaurEss to see if they can switch my order from Elemental to Minimalist. Keeping my fingers crossed that they'll be able to do that! Maybe I'll give them a call tomorrow!

My Beauty Realization...and Purchases!

Being a mom gives me a certain badge of honour....one which I don't wear proudly. The badge of "ugliness" comes to mind. Yes, as a mother, I am now to look a certain way, my hair having not seen a hairbrush in weeks, nevermind my straightener, my bare-all complexion of past acne scars of yesteryear and impending wrinkles foretelling my doom into motherhood greet me in the mirror; yes, I am a mother now.

Mind you, I have been a "mother" for almost 4 years now, though just having a newborn around makes it seems like a "rebirth", so to speak, into motherhood again. I grew out of this phase I'm in at one point in my life, but here I am again, faced with the challenge of beautifying myself to prove to all, and especially myself, that I am one of those wondrous females who can have her looks AND kids too.

So where do I start? This past week has been an awakening for me, as I stumbled upon a beauty blog by Miss Christiana - Memoirs of a Shopping Addict. As I read through her blog, her makeup reviews, application tips, I realized I was old. Christiana just turned 22 years old, about a dozen years younger than myself, and she is young and beautiful and has a passion about beauty, showing how much confidence and poise a 22 year old should rightfully have. What does this 30-something have to show? I found her blog not only interesting but inspiring, so I decided to search online for products that would beautify me on the outside, in the hopes of convincing my inside to glow too.

So, I'm no virgin when it comes to online shopping. I don't have any hangups. Yes, I've been somehow caught in online identity theft, but that won't stop me from shopping online, since I keep track of everything on one online-only credit card (I used to before, and it still happened, but I remain diligent).

I thought I could pick up something new at Everyday Minerals, where I've purchased a couple of sample kits to test their foundation colours, in addition to some blushes and concealers, but then I thought I'd start shopping elsewhere for a bit, to see what's out there.

Before coming to this whole epiphany on Christiana's blog, I was going to make a purchase on Franchesca's website, Adorned With Grace Minerals. Franchesca had developed the foundation mix of Buttered Tan at Everyday Minerals, a colour that can suit most filipino girls, being Filipino herself. I found out that she has developed her own line of mineral makeup, focusing on colours for the yellow/olive undertones in Asian skin. Buttered Tan never suited me, and I hadn't quite determined my exact shade at Everyday Minerals. I decided to buy AWG's "15 for $12" sample kit, where I could sample 15 colours for one price. I chose 14 colours from her foundation palette to test out (I reserved one sample for a blush, I believe).


Also I ordered her Divine Oil-Control Primer, which would help me keep the slick away. I'll try anything that will do that! And since she had a 3-day special on 12 eyecolour baggies for $7, I couldn't resist and pick that one up to. I plan on doing some swatches when the haul comes in. Oh, and the bonus couldn't be any cooler: 8 samples/baggies of the new shimmering blushes she will release next month. They are super nice! The following swatch is found on Franchesca's blog, Defining True Beauty:

Meanwhile, on Christiana's blog, I stumbled upon a reference to Buff'd Cosmetics, where she finds her HG (holy grail) foundation. Turns out the company is from Prince George right here in BC! How I could I not order something from a MMU (mineral makeup) company so close to home?!? Well, no duty or cost conversion, that is. So I purchased 5 foundation samples in Moccasin, Almond, Buff, Warm and Saffron to try. They came in and right away I knew Moccasin and Almond were too light, Buff being ok, but Warm and Saffron looking more my tone.


I'll post swatches when I have a chance. I put Warm on first and it was too pink for me. I have a lot of yellow undertones and although there is a balance of yellow and pink in Warm, I guess I don't have much pink in me all. I tried Saffron, which looks really yellow. After a few days of wearing the sample, I think Saffron could use a LITTLE bit yellow, as I am still a bit chaulky looking after applying. It's not perfect, but so far is the best match I've found in MMU.

I went and put in another Buff'd order to sample Caramel and Camel, which might be too dark for me, but perhaps they have a better level of yellow. Since I was ordering, and the shipping was free, I added samples of Midnight (an eyebrow colour), Canvas (an illuminating dust), Whisper (a pure white blush for highlighting), and Mais (a translucent yellow setting powder). I think that's what I ordered...my samples should arrive tomorrow. I'll try and post swatches of these too.


I couldn't help but browse Christiana's site for more helpful info, and she refers quite a bit to Silk Naturals. Another MMU company, but this has fantastic shipping prices to Canada! I put in a $40 order and shipping was only $3.50! Ok, so what did I order?


Fiber Optic Blush Brush
Premium Synthetic Flat Top Brush
Climax blush (NARS Orgasm clone)
Birthday Suit lip gloss (a nude tone)
Bliss lipstick (Bobbie Brown Brownie clone)


With my order, I'll also get a free eyeshadow of my choice, which I picked Brown Sugar, and Melange, a silvery plum eyeshadow, their choice of bonus.


First time purchasers get 5% off their order. I practically got shipping free as a result! What's not to love?


I didn't stop there though. I hit my all-time favourite place to shop: ebay! There I bought a very coveted Ben Nye Powder Cheek Rouge in Contour No.1, recommended by Christiana as her favourite contour powder (and, boy, do I need contouring, LOL). Also I decided to spring for a tube of Urban Decay Primer Potion, since I've been wanting to try it forever. I bought a second tube for my sister too, since she prefers using a primer but has never tried UDPP before.

So, there, my January haul! With any luck, there will be a February haul, probably with full-size items, if not a few more samples to try out. The other sites I wanted to shop at were Coastal Scents for their 28-pan Neutral palette, and JW Cosmetics, just because.


Now all I do is wait. Sigh. A little shopping therapy is already making me feel a whole lot better!

When a Mother Just Wants To Disappear....

I went grocery shopping with my toddler the other day. I haven't gone for a good, solid trip in weeks. I'd pick up something simple for dinner one day, or eat out another day, but it's been a while since I actually ran up a huge grocery bill. Tonight's the night!

So, with my husband being at a softball practice, it was me and kid out to get groceries.

Tell me, moms out there, why is it that when you have your kid(s) with you, you always end up getting the f#!$ed up shopping cart!?! You know, the one where the one wheel rotates furiously fast, the cart needs every ounce of strength to push to overcome the defunct wheel, and the most irritating foghorn of a screech eminating from the wheels as you try and maneuver QUIETLY down the aisles? And to top it all off, you trying to discipline your kid OVER the screeching?

I swear everyone knew we were behind them!I have become one of them! Them, you ask? Yes, those parents you see in the stores trying to balance something as routine as grocery shopping with a kid in tow. Sound easy? HA, you fool!

I spent two whole hours in the grocery store, to buy only $150 worth of groceries. That's 80 cents being spent every minute I was in there. So? That's like picking up a small can of soup EVERY MINUTE! Pick up a can, wait 60 seconds, ooo, another can of soup! Pick it up, walk for 60 seconds, wow, another can of soup! 120 cans of soup later is when I left the store.

Of course I didn't just buy soup. But you get my drift. No one buys soup that way, and no one should spend 2 hours grocery shopping. Hell, I've never even spent that much time in Costco, and you can eat forever in there and watch a whole movie!

So I crashed that night, exhausted, in tears, wondering why I try to do everything myself.

Because I'm a Mom and that's what we do.

Vegas, Baby

Just came back from Vegas for my cousin's stagette/her fiance's stag party.


Wow!


There were about 15 (I think!) of us, most of us from Vancouver, some from Edmonton, one from Toronto and one from Jersey. So many tales spinning in my head, but just can't spit any of them out. Let's try...



Table service at Tao. Would've been an experience to be on the rooftop with $450-a-bottle-of-Grey-Goose, but just didn't make it to the roof! Dancing like a maniac on the next level down was a high in itself. Insane music. Insane bar tabs! My cousin just got impatient at the bar, waiting for drinks, so ordered herself up a table on the roof. By 3 am I just needed to crash, so I'm regretting I didn't make it to the roof. Damn. What the hell was I thinking?!?!



Racing to the airport a la Home Alone. We drove down to Bellingham Airport on Good Friday and got stuck in a 4hr+ lineup at the border! From the time we got into the lineup at 8am, it took us 3.5 hr to cross the border at 11:30am. With our 1:25 flight, and supposed instructions to arrive 2.5 hrs before the flight, time was not on our side. We still had to park at the overflow parking lot way over there and take a shuttle to the airport. We checked in and passed security at about 12:50 pm. With 10 people driving from Vancouver, two cars made it across and we were still waiting for the third car carrying two cousins and his girlfriend. 1:10 pm, waiting at the gate, and still no third car!!! Finally a couple of minutes later, one of my cousins from that car was running to the gate. By this time, half the plane had boarded. Cutting it close. Me and a couple of others held back and waited at the end to board the plane, trying to hold back boarding in case my other cousin, who was parking the car way over there in the overflow parking lot could still make it on time; his girlfriend checked in already, but we couldn't see her, and she wasn't boarding the plane unless my cousin came back in time. 1:22 as I started boarding, the last two are running towards the gate! And with 2 to 3 minutes to spare! I found out later that their gas light on their car had lit up about 30 minutes earlier at the border, and they weren't even sure they'd even make it to the airport at all! The rest of the clan on the plane had assumed they were no-shows right up until the point they were walking down the aisle. What a way to start the trip!



Buffets. Shit, had too many. Almost hit a fourth one but declined. So much for my exercising for the past 5 weeks. Didn't hit the major ones like Bellagio or Wynn, but they were all still good. Todai (Japanese sushi and seafood) and Pampas (Brazilian Steakhouse) at The Miracle Mile shops at Planet Hollywood (formerly The Aladdin) and Carnival World Buffet at The Rio. The fourth invite was for The Bellagio, but good thing I declined...the line was so long they went to Caesar's instead and it apparently sucked. I'm also Cheeseburger'ed out!



Weather. Tanks, shorts, flip flops. What else can I say? It was hot enough to hit the pool and do some tanning. Got dark fast. Sure beats what we came home to yesterday! Brrrrr!



Alcohol. Lots of it. Wished I drank more. A Fat Tuesday 2-foot pina colada did me within hours of landing. Must remember to not drink on an empty stomach and when trying to get over the flu.



Gamblng. Won $140 on slots. Haywire Deluxe. Find it, use it, win. Played it four years ago and it's still just as contagious. Too bad I lost $25 on roulette. What an hour can do for you in Vegas.






Shopping. Hit the Las Vegas Premium Outlet. Scored at Banana Republic and Coach. I showed some self-restraint by only hitting one shopping spree, declining Fashion Show Mall on Monday (opted to go swimming instead). Saved more money than I actually spent, thanks for the glorious deals had. Ahhh, a good shopping day really hits the spot.



Thunder from Down Under. No comment. Really....what happens in Vegas....



My husband and I had a great time with the family and friends. We were able to enjoy ourselves, knowing that our son was in good hands with my parents; I wouldn't have gone otherwise. Our almost-three-year-old didn't even miss us, apparently. That kinda sucks. But when I think about it, it only sucked not because I wished he cried and threw tantrums, pleading to see me each day but that he didn't do those things, which only means that my little boy is growing up and doesn't need me as much as he used to. What a little independent boy he's become, and I'm proud that he was mature enough to spend that much time away from us.



I think this Vegas trip has made me grow up. Now back to reality...