Sephora VIB Sale 2014 15% off

For those other Sephora VIBs out there, today is the start of the VIB Early Access Event where all in store and online purchases are 15% off! Today is also the only day to get the limited-edition cosmetic bag (in-store) :)

VIBs should have gotten an email a few days ago so check that one to get your in-store coupon, or use the promo code VIBTICKET for online orders. The offer is good April 3 - 11th. I'm not sure if this is replacing the usual 'Chic Week' but I really hope not and that they will have the sale later on for regular Beauty Insiders. I think VIBs can also bring a friend so make sure to share the love with other beauty lovers out there :D

I've been anticipating this sale for a while so I already have a wishlist compiled ;)

- Urban Decay Good Karma Optical Blurring Brush

- Ole Henriksen Cleansing Clothes: Oil-Free Pore Refining

- Tarte Clean Slate Poreless 12-Hr Perfecting Primer

- Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Powder Duo or Perfect Brow Pencil

- Benefit Cosmetics Posietint

- Ole Henriksen Walnut Complextion Scrub

- Urban Decay Naked Skin Weightless Ultra Definition Liquid Makeup

Has anyone tried any of these products before and if so, how did you like them? What's on your wishlist for this sale? :)

Topbox March 2014 Review

Even after the disaster that was the December 2013 Ipsy Glam Bag, I decided to give it a go with another subscription box, Topbox. I signed up around November but only got off the wait list in February. Topbox is a Toronto-based beauty subscription so yay for Canadian pride :)

I did receive the February 2014 Topbox but didn't have time to review it so here's my review for the March 2014 box:

 

- Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair (7 mL)

- belvada cosmetics Blackhead Facial Mask (8 ml) x 2

- Clinique Almost Lipstick in Black Honey (unknown weight)

- Benefit Cosmetics the POREfessional (3 mL)

Here's a close up on the Clinique product:

I'm really impressed with this month's Topbox! The brands are great and I actually want to try these things :) (I gave the Estee Lauder to my mom though) The Clinique Almost Better Lipstick is one of my favourites because I was looking into it a few months ago so at least now I have a sample to help me decide. I'm also looking forward to the POREfessional because I am in need of a new primer so this will help in my decision!

I added the Glamglow Privé box to my wish list this month so I'm a bit disappointed I didn't receive it, but the regular Topbox this month was still pretty great.

With taxes, Topbox comes to $13.56 a month with the option of a $10 full-sized mystery beauty item.

Urban Decay Naked Flushed review + swatch

The Urban Decay's Naked Flushed Palette is a bronzer/highlighter/blush trio (which I received as a birthday gift this year). These type of trios seem to be very in right now and I can see why since they are quite multi-purpose! I'm not really sure which company came up with this idea first but the first one I heard of was Benefit Cosmetic's Fine One One stick. I'm more of a powder girl so when my birthday came up, I asked someone to get me the Urban Decay palette.
 
The packaging of this palette is very similar to the Naked Basics palette; it made out of plastic and has a full size mirror. The mirror is sufficient enough for me to see about half my face so it is great to use for touch-ups. It does not have any latches and is just a magnetic closure. This makes it very easy to open and close while still being secure enough to just pop in your makeup bag.

"Use these pressed powders individually or blend them together to create just the right effect—and let this seemingly straight-laced trio morph into a tangled color love-fest. Then bask in the radiant glow and let people wonder what you’ve been up to."

All the powders in this are full size, similar to how Urban Decay's eyeshadow palettes are. The great thing about this palette is that the colours can applied either separately or you can mix the colours together. My favourite way is to mix the blush with a bit of highlighter and apply bronzer separately. They are also super pigmented but have a very powdery formula so you definitely need to tap your brush to get off excess powder.

Bronzer - "a medium bronze satin" which is fairly pigmented but it may show up as slightly orange on some skin tones. It seems like a colour that is better for light skin tones and some medium tones because it may not show up on darker skin. It would be great all over bronze but doesn't show up enough to work for contouring for me. 

Highlighter - "a soft pink champagne shimmer" that is more pigmented than the bronzer and you will be able to get full colour with just one swipe. It is very shimmery and slightly pinked tone but seems like an okay highlighter for cheekbones. I'm not a highlighter person since I have oily skin anyways but I do occasionally mix it with the blush.

Blush - this "dusty rose satin with a hint of shimmer" is extremely pigmented and it is easy to go a bit overboard when applying. It is a very pink blush so it is not one that I wear everyday but it is still one I will use from time to time. The pigmentation allows it to last throughout the majority of the day so it is quite a long-wearing blush.

Swatch without flash

  Swatch with flash

My favourite part of this trio is definitely the blush since it is so pigmented so whenever Urban Decay blushes start to appear more in Canada, I would like to try one in another shade!

Benefit Cosmetics Gettin' Cheeky! review + swatch

Benefit is quickly becoming one of my favourite high-end/Sephora brands. They have really great tints, value kits, mini sized products available, and very attractive packaging. I've only bought 3 Benefit products but I have tried a lot of samples and the Sephora Benefit birthday gift and loved most of it :) The product for review today was actually a birthday gift too, but I was actually contemplating on getting it a while back.

Gettin' Cheeky! is a set of three mini tints: Posietint, Cha Cha Tint, and Sun Beam. Each comes in a little 4.0 mL/0.13 oz. bottle. It is miniature packaging of the full sizes (0.42 oz.) so they also have the nail polish like brush for application. This is a limited edition Sephora exclusive product.

Posietint: Benefit's Posietint is a petal-pink stain that plants a kiss of see-through tint on cheeks and lips. With hours of smudge-proof, just-picked perfection, you'll be the prettiest bloom in the bunch! 

Cha Cha Tint: This mango-tinted stain beautifully blushes lips and cheeks with a tropical sunset hue. Smooch-proof and smudge-proof, this sheer stain will have you looking deliciously sun-kissed for hours.

Sun Beam: Consider this liquid sunshine in a bottle. This golden bronze highlighter gives you a natural, sunkissed radiance. Dot and blend over makeup onto cheek and browbones for a bronzed glow that complements all skintones.

I don't entirely know how to use Sun Beam so I have barely touched that one but I like using Posietint and Cha Cha Tint a lot! Posietint provides a natural flush on your cheeks that seems to last all day (or at least the work day). I mainly use it on my lips and it gives a nice pink tint while still looking very natural so it is a nice MLBB? lol. Cha Cha Tint is also great for the cheeks and stains all day. It's a bit too bright for year round wear so it seems like a more summer shade and I stopped wearing it a couple months ago but will occasionally use a bit on my lips. Both tints are really great and even with daily use, these sizes have lasted me over 3 months. When the bottle finally finishes, I think I will splurge to get Posietint (since I still have another mini Cha Cha Tint). To finish off, here are the swatches:

 

stains blended out (1 layer)

Sephora had their Benetint as a 100 point perk a few months ago so I snagged two of those! They also have a new Lollitint which looks really gorgeous so I'm thinking of getting that next year to build up VIB status again :)

Sephora VIB Sale Haul 2013

This is the first year that I have ever been Sephora VIB (thanks to my other make-up obsessed friend and my mom with her skincare products) so I was able to get the 20% off a few weekends ago. Even though it was the same weekend as IMATS, I still managed to make two online orders over $75 to get free shipping :P

It took a while for everything to come (too many orders were placed I guess) but the second and final package came today. I was a little disappointed to see that most of my samples were substituted because that has never happened before, but oh well. Here is the haul:
- Urban Decay Naked Palette (woo finally! long debate between 1 and 2)
- Ole Henriksen Power Peel 2x treatment
- Benefit Gimme Brow in light/medium
- Too Faced Primed & Perfected To Go Duo
- Too Faced Tan Without the Twinkle
- Tarte Smooth Operator Amazonian Clay Finishing Powder
- Tarte Chocolate Soleil Matte Bronzer (to get a friend the discount)

I have yet to try it all, but I'm sure it will be great. Black Friday sale is coming (not really sure why Canada needs this) and there will be some Sephora deals for $12 and under $20, so hopefully I don't go too crazy then too.....

EDIT: Some Black Friday deals have been posted ($12 CAD) and I kinda want 5 or more things oops.

Benefit Cosmetics Creaseless Cream Eyeshadow review + swatch

Since I am doing the usual student thing of procrastinating, I've decided to post a review! I know I always scavenge the internet for these make-up reviews so hopefully this helps someone :) Not sure how well this will go but I think I'll review products by brand.

The first product I am reviewing today is Benefit Cosmetic's Creaseless Cream Eyeshadow in R.S.V.P. which is a 'sparkling champagne' colour'. I bought it for $12 CAD in Sephora on Boxing Day but the usual price is $24 so it was a pretty good deal :) It looks like they have changed their packaging of these eyeshadows, so that is probably why they sold this for so cheap.

"Benefit’s award-winning cream shadows are as crease-resistant and smudge-proof as ever! The 10 incredibly wearable shades (including original favorites RSVP, Birthday Suit, and Skinny Jeans) glide on easily and last all day. It’s fresh and fabulous color for all!"

The application is really easy and you can use either your finger or an eyeshadow brush. I usually use a brush then my finger to wipe away many mistakes. It is also a good eyeshadow base but I always use it alone since it is quite shimmery. The only bad thing is that sometimes when you put on two layers, it starts to have that "scaley" effect so I always just avoid that. It goes on very opaque though so I only ever need one layer. When I run out of this, I will definitely try to find it again, or get another colour close to it.

Another Benefit item that I have tried is the POREfessional. After reading reviews about primers for oily skin, a lot of people said this was good so I decided to go into Sephora and get a sample. I actually had one of those little card samples from ordering online but I will admit that I didn't actually know it was a primer until I put it on my face :P 

I got another sample from Sephora in L.A. and I'm not sure if the airplane somehow changed the texture but it was really chunky and weird feeling. It seemed like the primer dried up and it was so solid that when I was using it, sometimes I would drop chunks of it on the table and it would remain in that shape! Since it was not like a liquid, the application was really weird. It also didn't seem to help much with controlling oil, minimizing pores or keeping makeup on. However it did dry up quickly and seems to absorb into the skin at a good rate, but I don't think it is worth the splurge :/

Those seem to be the only two products I've tried from Benefit, so that is all for now. Hope this helps!

Make-up and Hair Products

Currently waiting in the 3rd floor of SAF for a PhD student's study thing that gives me money :) I hope I get the max of $25! This will help fund my $40 ticket to Marianas Trench! I know it's kind of expensive considering I've seen them for free twice, but I love Josh Ramsay.

So since this blog is pretty dead, I'm going to use it as sort of a 'whenever I'm bored' blog for myself.
Well since my Fall co-op I've been more into makeup and like accessories (actually just scarves). I started shopping at Sephora and even though there stuff is expensive, I think some of the stuff is actually ok for the price! After claiming 3 years worth of birthday gifts, I finally bought something LOL. Here are the high-end brands that I have tried since Fall (and the reason I cannot afford next term's tuition by myself hehe)

- Oscar Blandi Pronto Dry Shampoo $21 (bought from U.S.)
- Sephora Collection 3-in-1 extractor $3
- Smashbox Photo Finish Light Primer $44 (DO NOT LIKE)
- Sephora Collection Matte Blotting Film $3
- Boscia Soothing Cleaning Cream $12 (for my mom)
- Make Up For Ever Aqua Eyes Liner in Black $12
- NARS Super Orgasm Mini $12
- Hello Kitty Apple Cheeks in Blushing $9
- Hello Kitty Charmmy Eyeshadow Stick in Birthday Cake $7
- Benefit Creaseless Creme Eyeshadow in r.s.v.p. $12
- Buxom Lashliner Duo $12
- tokidoki Perfectto Eyeliner in Arlecchio $6
- MUFE Mist + Fix travel size $11
- Bliss Lemon+Sage Body Butter Max Moisture Cream $7
- Sephora Collection Long-Lasting 12HR Wear Eye Liner in Black Purple $11 (bought from U.S.)
- MAC Studio Fix Powder Plus in NC40 $32
- MAC Archie's Girls Face Powder in Flatter Me $30 (bought from U.S.)
- MAC Archie's Girls Betty's Pearlglide Intense Eyeliner in Black Swan $16.50 (bought from U.S.)
- MAC Archie's Girls Betty's Lipstick in Oh, Oh, Oh $17.50 (bought from U.S.)
- Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Gel $31
- Sara Happ Lip Scrub in Green Apple $30
- Nume Silhouette hair straightener in blue $65
- Macadamia Natural Oil Detangler spray $23
- Bubbi Brushes (Dual eye, dual cover, and angled eyeliner) $26 total

I think that is it! Maybe I'll do reviews of the things that I have strong opinions on eventually. Ta-ta for now.