Holiday Gift Guide Part 1

With the holiday season fast approaching, it can be difficult to pick the right gift for your friends and family.  I've created a gift guide, to hopefully help you decide on gifts for the ladies in you life.  I'm going to try and feature a wide price range, so you can find something for everyone.

First up: Gift sets from Lush.

Lush has a variety of gift set's starting at $9.95.  My recommendation if you're looking for a small gift, is the Merry and Bright gift set, this retails for $12.95CND.  This contains 2 products: Cinders Bath Bomb, and Christmas Eve Bubble Bar.

Merry and Bright gift set, photo from Lush.ca

I've used the Cinders bath bomb many times, the scent is sweet and spicy, there are even little rocks in it that pop in the water, sounding like the cinders of a fire.  This is perfect for a snowy evening (or in my case, pouring rain).  The Christmas Eve bubble bar has the scent of jasmine.  Simply run it under the water and it acts as bubble bath.  This gift can help to provide an evening of relaxation.

The second gift is for the makeup addict in your life.  The Sephora Lash Stash, retails for $54.00 CND.  I picked one of these up today (Merry Christmas to me!).

Photo from Sephora.com

This holiday kit comes with 10 mascaras, 2 full size, and 8 sample size as well as an eye makeup remover.  Brands include Tarte, Urban Decay, Too Faced and many more.  This is great for the makeup lover, as they get to try out multiple brands and can then choose which one they like best.  At $54.00, that's $4.91 per product, which is good value on the dollar.  If you have multiple people to buy for, you can also buy this set, and split up the sample size products, for stocking stuffer's or as part of a larger gift.

Let me know what you're wishing for this holiday season! I will have more great gifts ideas posted soon.

Cheers!

Sarah

*photos from www.lush.ca and www.sephora.com

Vasanti Cosmetics Review

I was recently introduced to Vasanti Cosmetics at a blog meet up here in Vancouver.

This is the Vasanti lipstick in USA and the Conditioning Long Lash Mascar.

I really like the packaging of these products.  Both are packaged in a shade of blue, with silver labeling.  The packaging of the products themselves is beautiful, and looks very high-end. 

The mascara's wand is full with lots of bristles, similar to the Benefit Bad Gal Lash, but not quite as large.  The product applied easily, with no clumping.  It did lengthen my lashes, however I thought the colour could have been stronger. For it being "intense black" I don't think it lived up to it's name.

The Lipstick also applied smoothly, and was true to the colour of the tube, as well as when swatched.  It did not dry out my lips at all, and lasted well.  I only touched up after eating.  This will be a great colour to wear throughout the fall and winter.

Vasanti products can be purchased in select Shoppers Drug Marts across Canada, and online:

http://vasanticosmetics.com/ca/

http://www.ebeauty.ca/

Cheers!

Sarah

Product Review: ELF Cream Eyeshadow

Hi everyone! I have a review for you today on the ELF Cream Eyeshadows.  I recently ordered 4 colours when they had a sale on the Studio collection.

                             Colours:  Dawn         Candlelight     Teal Party      Eggplant                  

The colours look great in the pot, but I'm not a fan of the packaging.  The pot is a twist off cap, which is fine, but the container is far larger than it needs to be.  If they had made this product in a round container, just large enough to fit the product, it would be a great improvement.  I would not travel with these, as the packaging is rather bulky.

  Here are the colours swatched without any base underneath. As you can see, Dawn comes out lighter thank it looks in the pot.  Candlelight swatched a bit streaky and uneven.  Teal Party looks more blue, than teal.  And the Eggplant comes off as more of a purple-brown colour.

Here are the colours swatched again, this time with MAC Protect and Prime base underneath.  The product applies more smoothly when applied over the base.  The base also helps to bring out the true colour.  Candlelight still shows a bit streaky, you would have to do a lot of blending to get this colour to work.  Eggplant & Dawn definitely show brighter when applied over a base.  Teal Party is about the same for colour pay off, but did go on smoother.

All swatched were applied to my left arm, using my fingers.

Would I buy these again? Probably not.  Even though they are a very reasonable price, I'm really not a fan of the large packaging.  The colour payoff isn't all that great, and they take a lot of work to apply evenly.

Star rating: 2 out of 5

Products can be found here: http://www.eyeslipsface.com/studio/eyes/eyeshadow/cream_eyeshadow

I hope this review was helpful, let me know what you think if you have tried out this product.

Cheers!

Sarah

Fall Fashion

Hey everyone!

So I've done some shopping over the passed few weeks, and I wanted to share with you the items I have bought so far for Fall 2011.  We're in a bit of a heat wave in my city, so I haven't gotten to wear any of them yet, but I'm really looking forward to doing so.  Hopefully this can give you some inspiration for your fall wardrobe.

Loafers seem to be making a comeback this Fall, both in flats and heels. 

The ones I got are from beige, with a bit of gold woven through, and gold beads on the bows.  I think the bow give a bit more of a feminine detail than the usual tassels.  These are from Walmart, $15.00 plus taxes.

www.walmart.ca

Skinny black pants are a must have for Fall, they look great tucked into boots, and match with almost everything.  Jeggings are another popular piece, again as they tuck into boots more easily than regular jeans.  I've picked up one of each!  Legging are also a staple in Vancouver, I've found some cute pattern ones for fall, instead of plain black.

 Black skinny pants, Forever 21, $11.00 plus tax, www.forever21.com

Jeggings, American Eagle, $39.99 plus tax www.ae.com

Grey flower print leggings, Aritzia, $30.00 plus tax, www.aritiza.com

Every girl needs a great dress for Fall.  I never used to be one for dresses, but have fallen in love with them in the last 6 months or so.  They're so effortless to wear, and always make you look put together.  I picked up a wrap dress for Fall.

Wrap dress, Jacob, $69.99 @ 30% off, plus tax, www.jacob.ca

I hope this gives you some ideas for your new pieces for Fall.  Try to look for pieces you can wear with things you already own, or go for basics that will last a long time, so you get your money's worth.

Happy Shopping!

xo Sarah

My Full Coverage Foundation Routine

Here is my foundation routine when I'm going for a full coverage face.

Enjoy!

Sarah