New Beauty Products - Mascara, Nail Polish, Perfume, Lipgloss and SO MUCH MORE!

Y'all know me - accumulating a nice stock of new beauty products every couple of months and just DYING to share the fun here on my blog. The rest of this post is going to be hella long, so I'ma keep the intro short and dive right in. Sidebar, you guys have no idea how long it's taken me to write this blog. I swear I started it in March.

LONDON DRUGS

Maybelline's The Rocket Volum' Express Mascara (on sale - $5.99)

The end of my current tube of The Rocket is nigh, so I needed to re-up on this trusty mascara. It's one of my very favorite mascaras - particularly for any night-time looks. It was even a part of my 2013 Favorites round up, if you want to read more about it there.

Maybelline's Great Lash Lots of Lashes (on sale - $4.99)

Even though Maybelline's Great Lash mascara is probably the most ubiquitous mascaras of all time, and a seemingly timeless staple of drugstore makeup departments, I've never tried it before. This new "Lots of Lashes" version of the product piqued my interest just enough for me to scoop it up. I've used it a few times now and am forming my opinion. So far, I'm really impressed with how the uniquely shaped brush head hugs my lashes during application, especially the bottom lashes. The first swipe of the first coat leaves my lashes a little wet, but the second swipe separates and combs through quite well. The actual mascara packaging/wand feels really cheap - almost like it's toy makeup. There also seems to be an Achilles heel in the wand, just beneath the brush head. If you aren't careful with it, you could accidentally bend the wand quite a bit at that point when you're replacing the wand into the tube. But despite those last two things, this mascara is doing its job so far. (Which is to make my face look less corpse-like.)

Update on 5/27/14:  My opinion on this mascara is now growing increasingly dismal by the day. You know how some mascaras give you a false negative impression in their first few uses, as they kind of settle into their formula? Well this Maybelline mascara did the opposite of that - it gave me a false positive impression in its first several uses, and then settled into its true formula... CLUMPY. Seriously, this stuff is making it nearly impossible to achieve separated lashes. Spend your money on a better mascara than this.

Revlon Parfumerie Polish in Moonlit Woods (on clearance - $3.99)

There were a few varieties of the Parfumerie polishes on sale that day in the London Drugs clearance bin, so I tested them all out and selected Moonlit Woods. I adore the scent of it. It's quite similar in color to the Nicole by OPI Gumdrops polish that I also picked up recently - Blue-Berry Sweet On You - but without the texture.

SHOPPERS DRUG MART

Aveeno Fresh Essentials Hydrating Night Cream ($4.49 because of pricing sticker discrepancy!)

So I was looking through the face creams at Shoppers when I noticed that there was a row of these Aveeno products on sale for $4.49, marked down from $20.99!! Whaaat!? But upon closer inspection, I realized that the $4.49 sale sticker had been placed on the wrong product. I brought it to the attention of a nearby store clerk and asked if he'd honor the $4.49 price for me, since I'd so nicely spotted the problem and quietly pointed it out to him. He did!! Ladies, that's how you spend $4.49 for a $20.99 night cream! I've been using the cream (almost) every night for the last couple of weeks, and I'm obsessed with the way it smells. It also makes my face feel soft and moisturized in the morning, which I appreciate.

Revlon Fuchsia Fever nail polish ($7.99)

You guys have seen this on my blog already - I bought it specifically for my Emma Stone Met Gala nails. I can't say enough about this polish - but I already raved about it here!

SEPHORA.com

Urban Decay Naked Lipgloss in Lovechild  - 0.13 oz ($20.40)

This is the product that I was actually shopping for on Sephora.com that day. All the rest were just bonus add-ons. After receiving a sample size of this lip gloss as a 100-point gift from Sephora earlier this year, I fell in love with it and decided to get the full size.

Marc Jacobs Honey perfume - 0.04 oz (free sample with purchase)

I was so happy to have gotten a sample of this perfume because I'd been wanting to check it out for a couple of years. With the overflowing box of sample perfumes that are already in my stash (a confession I made in this blog), there was a chance that this Honey sample would just get lost in the abyss of them all. But I'm happy to report that I've used up almost all of this sample already because it smells SEW DAMN GEWD. If you love sweet scents, you will no doubt love Honey.

GlamGlow BrightMud Eye Treatment (free sample with purchase)

Ok THIS is a weird product that I do not understand. I still don't, even after using it. It's an undereye treatment that comes in little individual pods, one for each eye. It's supposed to somehow brighten the undereye area, but after smearing on the gel-like, slimy, seemingly seaweed-infused substance, leaving it on for 5 minutes, and then wiping it off... I noticed absolutely no difference.

Kat Von D Unlock It Makeup Remover Wipes (free sample with purchase)

There are two wipes in here and I haven't used them yet because I'm so infrequently wearing enough face makeup that would require a remover wipe like this. Normally I'm only wearing mascara for makeup, which I'd remove with my Almay gentle eye makeup remover, rather than a face wipe. But one of these days, when I have something fancy to look nice for, I'll use my special Aveeno + DD Cream combo on my face, plus some bronzer (see Essence purchases below), plus some blush, plus some eye makeup... and ON THAT DAY, I will try out these Kat Von D makeup remover wipes to see how they do.

Buxom Full On Lip Polish in Sophia  - 0.07 oz sample (100 VIB points)

Oh heeeey, tingle city! This is a lip-plumping gloss that leans more "cool, tingly" than "burning," if that's your thing. The color, Sophia, is a rosy pink with golden microshimmer. It's a skosh on the sticky side, I'm not gonna lie. But it's not the very stickiest in the world, and the cool plumping sensation lasts for quite awhile. It also tastes/smells like... mocha? Sort of coffee-ish? All in all, I'm very pleased to have spent 100 points on this one.

ACACIA HAIR BOUTIQUE

Kevin Murphy Young Again treatment oil - ($40)

When I (finally) got my hair cut back in March, the treatment oil that the stylist used on me that day made my hair feel SO amazing that I actually purchased a bottle of it right then and have been using it almost daily ever since. Guys... get some. Two pumps of this Young Again oil applied throughout damp, towel-dried hair will make everyday a good hair day. After my hair dries, it feels nourished, healthy, soft, moisturized, AND it's shiny. As a little bonus, rubbing any leftover product into your hands will even leave your hands feeling amazingly soft! And as a further bonus, the oil smells like yummy vanilla perfume.

CANVAS HAIR SALON

Davines Melu Anti-Breakage Shampoo ($26)

Again, going back to the hair appointment I had in March, my stylist also recommended that I switch to using the shampoo brand/line that complemented the conditioner that I was already using - a Davines Melu Anti-Breakage Conditioner. Shampoo and conditioners apparently really do work best when the same kind is used in tandem, rather than using one brand for shampoo and another brand for conditioner. So to give my "anti-breakage" regimen a boost I went into a neighborhood hair salon, Canvas, and picked up the Davines Melu Shampoo. I have to be honest... I do NOT like using this shampoo, but hear me out.

The #1 reason that I'm frustrated with this shampoo is because it does not lather. And yes, I know, I KNOW, that's actually a good thing. Shampoos that lather up nice and frothy with big bubbles actually contain ingredients that aren't great for your hair. This is a well-known fact among people who pay attention to hair stuff, so when this Davines shampoo didn't lather up during use, I knew that it wasn't a mistake or a product defect. I knew it was a sign of the quality ingredients in the shampoo... but that doesn't make it any easier to spread the product throughout my long hair! Bubbly shampoos are easy to disseminate throughout a full head of hair, because you can just work the frothy bubbles all the way down the length of your strands, and all the way down to the nape of your neck to scrub them in and get everything clean. But when there is no lather to disperse, what the hell do you do??? Does anyone know what I'm talking about?? It's so hard to feel like the shampoo is reaching every part of my hair and head when there are no bubbles.

Anyway... despite that frustration, I don't think my hair is feeling any negative effects of the non-lather yet. It certainly still feels clean and smooth when I'm done using this shampoo. So basically I've got lots of conflicting feelings about this product, so I DON'T EVEN KNOW HOW I FEEL. #HidesInACorner.

IN MY EASTER BASKET (AKA... gifts to myself)

I like to make Easter baskets for David and myself every year (when I remember), because why the heck not? It's fun to go shopping for tons of small items and candies to put together for a Sunday morning surprise. This year I made our "baskets" by trimming down a couple of paper bags, folding over their tops, and stuffing them with shredded magazine pages for "grass." Atop the bed of mag-grass went all of the other goodies. Some of you may remember the picture I shared of it on Instagram:

Among all the other candy treats, these were the beauty products that the Easter bunny left in my basket this year:

Essence Sun Club All-in-One Bronzing Highlighter (in shade for blondes/lighter skin) ($3.49?)

YouTuber Tati recently reviewed a whole line of summery Essence products, one of which was this Sun Club bronzing highlighter, which looked really pretty to me. Knowing how insanely affordable Essence products are, this product went onto my list of things to try. I love this stuff! It's my very first bronzer, EVER, if you can believe it. I know it's not a full-on bronzer, but still - more bronze than anything else I own. I got the shimmery "blonde" shade, but this also comes in a darker, brunette version. Of note: this product smells like summer - a piña colada, specifically.

By the way, if you're interested, Tati is one of my new favorite YouTubers to watch. She's gorgeous and has tons of knowledge about makeup and beauty and life, but one of my favorite things about her is her voice! It's so soothing to listen to, and I literally don't even care how creepy that sounds. Check out her channel here.

Essence Lipstick in #53 All About Cupcake ($1.99)

It was the cute packaging that made me buy this raspberry-coral lipstick. I didn't notice until writing this blog that it's got an adorable name too (All About Cupcake). This is totally not a lipstick you need to buy, because it's nothing extra special. It's a relatively sheer lipstick that takes a lot of work to build up, but it does apply really smoothly and smells like candy necklaces... so. You decide if you want to spend your hard-earned $2 on this 'stick.

Eos Lip Balm in Passion Fruit ($3.99)

Just another eos to add to my stash! This is the passion fruit flavor - lovely.

Lush Fluffy Egg bath bomb (I can't remember how much this cost!)

I've not used this yet, so there's not much I can tell you besides the fact that it smells super sugary sweet and it will allegedly fizz up when it hits the water.

Oh my god, are you still reading? If you are - thank you for sticking it out. We've reached the end of this beauty round up!

Now tell me - have you tried any of these products? If so, let me know your thoughts! Shop them below using the Shop The Post widget ~

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{Linking with Beauty Buzz and Kelly's Korner Blog}

Random Round-Up: Beauty, Fashion and Music

Apologies in advance for the smorgosbord that this blog post is about to be. I just knew that these things needed to be blogged about, and my time was short because of the holiday week - so I decided to throw these all together! So put on your "I can deal with random blog vomit" panties, and LET'S DO THIS.

1. Aveeno moisturizer + Marcelle DD Cream = Good

This Aveeno Ultra-Calming Daily Moisturizer is pretty much... my daily moisturizer. Unless I forget to apply it, I wear it everyday. I like it because it has SPF 15 in it, and it gives my skin a healthy glow. My skin has been going a little nuts in the last month or so - seems like I am always breaking out. And normally I don't give a crap and go about my business without thinking much about how my breakouts look. In fact, I don't own any concealer at all - and literally never have in my life. But for some reason I was feeling a bit more self conscious about my skin than usual, so it seemed like a good time to try out the Marcelle DD Cream product that had been given to me at the #blogvancity event back in September.

OK, so confession: I had NO idea what DD cream was when I received this product in September.  And the packaging, as you can see, didn't really help me out in terms of knowing what was awaiting me inside that container. I thought the product was going to be white. If you didn't know what DD cream was, and you saw that container, wouldn't you think you were looking at a glass container with white product inside?? So imagine my surprise the first time I pumped out a bit of this product and saw that it wasn't white at all - it was in fact quite tinted. Too darkly tinted for me to use it as-is, which is when I had the brilliant idea to mix it with my off-white Aveeno lotion.

This, I don't mind telling you, really was a terrific idea. I use about a 3:1 ratio of Aveeno to DD cream, mix them well between my fingers, and then use my fingers to apply the mixture just like I'd apply my daily face lotion. It is very light coverage, as you can imagine, but it takes away some of my redness and evens out my skin tone a bit.

I don't use the DD cream everyday, because I don't love the idea of a makeup product covering my entire face. If I wipe my nose and my Kleenex gets covered in tinted cream, it gives me the weirds. I have to assume my skin is better off without a layer of makeup on it, so I'll stick to using my Aveeno/DD cream combo only on the days I'm feeling self conscious. It's nice to know it's an option though!

From Marcelle's site:

Marcelle DD Cream: Going beyond a BB Cream, DD is an all-in-one tinted cream that not only corrects but really protects your skin from external aggressors. 

. Tightens pores
. Visibly improves skin texture
. Evens and smoothes the look of skin
. Promotes removal of skin impurities
. Controls shine
. Offers immediate and long-term hydrating benefits
. Protects skin from environmental stressors
. Helps prevent signs of aging
. Soothes and calms dry/damaged skin
. Provides anti-dull radiant complexion 

The 1 oz bottle retails for between $18 and $27, but I got it for $Free.99 at the #blogvancity blogger event. Holla! Sidebar, the list of ingredients on this product is a mile long. So... read at your own peril.

2. My birthday present from Sephora!

As a member of Sephora's VIB rewards program I get a little treat every year around my birthday. This year's present was very exciting for me, as a woman who has eye lashes. Sephora was giving out a little Benefit duo with a sample of the They're Real! mascara and the Watt's Up highlighter! I've heard about They're Real! for years but never bought myself any of it because I just tend to lean towards drugstore mascaras. Getting a free sample of this much-discussed mascara was a very nice birthday present indeed.

Check out this wacky brush - the end of it is like a medieval weapon of some sort, isn't it?

I've used the mascara just a couple of times so far - but so far, so good! It separates my lashes well and hasn't clumped or crumbled at all. It was a little strange to do my lower lashes with that crazy brush, but I got it done.

I don't have a ton to say about Watt's Up yet. I swatched it on the back of my hand, and it's creamy with a nice sheen to it. It miiiight be a little dark for my skin, but maybe I can keep it for a summertime highlighter when my face is a little more tan.

3. My 100-point gift from Sephora - Julep Freedom Polymer Top Coat

As part of that same VIB rewards program, I earn points for every dollar spent at Sephora. I've had a ton of points accumulating for awhile (like years), so I also selected a 100-point perk at the checkout - this Julep Freedom Polymer Top Coat.  The product promises to deliver a "gel-like shine without the hassle of curing lights." The reviews for this product are very mixed over on the Sephora site, so I'm not sure how it'll be. Have you tried it? Let me know in the comments!

4. Funny/insulting sidebar: Caudalie thinks very little of me. 

I received this makeup bag as a free gift when I purchased a Caudalie hand cream (a Christmas present for my Grandmother). Um... thanks Caudalie? Without you I'd be straight garbage.  

5. Arbonne FC5 Moisturizing Night Créme

Now here's a good time. I ordered this Arbonne FC5 Moisturizing Night Créme awhile ago but for reasons that I won't go into, it was sent to my sister's home in Massachusetts. She included it in her birthday package to me earlier this month, so I was finally able to try it out! Very happy to say it was worth the wait! This is so thick and creamy and smells subtly like citrusy vanilla - almost like a creamsicle or something. It's much, much thicker than the last night cream I'd been using - a Philosophy cream brazenly called When Hope Is Not Enough. (Sup with all these beauty companies trying to make us feel ugly?) (Oh, wait, nevermind.)

From the Arbonne site:

For normal/dry skin. Rich moisturizing crème nurtures skin while you sleep, helping to maintain young, beautiful skin.

I've only been using this cream for a few nights, but I do love the way it smells and the way it feels on my skin. Only time will tell if it can MAKE ME BEAUTIFUL. #UglyDuckingSigh.

6. New Forever21 nail polish

Forever21's nail polish line - Love & Beauty - has been stepping up their game a bit recently. These polishes cost only $3.80 in Canada (usually $2.80 in the US), and this polish is paaaaacked with glitter! It's got tiny rounds of silver, navy and cobalt and larger hex glitter in cobalt and silver, all in a clear base. It's so packed with glitter that you might be able to get it almost opaque in two coats! I've swatched it a few times now and can't wait to get it onto my nails.

7. Emerald Forever21 sweater

Well I don't want to toot my own color-wearing horn, but this shade of green is really flattering on me, so I was psyched to spot a soft, chunky emerald sweater at Forever21 this past weekend. It's got a hi-lo hem and an oh-so-cozy loose fit. My plan is to take it for its inaugural spin on Thanksgiving, with some skinny jeans, big earrings and that gorgeous brown Adrienne Vittadini bag I found at the thrift store in September. This emerald sweater was $33.80 here in Canada, but it's $27.80 in the US - story of my life. Its color is a lot more vibrant in real life too - it comes off a bit muted in these Forever21 pictures.

8. Thrifted 90s/00s R&B CDs

It's a must that I scour the Salvation Army's CD selection every time I go in there. The 4th Ave Salvay has THE BEST selection of 90s music. Ever. Like hundreds of your favorite 90s artists, all in one place - and all for only $2 each. I saw at least 3 copies of Maroon 5's Songs About Jane album - which was part of the soundtrack to my freshman year at UMass back in 2002-2003. There were 2 copies of Boyz II Men's Cooleyhighharmony album, so obviously I grabbed one of those.

A copy of Babyface's 1997 MTV Unplugged album and Lucy Pearl's self-titled debut album (straight outta 2000!) also made it home with me that day. And I'd love for you to tell me the last time you even thought about Lucy Pearl.

Sidebar, as much as I loooooove looking through the CD selection, it's actually really sad for me to see so many abandoned classics ending up at Salvay. I can only hope that the former owners of all these albums have at least made digital copies of the music and are only abandoning the CD format - not the music itself. #90sForLife. #BestMusicEver.

ALRIGHT Y'ALL. We got through it - my most random blog post of the month! (I didn't check back to verify that statement, but it might be true.)

Did any of this make you say "OOOOH la la!!"? Have you picked up any random things you're loving lately? Are you still reading? BUELLER??

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