Wednesday 23 December 2015

Crabtree & Evelyn for the Holidays

Hey friends,

It's been a while..but if you've been following my instagram (@_mirch) or Annie's (@anniepolishes).. we're still showing our loves for nails and cosmetics :)
Been feeling under the weather right now but I hope these products make you smile. It definitely did when the mail man dropped this off at my doorstep =)

Do you need last minute gift ideas for the holiday (like really last minute)? Well if so, I have a great choice for you!
Crabtree & Evelyn placed their hand creams in an adorable Christmas themed holiday tin. These 3 scents aren't limited and include one of my favourite scents from them - Avocado, olive and basil!
The set includes: 
  • Pomegranate, Argan & Grapeseed Ultra-Moisturising Hand Therapy (25g)
  • Avocado, Olive & Basil Ultra-Moisturising Hand Therapy (25g)
  • Citron, Honey & Coriander Ultra-Moisturising Hand Therapy (25g)



  • These tins also come in many different trios. Check out their website (linked below) for more details.

    These creams aren't greasy and absorb very well into the skin. Out of the 3, the avocado one was the thickest and pomegranate was thinnest in texture. The citron one was strongest in scent.




    This set retails at $29 CAD and can be bought at any Crabtree & Evelyn boutique or online.


    Next we have two fall/winter hues of nail polish. Both are in the red category. One is Wine and the other is Cranberry. Cranberry is a brighter, solid red fitting of it's name. A staple in many people's manicure collections. Like my mom's, she quickly asked if it was for her when I opened the package. 
    Wine is a darker burgundy red.

    left: Wine right: Cranberry
     Formula wise, they are on the thin side but it allows for smooth application and a fairly quick dry time. I like that these polishes had a thinner consistency yet both only required two coats for full opacity. However, I did prefer a 3rd coat for Cranberry since there was a very faint visible nail line after two coats, not noticeable other than to me because as you may know..I am super picky when it comes to VNL!
    This is my first time trying Crabtree and Evelyn polishes and I have to say I am quite impressed with their quality of lacquer. They have a huge range of colours to choose from and I cannot wait to purchase more and see how they are. Especially their Black Tulip looks like it would be an amazing duochrome!These polishes retail at $10 CAD but often has deals such as right now (12/23/15) Buy two get one free and can be bought at any Crabtree & Evelyn boutique or online.


    Feel free to ask any questions below..

     Happy Holidays !

    Miranda





    Quick Links:
    http://www.crabtree-evelyn.ca/



    these items were given in exchange for review. all opinions are my own. 

    Wednesday 2 December 2015

    November Empties

    I have something a little different than what I usually post to share today. I decided at the end of October to keep all the packaging of all the products I managed to finish in the month of November and do my first empties post. I managed to finish 11 products, some full sized, some sample sized. It was also interesting to see how much (or little?) I go through and which type of products I use most of. So here goes...

    * I forgot to include the Caudalie Vinosource Moisturizing Sorbet in the picture


    Vitafusion Women's Complete Multivitamin
    Would I buy again?  Yes
    Why?  These vitamins were a bit on the sweet side but tasted pretty good, they didn't have a gritty after taste like some other gummy vitamins do. I admit that I wasn't able to just eat the 2 vitamins that was recommended on the label and I ate them more like candy. I received these vitamins at the Women's Show in October but I'd buy these again if they were on sale. These would be great for people who have a hard time swallowing pills.

    Bath and Body Works Nourishing Hand Cream in Merry Cookie, Meyer Lemon and Sweet Pea
    Would I buy again?  Yes but in different scents
    Why?  I bought a couple of these hand creams last winter at the outlet store and have been switching between scents throughout the year. Typically I don't like heavily sugary scents too much but the Merry Cookie was sweet in a vanilla sugar cookie sort of way and it wasn't too overbearing if I used it just on my hands. However the formula of these scent disappointed me. I felt that the consistency wasn't as thick as their typical nourishing hand creams. Now this could be because I originally bought this hand cream last year so maybe something with the formula changed over time but I really didn't love it enough to want to buy another hand cream in this scent again. The Meyer Lemon and Sweet Pea scents were pleasant and I thought their formula was nice and thick, applied well and kept my hands hydrated.

    John Frieda 7 Day Volume In-Shower Treatment
    Would I buy again?   Nooooo, nope
    Why?  As a girl with fine hair, I wanted to love this product so much. But it left my hair feeling disgustingly stringy and felt like it was coated in rubber or something. It smelled nice and actual texture of the product felt great but the product was totally ineffective for me and was a major let down. I'm so glad I received this as a sample during the Women's Show in October because I'd be even more disappointed had I paid for this product.

    Cuter Cuticles Barrier Butter in Peanut 
    Would I buy again? Yes but in a different scent
    Why?  I love supporting indies, especially Canadian indies and even more so Canadian indies that price their products modestly and not charge an arm and a leg for shipping. Sammy from Cuter Cuticles meets all those requirements. I received this barrier butter as part of the peanut butter jelly time set which includes this barrier butter in Peanut, a cuticle oil pen in Grape Jelly and a mani bomb in Milk and Honey. A little product goes a long way, the warmth of your body melts the butter fairly quickly but not to the point where it's an oily mess. Because my job requires lots of handwashing I typically used this product at night as a hand and foot cream because it did feel a little heavy but not in an pleasant way. I would absolutely buy this product again but in a different scent.

    Cuter Cuticles Cuticle Oil in Buttered Popcorn

    Would I buy again? Yes but in a different scent
    Why? I bought this cuticle oil during Sammy's April fools limited edition scents, when I received it the scent was exactly like salty butter. I thought I'd hate it but it was nice in a weird kind way? Like with all of Sammy's cuticle oils, it kept the skin around my nails nice and hydrated. I used this scent on and off since April and I think due to the amount of time that passed the scent changed slightly during those months. I will continue using Sammy's cuticle oils but in a different scent next time. 

    Caudalie Vinosource Moisturizing Sorbet
    Would I buy again?  Yes
    Why?  This cream certainly lived up to it's name. The texture was light and applied on very smoothly without any greasy sticky reside (which I hate). I admit I didn't really see a dramatic difference after using this product but it kept my face from drying and I feel like it would be a great moisturizer to use in the summer time since it feels so light on the skin. I have a bunch of face products to use up before I need to purchase another moisturizer again so I don't see myself purchasing this product in the immediate future but definitely something I'd consider later on once I've used up my stash.

    Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Gel
    Would I buy again? No
    Why?  This bottle of Dramatically Different Moisturizing Gel has been kicking around in bathroom for quite some time now and I feel like the product I fell in love with has fallen short. My skin felt sort of sticky after application and I noticed my face would oil up quicker. And it might've been my hormones fluctuating but I felt like it caused me to breakout. I know a lot of people like this product and I used to but I think I have to move on.

    CeraVe Moisturizing Cream
    Would I buy again?  No
    Why?  I received this sample at the Women's show in October. It was nothing special, just an unscented cream. It was nice to use as a hand cream but it didn't appeal to me.

    Bliss Kiss Simply Pure Hydrating Oil in Summer
    Would I buy again? Yes...but only when on sale
    Why?  As long as I was diligent with hydrating my hands and cuticles I felt that this product lives up to the hype. However, due to the terrible Canadian dollar I can't see myself purchasing more of this oil unless it were to go on sale. Plus, with all the different indies brands now offering cuticle products I feel that I can access similar products with a wider variety of scents while supporting a different indies.




    I hope you enjoyed my empties post, please feel free to let me know what you think and if I should continue with posts like these.


    Until Next Time,

    Annie