3 months of Empties and 2015 Reflections

Happy New Year Everyone! I'm posting less and less these days and even didn't get around to doing my usual monthly empties, so am now combining 3 months worth. A lot has happened in 2015. There was a break in, and identity theft for the bad things. I started weight lifting with a personal trainer, and my daughter is growing and developing in the cutest way possible for the good things. I didn't make any new year resolutions really, but have come more and more to realize that what needs cherishing is the people and moments of connection in my life, not the "things". Despite that, we all do need and use "things" in our lives, and part of that is beauty products! It's just about having the right perspective... nothing wrong with enjoying that moment of glee at opening a new lipstick, but my mood shouldn't be based on whether I can get the latest limited edition product, I will enjoy and use what I have.

Along with that, blog-wise, I've decided to no longer write about the "blah", or the "meh", or the "okay" products. Time is precious, and I don't want to waste my time or yours on those, that really tell both you and I nothing, other than that I forced myself through to the end using them up for the sake of "not wasting". So for these empties, I'll show a photo of the whole load I used but I'll only discuss the products that were great and of worth to recommend, or the ones that were so dreadful that I'd recommend you avoid. The stuff in between...there's too many of those to waste time on. Perhaps in 2016 I will also waste less of my own time and face on using those products at all, and focus really on using what I love!

First up, Enkore brush soap, ahhh-mazing! Highly recommend, easy to use and smells good, and gets my brushes very clean. Next, Nest Orange Blossom shower gel, smells oh so good and cleans without drying me out, I very much enjoyed using this up to the end! 

Shu Uemura Anti-Oxi cleansing oil, Shu's cleansing oils really live up to their hype, I really enjoyed using this and highly recommend it! It cleanses well and doesn't dry me out.

Hourglass Lip Treatment Oil, this is my HG lip care for bedtime, it's expensive but lasted me a very long time of daily use. So good for my lips and the gold tip is very soothing.

YSL eyebrow pencil in Ash, I always come back to this. It's very natural looking and I enjoy each pencil to the last bit (they unfortunately get used up very quickly as it's a soft pencil). 

Benefit They're Real Mascara, defines and lengthens without smudging, and is easy to remove, my HG mascara. 

That's all for now. I don't know when I'll post next but it'll only be for a product I really really love and will use daily. I wish you all a very blessed 2016! Share with me any reflections you had from 2015 and any beauty resolutions you may have made :)

Ciate Lashlights - aka Colored Mascara that ACTUALLY shows up on Asian lashes!!

I love colored mascara, but they have always disappointed me because my lashes are black, and the color never shows up. Beautiful in the tube, and nothing special on my lashes. There once was a Elizabeth Arden blue mascara that showed up in the sun, that was special...until now!

Ciate is a nailpolish brand, not sure why they made mascara, but I'm sure glad they did! 

The applicator is a comb, rather than a brush. You comb this through your lashes AFTER putting your regular black mascara on (maybe this was what I was supposed to do with all those other colored mascaras that didn't work? Ah but they never instructed me to do that...)

I don't need to say anymore...this photo somehow looks photoshopped to me, like I drew green lines on my lashes. Except I don't know how to use photoshop so this mascara is just plain awesome...

Oh, and it doesn't smudge, and removes well with the bi-phasic stuff. 

 Do you have a favorite colored mascara that actually shows up on dark lashes? If you didn't before you do now :)

Burberry Kisses: Sepia No. 85 - swatch and review

Wow I've been terrible with blogging recently...I'm not tired or bored of the blog, nor do I have writer's block, but have just been really busy with keeping up with family and work. I had also been on a "beauty no-buy" period for a few months that has now been broken thanks to Sephora's annual 20% off sale (I can't resist a sale...). Before any haul posts that start up, I really want to first share this lovely lippie I've been using day-to-day. 

It's my first Burberry Kisses (or any Burberry lippie)! It's actually a mini size as well, that I was given by the salesguy at Nordstrom in Ottawa. I was there with a friend and helped her pick out a gift for her aunt, and then he gave BOTH of us one of these mini lippies and a deluxe size Fresh Glow (Sephora should learn something from them...this is how you treat customers! Not with #epicfails...and yet I still got sucked in by the sale, sigh me...).

There's really no other way to describe it than the perfect my-lips-but-better shade.

Here it is on the left swatched next to MJ's Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, something which I think many of you are familiar with.

Bare lips with lip balm

It's super close to the natural shade of my lips as you can see, but adds just enough hint of color and because the pigmentation is moderate, it evens out my lips nicely. 

I don't really look like I have lipstick on (unless you come close, because there is of course some lipstick texture as expected of a non-sheer lippie), but I find it helps pull my look together, whether it's just a day I've only used some concealer, or I got a heavier eye thing going on. 

The texture is super smooth, and dries down semi-matte. It sets so nicely it doesn't actually "feel" like I have something on my lips. It's of course not moisturizing like my favorite tinted lip balms, but it's not drying either and it doesn't make my lips peel, so yay!

I'm starting to really love this brand (and looking forward to Nordstrom opening up in Toronto soon and giving The Bay/Sephora/Holts some serious competition in the beauty department!)

Have you tried Burberry Kisses line of lipsticks? What's your favorite shade?

What to do with leftover Face Mask fluid...

Daiso has awesome things... if you love face masks like I do, you probably dislike all the wasted fluid in the pouch afterwards! I had previously been using the left over fluid on my body, but this nifty pack lets you do another mask!

 

It comes with a tray with a well to put the leftover fluid in, and 10 dry packed masks. 

 

I keep the mask fluid fresh with a food clip :)

 

Instructions say you need about 5 mL of mask fluid, which I find is just about all that's left in the bag. 

 

It really expands!

 

Sorry this is a terrible photo, but you get the idea, it's a mask. I do find it doesn't stick as well to my face as the original, since the mask is not made out of the same material. 

Another idea is you can make your own mask fluid to use with these! Perhaps some combo of oils and water and glycerin... 

What will Daiso have next...I can't wait to go back and visit again!

Sept 2015: Empties + Declutteries

Wow this is incredibly late post...so late that it felt like I could have just waited until end of this month...but the OCD part of me still wants one of these posts per month so here we go :)

Bioderma Sensibio - I don't think I need to say more, pretty good stuff that I will repurchase

YSL babydoll mascara - this was a very very good mascara, volume and length without clumpiness, yay! Won't purchase for now though as I still have hoards of mascara samples to go through...

Clinique eye makeup remover - it's good, not as good as my Lancome fave, so won't be purchasing full size

Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer - I really like this formula for application, but it oxidizes to no end, and though the shade is too light going on, it's way too dark in an hour. Definitely won't purchase full size.

Face Shop Seaweed Moisture Mask - I was very impressed by this, it's a light gel-like formula, that sits on top the skin. It really helped with my dry patches!

Jack black lip balm - it's good, but not exciting. This is a declutter as it's expired, not nearly emptied enough.

I've been trying a lot of new products recently from my own stash (I sadly bought a bunch of things over the past year and never got around to even opening them), and though I've been taking photos, I've been feeling lazy to write the posts to go with them...hope I will get out of this funk soon as I really do enjoy writing.

Hello Chanel...: Les Beiges Hydrating Lip Balm + Long-lasting Eyeliner 916 Perle de Lune swatches and review

I finally cracked... all the reading of bloggers that love Chanel have led me to make a couple of purchases as my first foray into this line. I tried not to expect too much, but I did, and I was thoroughly impressed with one, and half let down by the other. 

The first purchase was a tinted lip balm. Of course I started with that, it's my favorite type of lippie! First all, the packaging did not disappoint...it looks like it'd feel like the cheap black plastic that some other high-end lippies come in, but nope, it's not. It's hefty and weighty and feels luxurious to hold. The design is also simple and elegant. I love it!

Unfortunately it went downhill from here...

with direct flash - Chanel lip balm on the left, next to YSL candy balm in Tangerine on the right

Let's talk about the formula first. The formula really wasn't bad. It's not one of those heavy sticky/thick balms, it's rather light and weightless. It does moisturize my lips, however not greatly so. 

bounced flash

Ok onto where I became disappointed...the shade...on my arm it actually doesn't show up much at all, so I thought, well worst come to worst it's like a non-tinted lip balm...I wish that were actually the case, as actually this shade does layer up on my lips, and layers up to a very sickly shade on me. I feel like this shade will suit middle-aged pale caucasian ladies perhaps, but not me...It's so disturbing I didn't want to take a lip swatch photo. I am actually really sad about this, as the packaging I adore, the formula is definitely good enough, but oh why couldn't they come out with a more red/berry shade :( 

Alright, now onto happier things. The Perle de Lune waterproof stylo... I have been wearing this non-stop and it is such a cool and interesting shade! It also smudges only minimally on my lower lid by the end of night, which happens with the best of my eyeliners so I'm fine with that. It's a soft formula that doesn't tug on my lids and sets fairly quickly.

It's a twist up style and comes with a sharpener too, though I've not had to use it as I find it wears down fine enough, as with this shade I don't feel the need to draw a super thin line. 

I guess I would describe this shade as a pearly warm taupey-silver, with complex shimmer. It's super brightening and natural at the same time when used alone. You can also use this above your black eyeliner to amp up the look and add some some extra oomph to your liner. 

This has been my go-to eye look recently. It defines my eyes, yet doesn't scream "hello I'm wearing eyeliner!" Love love love it!

 

Overall, I'm impressed by Chanel. I've never seen an eyeliner quite like this, and am so glad to have this in my collection. As for the lip balm, I'm impressed by the packaging, enough that I will go seek out another lippie, probably in the actual lipstick line so I can get a shade that suits me.  

Chanel fans, please let me know your recommendations for lippie shades or what other Chanel product I should try out next? Thanks in advance!

Eyelash Glue explosion...

I've been a long faithful user of Duo, but recently I got enticed by Velour's eyelash glue, which come in these twist ups that remind me of lip glosses. What a mistake...

 So the first use was fine...except the tip was hard to wipe off clean after...

This is the glob that needs to be wiped off, which I did eventually with a makeup wipe. Regular tissue didn't work because the fibres stuck on to the silicone tip. I wiped off very cleanly, with nothing visible left behind...

Next time I try to use it though, I twist and twist...and twist and twist... and nothing is coming out...how odd...then suddenly...

No, that is not mold on my ceiling...that is black eyelash glue...on my CEILING! The thing was just building pressure under whatever bit of glue dried up in the tip, and EXPLODED onto my ceiling, and across my entire bathroom vanity! Luckily it was not terribly difficult to wipe up once the glue dries, but it was everywhere...

Lessons:
1) do not keep twisting up if nothing is coming out...
2) always wipe up eyelash glue AFTER it dries
3) Duo is still the best... (unless you're allergic to latex, then I recommend the MUFE glue in the tiny bottle that comes with their lashes, too bad that doesn't sell individually...)

Have you had any makeup-related explosions? What was your worst? Describe me all the clean up details too...:) I needed to dig up a tall step ladder from deep within the labyrinth of my garage to get to my ceiling.