Sunday 31 March 2013

EDK- I Love Zombies

Hey all! I hope everyone had a nice long weekend, I can't believe it's over already. I don't celebrate Easter so I don't have an Easter themed mani to share. But if there are any Walking Dead fans out there we know that tonight is the season 3 finale. I am so excited!! So I thought it was fitting to wear EDK's I Love Zombies. Not sure why it was named that because the polish didn't remind me of anything zombie related at all. Either way it is a very pretty polish, on Kelly's site it is described as a polish that looks "...green to brown [and has] hexagonal holographic glitter and micro golden pearls.." However to me it looked a murky greenish gold with holographic glitters. The glitters were more prominent in the bottle and seemed to lose some of the sparkle on my nails.

EDK or Esmaltes da Kelly is a Brazillian indie polish brand owned by Kelly Cris. One thing I love about her polishes is the bow she glues onto the lid. I think it's such a cute and dainty touch! I did get a little paranoid not to get the little bow dirty while applying the polish. For a 8ml size bottle I thought the brush size wasn't too small which made the application of the polish very easy. I was able to achieve opacity with 2 thick coats and no base colour. The finish of the polish was a little gritty but with a layer of topcoat it was glossy, smooth and absolutely beautiful.


Saturday 30 March 2013

Julep Oxygen Nail Treatment


Hi Everyone!!

So recently I broke all my nails ( I don't even know how!) and trimmed them super duper short or as best I can, since my pointer actually ripped!  :(!! Look how bad they are, I don't even want to show them bleh...(ew!!!)


I decided this would be the perfect time to try Julep's Oxygen Nail Treatment.
My nails are pretty brittle and tend to peel due to my years of nail biting, gel manicures etc.

love the frosted bottle look!

Would this be the solution to all my problems..?


sadly.. no.



First, the instructions were kinda vague, do I put a coat on each day or do I put on a coat and remove each day and reapply or put it on and leave it...??? (LOL! I am very inexperienced with these treatment applications!)

I went to Julep's Facebook page and asked and I was told to put on 2-3 layers  and leave it for 6 days.. then remove & repeat.

Anyway, I put it on and hoped for the best!..

It was a nice soft pink and wasn't streaky at all.

The first 6 days seemed fine but there was not much growth but there was no peeling!!
So I tried for the 2nd time, giving my nails more time to actually grow out & see if the treatment was effective..by the 10th or so day I was washing my hands and my nails just peeled!! Like split a big chunk :( SO SAD.
Then other parts of my nails starting showing up more opaque white which usually means they're splitting/peeling.

heartbreaking!! 

My camera didn't really want to focus on my sad nails so only one picture but you can see how badly it peeled :(


so back to nubbins my nails go!

I have heard success stories with Julep Oxygen Nail Treatment, so I hope it works for you!
Have you tried this treatment yet..? How did you like it??


Stay Happy!

Mir






Thursday 28 March 2013

Swap Haul!

Hey everyone! Is everyone as excited for a long weekend as I am? I'm so looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow lol. I quickly wanted to share a short haul post of a swap I did with a friend of mine from Brazil. I was sent me the new Jade holographic polishes, some indies I've been lemming and some other goodies. Here's a preview of swatches to come.


Benita Stamping Plate B-09




Close up of EDK's I Love Zombies and Aquila
Close up of Penelope Luz's Lucky Fairy, Picasso and Blue Birds of Paradise 

This was the first time I received a broken polish in the mail. The bottle of La Femme Unica I received broke at the neck, but luckily the leakage created a quasi seal and I was able to decant 90% of the polish. The polish gods must've been looking out for me because I would've been seriously bummed if I was not able to save Unica at all. It is the most beautiful dark green holographic polish I've come across since A-England's Dragon.

I used polish thinner to loosen up the polish for an easier pour and to make sure I got every valuable drop from the bottle. If this happens to you in the future and you want to decant be very very careful because it is broken glass you're dealing with! Also make sure you do it over scrap paper because it can get messy.

Sad polish :(
Good as new!

Have you ever had a polish break while in transit to you? Were you able to save it or was it a total loss?

Annie

Monday 25 March 2013

Club Nail Polish - Review

Hi Everyone!

before you start, I'd like to apologize for my bad nail pictures, they have been so bad all winter *hides*


Club Nail Polish sent a review package for their upcoming subscription service.

I was pretty excited waiting for this package.
But when I got it, I have to be honest. I was a bit underwhelmed.

Find out why under the break.

Sunday 24 March 2013

L'Occitane - gift from promotion

Hi everyone!!

Recently L'Occitane had a Facebook promotion to sign up to receive a free 10ml hand cream but it was upgraded to a 30ml hand cream ($12 value!!) and 15% off when you go and pick up the cream!

There were three choices to pick from: Shea Butter, Lavender and Pivoine Flora.
They ran out of the Lavender so I picked their original Shea Butter :)


The saleslady there was SO amazing! Because they ran out of the Lavender scent she also gave me a packet sample to try. On top of the 30ml cream + packet sample she also threw in MORE samples!
I was like "Really? Samples upon samples?" hehe and she packaged it so nicely!
I love the sticker and the cute paper bag!


I just want to thank L'Occitane for giving out such an awesome promotion! I haven't been out much since I'm sick so I haven't used much of the cream yet. But it goes on pretty smooth and the scent of the shea butter is really subtle. My hands were smooth that whole day when I went to try out their scents before picking out Shea Butter. Perfect for Canadian winter weather!

They have tons more scents and other products available at their website if you want to check it out at
http://ca.loccitane.com

I like their new spring cherry line, it's a bit strong but smells amazing. I may go revisit L'Occitane real soon!


ps. I want to thank Aldrin who helped me out when the promo didn't show up in my email!  & my brother for driving me to Yorkdale for no other purpose!! I know he probably could have spent his time better but yay <3

Wednesday 20 March 2013

Late To The Party...My St.Patty's Day Manicure


Hey everyone! Been awhile since I've posted, thank goodness Mir was around to tell you all about exciting up and coming products. I seriously can't wait to try the wantable and clubnailpolish boxes.

I had to take a break from swatching because of a little accident at work a couple weeks ago :( I was using a cutting disc and my worst nightmare came true, I cut a notch into the middle of nail bed. It's slowly growing out so it's not too noticeable. I got into the festivities on Sunday and did a St. Patty's day themed mani and I really wanted to share with you guys so these swatches are of my left hand, my non swatch hand. (*Fun fact, Mir and I are both lefties.) I used Hits Alana and China Glaze Running in Circles as an accent nail. Alana is a beautiful seafoam green, it is hard to tell in the pictures but it has a darker green micro-shimmer. These pictures do Running In Circles no justice either, it is a apple green jelly polish with gold shimmer.



Hits Alana was gifted to me in a swap, Hits polishes are available at Llarowe. China Glaze Running In Circles was purchased by me, it is available at www.nailpolishcanada.com

Annie

Wednesday 13 March 2013

Wantable - free box

Hey Everyone!!


Someone posted something on a group I follow that I just want to share! :)


and sign up to receive a *free box once Wantable.co starts shipping to Canada :D

I have word that they have plans to start shipping to Canada in April!

I have read a few reviews and by word of mouth, they sound completely customizable AND amazing.


From what I have learned within my few minutes of 'researching' is:

-They have awesome customer service. (big plus!)
-They offer two variety of boxes 1 for makeup, 1 for jewelry. You can pick either one, or probably even purchase both!
-They will offer a survey for you to fill out to customize your box. 
-From what I read you can either opt out of receiving nail polish, customize colour choices.
One of the blogs I read said she'd prefer not getting nude lipsticks and instead got a lovely red shade!
-Each box offers a variety of products! (big plus as well) Items include: 
jewelry: Rings, earrings, bracelets, necklaces.
makeup: nail polish, lip gloss, lip stick, eyeshadows, liners, brushes etc!! :)


*terms have said you purchase a box and within 2 days you will be reimbursed the amount less canadian shipping.

So I have yet to figure out the total cost w/ CDN shipping..

but this sounds promising..!

Are you already a subscriber, if so what are your thoughts?
If Canadian, will you be signing up for this offer? ;)


----------------------------------UPDATE-------------------------------------------

If it wasn't clear, Wantable is a subscription box like Topbox, Loose Button, Glymm, Julep etc and the list goes on..~!
There are two types of boxes available to choose from. One focuses on jewelry and one focuses on makeup.
There is an extensive profile survey you fill out in the beginning so they can fully customize your box. Unlike other subscriptions which also has a survey, from reviews this one actually seems to follow it!
One blogger states, she hated nude lipstick and she only received shades like red & pink (big plus!)
I, personally dislike pink/red lipstick, so I am glad if I fill that out I won't be getting any!

Also, aside from signing up for email alerts, there hasn't been anymore information yet but my friends who has been following this longer than I have, assured it will be coming soon..


I know Wantable is already quite pricey, but this definitely seems like a box to try!



Sunday 10 March 2013

club nail polish update.

Hey girls!

We are jumping for joy~!    (source: pusheen.com)

ClubNailPolish is doing their pre-launch and they asked a few Canadian bloggers first to do a little review. They said they wanted blogs with traffic but I tried my luck anyway!

 I signed up and got confirmation that we were picked!! Yay, we are definitely honoured to be picked since we're a tiny blog.

We are super duper excited and we want to thank our readers for making this possible :)!!

A special thank you to my friend Kathleen Foster!! ^___^ who shared the post since for some reason my newsfeed didn't show up!


Stay Happy!

- M

Thursday 7 March 2013

Girly Bits - P.S. I Love You Collection


Hi Guys,

Today I have a short post for you.
Recently I've been having bad luck with the mail... I received a big box of EMPTY. Sadly waited SO long for this package only to receive only the wrappers and packing cheetos :(. This makes me so sad, and I am not the only victim which sucks even more!! I'll discuss later because actually this post, I want to say something nice..!

Recently Girly Bits, a lovely CANADIAN indie company held a contest to win her P.S. I Love You Collection. It's a beautiful trio which includes a PURPLE HOLO!! (yes my favourite of all polish types!!) I was so excited to enter and with the help of my lovely friends I won! :D

I just want to thank ALL my friends who I always bug and spam with the multitude of posts I make hehe :P

Today I included some lovely bottle shots of this collection: I just LOVE IT!

Pam Heil of Girly Bits released P.S. I Love You in memory of her dear friend's mother Doris Sewell Rudeen. 
Girly bits with her new labels :)

lovely aren't they?

Twitterpated - strong purple holographic with light purple foil and pink shimmer
A Mother's Love - a glitterbomb w/ pink and gold glitters of various shapes & sizes, gold shimmer and hearts, like a mother's love it's fully packed and full of awesome! <3 
Hot Shot - a weaker hot pink holographic


click for larger pictures! With flash :)

click for larger pictures! Without flash :)
You can check out Girlybits here:
http://pamsgirlybits.blogspot.ca
http://www.girlybitscosmetics.com
http://www.facebook.com/GirlyBits

You can purchase this collection here:
http://girlybits.bigcartel.com/category/p-s-i-love-you-collection


Currently Girly bits is celebrating their 6000 Facebook likes with a giveaway, please go check it out and say congrats!! :)

http://pamsgirlybits.blogspot.ca/2013/03/6000-facebook-likes-giveaway.html


Stay tuned for some long overdue posts coming right up :) My nails and cuticles are still healing but I can't wait!! 



Stay Happy !


Mir

Friday 1 March 2013

Starlooks - December, Birthday & January

Hi Everyone,

***before you read this post, I have to apologize for my excessive use of smiley faces, exclamation points and the word amazing, I am just a total fangirl when I talk about Starlooks. Yes imagine a fan with balloons, a huge I heart Starlooks fan sign and the whole she-bang!***

I have been waiting SO long to share. Thanks to my friend Aleks for teaching me a SD card upload trick, I can finally post this!! (Thanks Aleks <3)

wait.. I have to thank Aleks again! She was the one who introduced me to Starlooks! Since there was a bunch of us at the same time, we did a ladder approach to referrals so I also have to thank Rebecca as I registered under her via Aleks <3

While browsing on Facebook, I read about Starlooks. It is a cosmetic brand who puts out a monthly beauty box full of their own branded products (sometimes they feature extras from other companies :)). So kind of like Julep but cosmetic related. (I am the best explainer right? haha.) On their website, they also sell an abundance of products, so be sure to take a look ;)

They are based out of the US but because they are a lovely company, they also allow Canadian subscribers to join in the fun (Thank goodness they did!!!!!!)

It's 15$ a month but for Canadians there is an added 4.50$ shipping fee...according to my VISA it's approx, 19.75$ with currency exchange, but it's still a good deal :), February I was charged 20.47, it really depends on the exchange rate but it's worth EVERY PENNY <3

Canadian subscribers cannot subscribe through their website but instead e-mail them with a completed form, or call. They will be more than happy to help you out. :)
Customer Service is AMAZING. They reply super-quick and they definitely put their customers first!

At the end of the post I will give out a bit more information because right now I want to show you my Starlooks experience.

December - Be The Light:

So there was mention about Starlooks having an amazing December box, a 99$ 15 Shadow Palette for the price of only 15$!!..
My thought was WOW,  $99 value for only $15!..equalling to $1 an eyeshadow. How can I say no..?
So as I was contemplating whether to buy it since I have a lot of eyeshadows already and eye allergies (boo!), someone mentioned on your birthday month, Starlooks also would send you a birthday box.
SOLD.  haha I am a weak-willed consumer for gifts~! Especially this year was my Dragon birthday, I totally spoiled myself :)

So I took the dive and ordered a Starlooks box. I took a peek at their palettes to see the choices they had available.

http://starlooks.com/collections/eyes/products/15-shade-eye-shadow

I was floored, they had so many options, I was EXCITED!

When I finally got my December Starlooks box, I ripped into it happily. lol
I was met with a flurry of shredded box stuffing "snow".  I had to quickly vacuum before my mom saw :) After that I finally opened the palette. It was a December Starlooks exclusive!
It was gorgeous, It had a rainbow of colour choices - shades of reds, yellows, blues, greens and purples!!!
Now I have to admit,  some colours were questionable to me like that bright matte red and the greens (on my skintone...hmm...) but with a little creative blending, they still look AH-mazing.
Most of the palette is shimmer colours except for a bright matte red and deep matte plum.



15 exclusive colours :)

Quality wise, it is amazing too!!
When I first swatched the eyeshadows lightly, it seemed sheer, so I swiped a bit more and it was SO pigmented. So this is very versatile for the look you want to achieve, a sheer soft look to a vivid intense look :)
It goes on velvety smooth and blends well.

one swipe


buildable colour!



one swipe

buildable colour!
(I was going to do a MAC comparison but the files got corrupted so I will have to repost them later)


Onto my amazing birthday box.

Starlooks offer their lovely subscribers a birthday box on the month of their birth.. (obv right haha :), another one of my great explanations) It came separately from the December box in a nice sleek back box.



I am flabbergasted! I think these items are full-sized! I tried looking on their website but it didn't say sizes but it does seem like it! :)
It came with a lipstick and its corresponding lip liner and a glitter glam!



but the best part, a handwritten birthday card from Starlooks :) it's too too cute that they decided to put in a birthday card. It really is the little things & attention to detail which makes this company special..!


thank you Starlooks :)

Here is a close up of the products:

Glitter Glam, 0.07oz in bb pink.



OF COURSE, I put it on before reading the package since it was so pretty and guess where.. my eyes of course LOL.
Then I read the package.."Glitter can be applied all over the body, hair, nails and face excluding the area surrounding the eyes." I really am the best, aren't I...?
This is really great for the body and hair (really, it's lovely for any application, except the eyes okay peeps!!! Don't make the same mistake I did hahaaa, may be dangerous, I didn't clarify the reason yet - I believe it is due to its coarse texture*)
I currently use NARS Hungry Heart Duo for these purposes since it's too light for me to be used as a normal blusher but Glitter Glam is a great substitute.
*quote from Starlooks "More course in texture than the pigments, this super shiny glitter will "bling" out any makeup look." ps. yes, there's a spelling error


Lipstick, 0.13oz in Tipsy & Lip Pencil, 2.4g in Tipsy.



Now I have no experience with Lip pencils but thank you for sending matching lip products hahaah!
The only other lip pencil I have doesn't match the lipstick it came with.. It was part of a gift basket so.. no idea what happened there lol!
It goes on pretty smooth and very pigmented, it will be nice to complement the lipstick and define my sad lips!...
At the moment, I am in love with lipsticks so I am very happy to receive this. Also in a colour I probably wouldn't pick up for myself since I usually stick to nudes, so it's always nice to get something new to try out :).
Tipsy is a orangey-pink coral colour which is quite bright.. can't wait to try it out !!
I love lipstick!! I think they look so pretty and Starlooks simple packaging with a little cap at the bottom of the colour is easy for storage ^_^.. This set also comes with a corrsponding lipgloss as well!
  ps. random fact - the lipstick doesn't have any scent, woohoo a plus for me..!


I took a look at their website and holy moly, they sure have many lipstick colours to pick from, I can't wait to try out more colours in the future ^__^...

For a free birthday box, this is AMAZING right..?
Glitter Glam ($12) + Lipstick ($11) + Lip Pencil ($9.50) = $32.50!!

Thank you Starlooks for an amazing birthday present!


January - Eden:
So after the first exciting month of Starlooks, I was dancing in my seat just waiting for January's box..
When it came, I tore in and saw a bright green box!



I looked inside and was like Elisha Cuthbert..??? haha but no, it's just Starlooks FACE OF STARLOOKS Winner Johnnie Faye Cartwright! She's so pretty :)


Anywho, this month we received a few goodies :)
Two types of eyeliners, a blush, a brush and a bracelet.




The thing I was most excited for was the blush. I normally don't wear blush so I am glad to have a chance to try it out. The colour is called Cuty Peach, pretty accurate, it's a light-ish peach and I think it matches my skintone pretty well..

in box
no flash

super duper close-up! (no flash)

Next are the eyeliners, also colours I hardly wear.. (wow Starlooks is really pushing the boundaries of my makeup collection aren't they??!) They had a normal brown eyeliner and a diamondline eyeliner in green!
without flash

with flash
The brown eyeliner is appropriately called Brown lol, it's a normal eyeliner, goes on pretty smooth but I think I still prefer wearing a vivid black eyeliner due to the way I usually line my eyes :)
I might try it out for a 'lighter' look when I just want to line my water line. The Diamondline eyeliner is super glittery/sparkley (lovee), I received the green one called Fancy.


Like I said I normally don't wear green, but I love this colour!!!! Although it's a bit too glittery for me to wear in the corners of my eyes since my look is plain. I did wear it lined with my usual black eyeliner (double-liner hehe.. I don't really  know the 'technical' name) and I find it made my eyes popped... by the end of the day there was a bit of fall out and my whole eye area was kinda glittery, it may be also due to the weather though..hmm..
But overall, it goes on pretty smooth and the lasting power is good.

Lastly, I received a small dome brush, # 858, which is a brush I usually use for putting on eyeshadow and blending. It's made from cruelty-free pony hair. It's really soft and does the job well.. One can never have enough awesome brushes!




As a bonus, Starlooks also included a handmade bracelet by Abby Rose Designs. It nicely tied in with this month's colour...green!! :) It's very cute and smart of them to make it a wrap type bracelet so it's one size fits all! :) because I am still a blogging noob, I don't have a picture of the bracelet close up but if you scroll back up, you can see it in the picture which shows the month's contents :)


Starlooks also includes 2 small crystals, apparently it is a regular feature in the boxes (minus december). If you buy a little jar/vase, you can fill it up and create a cute centrepiece.




I cannot wait for February :)

Thanks everyone for reading this long long post....!
This is just the beginning of an amazing subscription with Starlooks.
This has definitely blown me out of the water, I cannot say enough GOOD things about this company :) :) <3 <3

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
So a little more of Starlooks...since Canadians cannot subscribe normally on their website, you have to email or call them to subscribe.

1. Call them at 1-949-679-0679 between 9:30 am and 5:30 pm (PST)
2. Request a subscription sign-up form to be sent to your address. If you do this option, once you receive it, you have to fill it out and send it back. Once received they will place your order (personally I don't like this option, hehe)
3.  Email them w/ information. This is the option I did,  by emailing : info@starlooks.com

I emailed them with the form below filled out and they processed me asap :)

Your Full Name:
Your Complete Shipping and Billing Addresses: (please indicate if they are different)
*how I did it since mine were both the same was just posted it twice under the headings Shipping: & Billing:, incase there were any misunderstanding
Credit Card Number:
Expiration Date:
3 Digit Security Code:
Phone Number:
Birth Date:
Skin Tone:
How did you hear about us? (under this please write: Referred by Miranda Cheung via Aleksandra Sokal :D



- M


Relevant links:
Aleks: http://plumpishbeauty.blogspot.ca
Starlooks: www.starlooks.com