Quelquefois

Did any of you with access to Sephora get to check out their new tokidoki collection? I saw the eyeshadows and makeup bags at the Bloor Street Sephora the week before, but was not impressed enough to buy the makeup for the following reasons:

- Chunky, clunky packaging. The eyeshadow quads are approximately 2.5 x 3 x 3 inches, basically a chunky lucite box. There is a huge compartment at the bottom just to hold the charm which is why the entire quad is box shaped.The singles are oversized as well.

- Overpriced (in Canada). The markup ranges from $2 extra for the mints to $8 extra for the quads, and luminizing powder.

- Glitter (in the eyeshadow quads). All 3 of the quads include 1-2 glitter shades which in my opinion are useless and annoying. The other shades are frost shades with superb pigmentation, so I don't get why they had to ruin it by including glitter in every single quad.

Anyway, here's a quick look at my only tokidoki from Sephora purchase & the VIB Tarantino GWP:



Love the tin! I just wish it wasn't so expensive....just for a small tin of mints!



Handy little mirror inside:






And the Tarantino bracelet:



Its not really my taste but hey it was free! They had red or purple available as well, but I figured black would be the colour I would get bored of the least.



I'm not a fan of the Tarina Tarantino makeup packaging either. I first checked it out a few weeks ago with Rasilla and Babybubblz and we agreed it looks tacky and childish. As Catherine said, the Japanese do cute much better!

What do you think? Yay or nay?

Sales, Annabelle contest, and MAC Photorealism

Sephora sales:

- Sephora has the CK Beauty line at on clearance.
- They also have some of the Too Faced Smurfette collection for 50% (Swatches and review)
- and the Stila Precious Pearl palette half priced as well. (Swatches and review)

Annabelle Makeup Junkie Contest:

Also just wanted to let Canadians know about the latest Annabelle contest - the Ultimate Makeup Junkie contest. Basically its open to all residents of Canada, where you submit a picture of your best makeup look and a confession about your makeup addiction. There will be five winners every week and each one will receive a professional makeup case stuffed with $1000 worth of Annabelle Cosmetics goodies! The contest is based partly on votes and also by Annabelle (I think its 50-50%, can't check though as the website is down at the moment). Feel free to enter or to cast your vote! I might enter if I have the time to do a look for it :)

MAC Makeup Art Cosmetics collection - Photorealism:

So last weekend I stopped by MAC to pick up the Photorealism quad, mostly due to hype I admit. The colours were definitely the most pigmented and smooth out of the 3 quads released in the collection.



I think its the first time I've seen quads like that from MAC where the colours are from the same colour family. Reminds me of the direction Dior went with their Designer Artistry quints and the green Jewelling Eyes palette from Majolica Majorca.

Swatches



I wasn't too happy with how the colours looked on my skin to be honest, they are quite light, and almost unremarkable in my opinion.





See, the colours don't show up that well...even with eyeshadow primer.

Still, I've seen some pretty looks from Stephie and Phyllis of Makeup for Life so I guess I will give it another try. I'll use more of the darker colours this time, with the grey-green all over the lid instead and more of the dark green colour. That way the colours should hopefully stand out more against my complexion.

Sephora Benefit GWP and nails

Sephora has a new GWP: If you spend over $50 and one of the items in your cart is from Benefit, enter BEAUTYGEMS at checkout to receive the following set:

• Full-size BADgal Lash Mascara
• Full-size Rush Hour Lip & Cheek color
• Full-size California Kissin' lip shine
• Bathina showercap
• Luscious Lana Beauty bag (Source)

Thats one of the best codes I've ever seen from Sephora! So...of course I had to give it a try and order something :P

Not sure what to get from Benefit? I've never tried their products before, but the items that I always see great raves are their Coralista blush, and their cream shadow/liner pots. In fact I ordered the Benefit Girls' Night In set recommended by Katie because she made it look so good :P

Unfortunately the Ebates cashback is now back to 4% (it was 8% again for a month or so) but the GWP is still a great deal.

Asos also has a sale including certain items from Paul & Joe, Korres, Benefit, and Urban Decay.

Adam Beauty has also added many new things - BB creams, Dariya sheets,

***

In other news, I also did my nails with the gradient look today using the Canmake polish from Glow:





I love the colour! I'll have to look for more Canmake colours to get now :) The gradient look is also surprisingly easy to do, and so much more forgiving of mistakes than a regular solid colour.


Since we're on the topic of nails, I also used Zoya Harmonie a few weeks ago to do my toes. Its the bottle on the right:



And this is how it looks on, with only two coats:



Its extremely opaque though slightly streaky on the first coat. But I'm definitely a Zoya convert now, especially since they're supposed to be free of the Big 3 chemicals commonly found in polish(formaldehyde, toluene, DBP).


I also picked up my first polish from Nicole by OPI in Love your Life:



Yes, the only reason I got it was because it had heart shaped pieces in the polish :P The polish is essentially clear though so it'll require a base coat underneath. I do wish there were more hearts in the polish though, because once you apply it the hearts are too spread out. You can only get about 2-3 hearts per nail, unless you deliberately pick up the heart pieces from the bottle (huge hassle btw).

Some FYI's

Sephora is giving you the chance to pick 5 samples of your own choice (instead of the usual 3) with any online order up til March 3rd. (Source: Dealsea) Don't forget to go through Ebates if you do... and if you do go through Ebates, please let them know I referred you (watercoloursky[at]gmail.com or use my referral link) and they would give us signup bonuses :)

And more specifically...

Canadians: Annabelle is having a giveaway of six Le Gloss sticks of your choice, to 5 randomly chosen people who register with their site by March 9th. If you're already registered then you're automatically entered.

Ontarians: Money is scarce these days...but if you're a student between 15 and 29 years old and you are thinking of starting your own business during summer, you can apply to Summer Company. Its an initiative by the Ontario government that will give you up to $3000 if you're successful. Details here.

Smurfette FOTD and more deals

Sephora has giftbags containing 10 skincare samples available in-store or online. According to the newsletter in store, you can get the samples after a consultation with a Beauty Advisor. However I just asked if they had any available when I went to cashier and they gave me one :) You can also get them with any online order by using the codes SKINTREATS or RIGHTBAG3 (either one gets you the same thing).

Bath and Body Works in Canada have a 3 for $18 sale on their Signature body washes, lotions, creams and body butters. Their Signature body splashes are on sale for $3 each! Handsoaps are 3 for $12.

The Body Shop at Yorkdale Mall (also Canada) had the blushes from the Fall'08 Deadly Desires collection on sale at 3 for $10! I haven't seen this in any of the other locations I've visited. When I went though they only had a few of the peach blushes left, they had more of the darker rose blush available.


***

FYI...

Sephora lowered the price of the Givenchy Couture palette again down to US$35. I guess they realised $45 was still too high for something so tiny! I ordered it originally at the previous price, but once I saw how freaking small the thing was I returned it. I'm still not convinced US$35 is a good value either.

Here's a picture to give you an idea. It looks decent enough online until you compare it with a lipstick (MAC Slimshine) and a quarter. Umm...thats the smallest tube of gloss I've ever seen! The eyeshadows are so tiny it would be a hassle to use the colours without accidentally mixing them up. Its so tiny, I love how they still consider it a $90 value...




***

FOTD using some products from Too Faced's Smurfette collection:

Face

• Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation #3
• Sana concealer
  
• Silk Naturals' blush in Lady
• MAC Emote to contour a little
  

Eyes

• Pink shade from the Smurfette palette all over lid
• Blue shade from the Smurfette palette on outer corners (I used very little as I wanted a more subtle day look)
• So Smurfy Face Powder to highlight under browbone
• MUFE Aqua Eyes in OL to line top lashline and outer 1/2 of lower lashline.
• Smurf You blue glitter liner to line top lids, going over the MUFE liner
• Blinc Kiss Me mascara

The pink and blue shades I used went on nicely even though I skipped using any base. I love the glitter liner, the brush is really easy to work with because its so fine and has the right degree of firmness to draw a thin line smoothly.



MUFE Aqua Eyes stayed better on my top lids than Urban Decay's 24/7, but it still smudged on the lower lashline :/


Lips

• Mood Swing Emotionally Activated lipgloss

The gloss wasn't as bright pink as I had feared, its quite wearable as long as you balance it out by going lighter on eye makeup. Not that sticky either - nowhere near as annoying as MAC.

Some recent favourites + basic FOTD

This has replaced the Nivea Labello Moisture as my HG lipbalm. Labello is great for locking in moisture to protect lips but it doesn't actually ADD moisture to already chapped lips. Also, it doesn't allow lipstick to apply well on top because it feels so greasy.

In contrast the Lip Care balm actually feels protective and moisturizing at the same time. It has a thick creamy consistency that performs well as a base under lipstick in my opinion. The scent is faintly vanilla-ish, which goes well with the usual MAC lipstick scent. (I dislike using fruity balms underneath MAC lipsticks because it just smells funny together...). Bonus - this contains Q10 to nourish lips as well :)




This is one of the few things I would recommend from ELF. The pads remove polish really well and I can usually use 1 pad for just 1 use. It may take 2 if you have a strong topcoat like Seche Vite but still works better than other removers I've tried. The pads are also scented with this citrus scent, it may smell a bit artificial but is still much better than the chemical smells from regular polish removers.

Only complaint is that the container isn't airtight, so it doesn't help keep the pads moist. After a couple months, the pads tend to dry out. They still work if you dampen them a bit with another polish remover, but aren't as effective as before. If they could improve the packaging, this would be an awesome product.




This year's birthday gift from Sephora - Vanilla Cupcake shower gel. It smells fantastic - like baked vanilla cupcakes...I might consider actually buying this if it isn't too expensive. Using it is like having a sinful dessert without the calories :D

Check out the scent description:



***

I've been skimming through a number of Japanese magazines online recently so I felt like doing a more simple look focusing more on the winged liner:

Urban Decay Zero liner
Kiss Me liquid liner in black over UD liner
Maybelline Cool Effect liner in Champagne Ice on lower lashline
Blinc mascara




Shiseido Maquillage Rouge Climax lipstick in PK730
Nivea Lip Care Q10




Everyday Minerals Mint concealer to hide redness
Everyday Minerals Sunlight concealer all over
MAC Emote blush to contour
MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in So Ceylon on sides of the face, on cheekbones
MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Petticoat on apples of cheekbones

NY Trip: Cosmetics haul!

I got a lot of stuff...but considering each item costs an extra $10 or more in Canada I saved quite a bit. And I was lucky MAC's F&F discount was running that same weekend too :)

Skincare:

Clinique Moisture Surge Extra Thirsty Skin Relief gel-cream

Aveda:
Intensive Hydrating Mask
Tourmaline Radiance Fluid
Night Nutrients serum

Makeup:

Sephora:
Blinc Kiss Me mascara (backup)
Bourjois Yes to Volume No to Clumps mascara in Bleu
Free sample of Cargo Medium Bronzer

MAC Store (Family & Friends discount too, yay!)
Technakohl in Greyprint
Steamy eyeshadow
Blue Flame eyeshadow
Old Gold pigment
Fuschia pigment

Cosmetics Company Outlet:

MAC Brassy Fluidline
MAC Emote blush (I already have this but I use it almost every time so a backup was in order)
MAC Cosmic eyeshadow (from Moonbathe collection last year)

The CCO had some Bobbi Brown shimmerbricks too - I really wish I had gotten this pink one I saw but my bf was with me and I didn't want to get too much then.

And actually....I ended up exchanging the two pigments last week - I really didn't like Old Gold on me and Fuschia was too similar to Pink Pearl for my liking. Getting Old Gold was a mistake - I had a sample of Gold Mode that I really liked and for some reason I thought the sample jar was labelled Old Gold. Only when I got home and compared the two I realised they were quite different :S I'm really lucky though that the manager at the MAC Store near me was understanding and allowed me to exchange the pigments even though I bought them at US pricing.

I did some comparisons of Brassy Fluidline vs Indianwood Paint pot that I already have.

Indianwood on top, Brassy on bottom

They do look very similar, though Brassy is more gold while Indianwood is more bronzy.

Also was curious to see how Cosmic eyeshadow compares with stuff I already have:

Top: Woodwinked eyeshadow
Middle: Cosmic eyeshadow
Bottom: Otherworldly blush (also from Moonbathe)

They are different side by side, Cosmic does have a more gold tone than but I could probably have skipped it since it looks so similar to Otherworldly.

a couple of reviews

Couple of quick reviews:

Veet High Precision Facial Wax:



Ingredients:




Comes with 20 reusable strips, a wooden applicator stick, and supposedly enough wax to last 20+ uses.






The tube itself is shaped like those Lancome Juicy Tubes glosses, they have similar slanted applicator tips too. Or you can use the wooden applicator included for more precise application. Btw when I bought this my bf saw it and asked me if I was buying another lipgloss...lol :D

The tube is convenient to heat up - you just need to stick the tube in a glass of hot tap water for a minute. It should reach the right consistency then. Don't let any water get into the cap of the tube though since the wax is rendered useless when in contact with water. But it makes it convenient if you get wax accidentally on your clothing or hands - just wash it off with water.

Now about the effectiveness - I found it works well on coarser hairs (I have a few coarser hairs that I usually pluck above my brows. However the finer hairs under the brow failed to come off with the wax, even though I followed the instructions exactly to spread the wax in the hair growth direction and pull it off the opposite direction. Tried this product a few times now and it still doesn't work on finer hairs.

Unfortunately that means it doesn't remove most of the stray eyebrow hairs. I still end up plucking 75% of what I want removed. And given the upper lip fuzz is even finer it didn't work for me there either. So sadly, this product is mostly a waste of money for me since it only works on 25% of the area I want it to.


***

Sephora Detail Lash Curler




Looks like a typical curler but with a flat and shorter clamp thingy. Comes in black or red accents






Basically, I didn't like it. The curler pinches my eyelid easily even though I was being careful with it. I think the design of the curler just isn't for my eyes.

Also I find it tends to crimp my lashes into a 90 degree angle rather than an actual curl. It looks ok from the front but when I look at them from the side I don't like how the lashes look L shaped :S

It also makes my lashes curl messily, the effect is even more apparent if i attempt to use it on the whole lash. It probably is just designed for corner lashes, but for the CDN $17, its not worth it. Definitely returning this to the store.

Note that this is the first mini curler I've tried so I can't exactly say it sucks completely. Maybe all mini curlers are like this...

Part III

To continue with the haulage....on Saturday I decided to go to Bloor-Yorkville area downtown since I wanted to check out the mens section at Holt Renfrew to look for a gift for the bf. Also I wanted to check out the Guerlain boutique, and the Lancome counter at The Bay which has a GWP until May 11th.

Holt Renfew was quite disappointing. They had their whole underground level and part of the ground floor for guys stuff, but there wasn't much variety there. I couldn't find anything in Harry Rosen, or any other stores either. I had an idea of what things I could get him, but the styles were either unsuitable or the colours didn't suit his taste :P Finally, I found something he might like at the last store I went into, but I'm still quite undecided about it. Mostly because I know once he sees it he'll say I shouldn't spend so much money...

But I did of course find some things for myself :P






My favourite item out of this whole week's haulage is the Masaki Matsushima Cherry Eau de Parfum:





I don't even know how to describe it, but its very pleasant, and falls into the fruity-floral range which is my usual taste. I don't like oriental type musky or vanilla-ish scents...I find I get tired of those after awhile, but not with the fruity/floral ones.

Notes: (from Sephora.com)

Cherry, Blackcurrant, Bilberry, Watermelon, Lotus Flower, Cherry Blossom, Sweet Pea, Raspberry, Crystal Musk, Blackberry.


At The Bay department store, I also ended up getting two pink lipsticks because of the GWP at Lancome.

302 SOS Pink (the lighter one) which has a cream finish
318 Rock Icon Fuschia (the same one as Nicnic :), has a reflects finish









Anyway I don't know what was it about Saturday, but the SA's I encountered were either nice...or well, strange. Case 1: I was walking through the Bay past the Shiseido counter and the SA grabs me and starts raving about how gorgeous my lashes are. She kept saying they looked so natural, which is really nice of her and all, and I was feeling kinda flattered. Then out of the blue she said "oh you're so young but you have lines already, not good!" and proceeds to push some serums and creams on me :S How sweet of her to say that to a potential customer...:/

Case 2: Guerlain SA - I usually try to think the best of strangers, since I don't know them, but that woman seriously had a poker stuck up her you-know-where. Honestly! She kept talking down to me, but in an underhanded way of course. And she implied I had heavy makeup on, just because I had fake lashes on. The same fake lashes that the Shiseido SA said looked "very natural".

Plus she just wouldn't let me peruse at my own leisure. I went in there because I wanted to check out the Guerlain loose kohls. I was testing the colours on my hand to see which ones were nice, but she'd keep hovering, even though I said I wanted to look around a bit first while deciding on a colour. In the end she annoyed me so much I just said "I'll come back later" and left.

Btw I'm sure my lashes were at least decent, because my bf loved them, which I did not expect at all :) He likes natural looks and the Japanese way of wearing makeup, so he doesn't like too much eyeshadow on me that much even though I love eyeshadow lol. He's not a fan of red lipstick either.

I have noticed a pattern with SAs though. I find the ones working at stores/counters downtown Toronto tend to be more snooty, while the areas updown are a lot nicer and more down to earth. Also I find Sephora's SAs nicer than other brands/stores :P In fact my favourite Sephora is the one on Bloor. That location, even though it is downtown is an exception to the pattern. The ones uptown are nice too, but I don't like going to my closest store as much because there is an SA there with an attitude I can't stand.