What I bought on my trip

Here's what I picked up on my recent stay in Chicago:



Ulta:
Mario Badescu Drying Cream
Mario Badescu Drying Lotion
Sample of Mario Badescu Aloe moisturizer

CVS:
Milani 3D Holographic polishes in Cyberspace, Hi-Tech, and Hi-Res

Sephora:
Kate Somerville sunscreen sample

I also picked up some M&Ms Pretzels which were surprisingly good! They're not yet available in Canada, and now I wish I had gotten more. I like the sweet + salty combination. Although I am slightly disappointed they are pretzel chunks in the chocolates, not actually a whole mini pretzel as the M&M x-ray suggested :P

The Nordstrom's Anniversary Sale was on that weekend, and while I checked it out I wasn't too excited about the offerings as most of the sets were quite expensive. Even though some of them are packaged in large sizes as value sets, since they weren't staples for me it didn't make sense to buy them.





Oh and remember how I did a post on the cosmetics I brought on my trip? It worked out quite well, since I was always too lazy to use eyeshadow and just stuck with blush & lipcolour. The only thing is I got SO BORED with alternating the same 2 colours over and over again! This is why I have such a large stash...I get bored easily :D


For the weekend, I tried the Milani 3D polish in Hi-Tech, which is a really awesome holo green!



It looks like a normal sparkly green in daylight:



But check out the holo effects at certain angles:






The above pictures are with 3 coats. The wear on the polish isn't the greatest unless you use a top coat, as I originally had 2 coats which was sufficient, but it started coming off in some areas so I added 1 more coat for these pictures.

Oh by the way have you ever wondered how holo polishes would look matte? I just tested it, since I'm removing the polish tonight anyway and the matte-ness just kills the holo effect. It turns into a flat mass of green specks. So yeah - there isn't really such a thing as a matte holographic effect since the 3D effect is removed.

Nars rant, MB Silver Powder and some haulage

I just found out that Nars is so overpriced in Canada! :( I've been lemming the Nars Aqua Gel Hydrator ever since reading the great reviews for it on Makeupalley. On Sephora.com, it shows the price as being around $76, so I thought okay, probably it'll be an extra $10 for Canada as most products are like that. But when I went to the Nars counter last weekend, the lady told me that it was $115! Like wtf?? Thats a markup of $40...like almost a 50% increase? Thats insane.

I double checked the prices of some of their other skincare products, and all of them range from $30 to $50 more than the US retail price. Sucks, because I was really looking forward to getting the hydrator.

Apparently the counter currently has a GWP of a highlighter and blush duo with any purchase over $125, or a GWP of a neutral eyeshadow palette with purchase over $50. That would help ease the pain somewhat....so I'm still sorta considering it in the back of my head.

Its a good thing I haven't been enthalled by anything from Nars so far...except the upcoming holiday collection that is. But if the prices are this insane here, I'll just wait for a GWP to get them as I don't think they are LE.

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I bought the Mario Badescu Silver powder off Audrie a couple months ago. I was interested in it because I've read so many reviews that it realy helps unclog the pores especially if followed with a nosestrip after. Tried it a few times but I can't seem to get it to work for me! Does anyone have any tips?

I've already tried it two ways:
1. Mixing a bit of it with some water to form a paste, and applying that on my nose / chin
2. Pouring some out onto my hand and using a wet cottonball to pick up the powder and apply it on my nose / chin (which are the instructions on the jar itself)




Both methods don't do anything for me. It'll dry down to a white layer on my face and if I let it dry too much its difficult to get off! That happened the first time, and I had to wash my face again :S

Second time I let it dry a bit, then washed off the white stuff. Like other reviewers have said, the white stuff does stick to your blackheads, making them more obvious. I then followed with a nosestrip which is what most people seem to do. However, whatever I get off with the nosestrip seems to be about the same amount as what I get without using the silver powder beforehand....so I don't see what good the silver powder did?

Its probably just my weird skin...but I hardly seem to be able to find skincare products that work for me :S The claims products make always seem too good to be true...and they usually are for me even though they work for others :(


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Some stuff I hauled last week:

The Body Shop



-Deep Sleep spray (for the bf because he has insomnia...)
-Lip butters in Mango and Coconut, they were a Buy 1 get 1 50% offer
-Sample of Coconut body butter, some other samples I got the SA to make

The spray smells good, sorta Aveda-ish if you know how Aveda products smell. Its a blend of essential oils supposed to help you calm down and sleep better. I don't know yet if it works as the bf has been rather lazy to remember to use it. You're supposed to spray it on your pillows/sheets before going to bed.

I'm tempted to use the lip butters, but I have so many lipbalms already I should just save and use them as stocking fillers for Christmas :)


And, I got a ton of samples from Holt Renfew...:D



- La Mer Hydrating Infusion
- Giorgio Armani Face Fabric in #4
- Cle de Peau Smoothing base for pores (primer)
- Cle de Peau Nourishing emulsion (a night lotion)
- samples from Amore Pacific, a Korean brand newly launched here

I don't even know how I got so many. There was a super nice lady at the Cle de Peau counter, and she gave me most of the samples even though I didn't buy anything but was just asking questions about the line!

I had been interested in the Giorgio Armani Face Fabric foundation so I asked for a sample. The SAs said they don't make samples from the testers, but they only had a sample tube in shade #4 so I took it anyway. From the reviews I read on MUA, I'm probably a #2 so #4 was definitely too dark. However, at least I can test out the texture and whether I have any skin reaction to it. Not in a hurry to use it now though, since I've made the resolution to stay away from foundation for a bit.

I also got more stuff from Clarins and MAC over the weekend ...to be continued next post :)

a blog of bits and pieces

Thank you to all the bloggers for your concern on my last post. I've calmed down now and am feeling better :)

I just saw the movie Wall-E, which was quite entertaining :) Definitely recommend it if you are looking for a fun movie to catch. Don't recommend The Happening though, I just saw it last weekend and it sucked. For some reason all the horror movies I catch in the cinema are always disappointing. Maybe the atmosphere with the other people dampens the scariness somewhat and makes it seem less believable.

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I forgot to include the Everyday Minerals Lip Scrub in my last haul post, it was actually missing from my order, so I emailed them and they said they accidentally overlooked it.

Comes in a large, flat tin:








The jojoba beads are bit harder than i'd expect. They take awhile to absorb enough heat to melt on your skin, but don't exfoliate as much as I'd like. Also the large open container makes it quite impractical to use in a hurry. I think they should package the product in some kind of sifter container as well, since its so easy to spill some product accidentally.

I could imagine too the product melting if you leave it in a warm spot....it being in a metal tin and all...so be careful if you carry this around.

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Also I bought some Mario Badescu Silver Powder from Petitebelle last month, and she included some samples too :)






I haven't tried it yet (I'm so behind on testing out my new stuff!) but will review when I do.


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A look from last month using MAC Lovely Lily pigment all over the lid, and a bit of MAC Naval Blue on the outer corners.

Also added MAC Electra eyeshadow on the inner corners to brighten up eye area, and finished off with MAC Blacktrack Fluidline and some mascara.




I used the Foliage setting on my Canon Ixus 870 IS / Powershot 860, so the colours came out very saturated. I find that the Foliage setting captures the eyeshadow colours perfectly, but tends to overexaggerate the rest of the face especially the redness of the lips.








I don't really remember what else was used....probably:

Buff'd Foundation in Sand
Everyday Minerals Sunlight concealer
Silk Naturals's perfecting powder
MAC Emote blush
Not sure what other blush I used...
Some sheer lipstick...not sure which.

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Replying a couple questions:

To Fiona: Shipping was $6.46 for this order, which wasn't very large - it all fit into a bubble envelope. But on Paypal you can kinda get an estimate - on the very second last step, right before you confirm payment you can see the shipping cost. And nope I didn't get customs charges. I've made orders up to $40 from EM and didn't get charged customs. Not sure if they let it go since the value wasn't very much, or if because it was of US origin.

Incandescent: It does work fine for me, despite the short handle. I know somepeople might not like that though. The head of the brush IS smaller than the Coastal Scents' one, but it is also more dense so that might be why they work almost just as well.