Boscia Luminizing Black Mask and Pore Purifying Black Strips

Is it possible for posts to get deleted by Blogger? :S I posted this review already but it disappeared so here's my second shot at it! During the Sephora Black Friday Sale last year, I got the Boscia Pore Perfection set which came with 30 g of the Luminizing Black Mask and 3 of the Pore Purifying Black Strips.

A groundbreaking, mineral-rich mask that peels off to deliver powerful detoxifying, purifying, and brightening effects.

This was my first peel off mask so I didn't know what to expect. It is super black, thick, and a bit sticky but is not that hard to apply. It spreads okay but I've heard that a thick layer is required in order to make it peel off well so you can't be too stingy with this mask. Peeling off the mask was difficult but it did come off in large chunks. After peeling off the mask, my face was red and blotchy! I wouldn't consider it to be an allergic reaction because my face did calm down in a few minutes (I also put on some cream to sooth my face). My skin did feel a smoother but unfortunately, it wasn't able to get rid of my blackheads :(

Next up is the Pore Purifying Black Strips.

A pack of peel-off strips that absorb dirt and oil to reduce the appearance of pores and blackheads.

 These pore strips were very similar to the Biore pore strips. They work the same way and appear to have the same results. The only difference is that the Boscia strips don't seem to harden that much, thus making them easier to peel off. I'm not sure if I'm not waiting long enough because it doesn't seem to adhere to my nose that well or get all the blackheads out :(

These products were nice to try but this line just doesn't seem right for my skin. I'll finish using but won't be repurchasing. The Luminizing Black Mask costs $41 for 80g and the Pore Purifying Black strips cost $34 for 12 strips.

Boxing Day 2013 Haul

Woohoo, time for another haul! As with every other Boxing Day, I went shopping at Toronto Eaton's Centre since I like those stores better and although the sales weren't too good (mostly just 50% off), I still ended up buying quite a lot...

I don't remember the exact prices for each but here were the deals:
- Express 50% off entire store
- Hollister 50% off entire store
- Lindt 50% off holiday chocolate
- Sephora $12 deals
- Bath & Body Works $3 hand soaps/holiday items 50% off
- aerie 50% off store

Since this is somewhat a beauty review blog, here's a close-up of the Sephora items :)

- Caudalie Winter Moisture Kit
- tarte clean slate deluxe primer trio
- boscia Intensifying Moisture Pack+
- Make Up For Ever Aqua Shadow duo
- Ole Henriksen The Naked Truth Kit
- Sephora + Pantone Universe makeup bag (promo code: VIBEMERALD)

The display in the store was quite barren and the website only had 10 deals so Sephora was quite disappointing. Black Friday was definitely better and last year, the stores had a bunch of $9 and $12 deals! I remember the display was swarmed with makeup obsessed girls but this year, I was able to walk around the entire display without interference.

Besides there being a lack of good deals at Hudson's Bay and the disappointment at Sephora, I am quite satisfied with my purchases. Hopefully everyone else's Boxing Day went as well as mine!

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas (or other holiday) and a Happy New Year :D

Black Friday 2013 Haul!

This is quite delayed but here is my Black Friday Haul for this year. Since we live in Canada, this is still a new concept for us so the deals are not as great as the States, but it's still better than nothing. I'm not sure when we first got Black Friday, but I remember a few stores having sales last year. I was waiting until my Sephora online order came in to make a post and it did last week so here's my Black Friday haul:

From Sephora:
- Josie Maran Argan Hand Healer
- Lorac Fan Favourite Duo
- Clean Rollerball Set (bought in store)
- Philosophy's purity made simple (bought in store)
- Boscia Pore Perfection Set

These were $12 CAD each and using the VIB 10% off code (V436CB), I got them for $10.80 woohoo! I took this opportunity to buy some gifts for my friend and to let other friends get in on the discount too but most of those are wrapped so no pictures, sorry! The purity was sold out online before I could get on so I went to get it in the store. It was advertised as 12 oz. for $12 so I didn't look at the bottle when I grabbed it. Turns out, I only got 8 oz.! My friend managed to get 12 oz. so it seems like they just ran out of that size. Since they will probably have it again during Boxing Day, I'm going to try to get the 12 oz. then ;) They gave me a sample of Benefit's Hello Flawless foundation, which was nice, but it was in a light shade even though I'm a medium...

This is my haul from other stores (sorry for the Sephora repeats):

- Aritzia's TNA Verbier Parka 10% off
- 3 tops from aerie 40% off entire store + free tote
- Nano Vidal Sassoon hair dryer $10 (returned this because it wasn't hot enough)
- WD Elements 1 TB External Hardrive $59.99 Future Shop door crasher
- Hollister sweater 40% off entire store

Oh I also got about $50 in Lindt chocolate! oops. They were having 50% off boxed chocolate so I got 2 boxes of specialty truffles, a small box each of the snowman truffles and regular milk truffles, as well as 2 boxes of assorted truffles :D

All in all, this seemed like a great haul since I managed to get some clothes and a new winter jacket! Aerie was also giving out a free blanket along with the tote for purchases over $45 but they ran out by the time I got there :( It actually looked like a nice blanket too, which makes me kind of regret not going to the mall at lunch, but at least I got a tote right?

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.