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

Review: Lise Watier Flash Lift Radiance Vial

WARNING! There is a photo in this blog that was taken at 4:30am! No, I did not wake up at that time specifically to try this product, I just have issues sleeping lately.

The product I'm reviewing today is the

Lise Watier Flash Lift Radiance Vial.

I received a sample of this in my October

Luxe Box by Loose Button.  

This facial treatment states it provides:

1) Instant Radiance

2) Erases the Signs of Fatigue

3) Smooths the Appearance of Wrinkles

4) Alcohol & Paraben Free

Here is the before (scary! I just rolled out of bed!)

As you can see, I have dark marks under my eyes, and redness on my face.

The before picture was taken right when I woke up, I then showered, and then applied the serum.  

Here is the after:

The photo was taken in the same location.  The darkness under my eyes was somewhat reduced, but not totally gone.

The redness of my cheeks was also somewhat reduced.

I am not sure if the changes are due to the use of the product, or that I had a few minutes to wake up while showering. My estimate is about 60% shower/wakeup time, 40% product.

The Lowdown:

Ease of use: Super simple to use. Crack off the top of the vial, pour the serum into you hand, and apply to face. 

Scent: This scent was awful in my opinion.  Far too perfumey, it reminded me mostly of "old lady perfume" and lots of it.  I would not want my face to smell like this all day on a regular basis.

Price: 7 vials retail for $27.00 on the Lise Watier website, that's about $3.86 a vial

Did it work: I'm on the fence on this one.  While I did see some change in appearance,but it wasn't anything I got excited over.  I did not feeling any "tightening" or "tingling" of the skin which I thought I would with a product like this.  I also thought the smell should have been more fresh, such as cucumber or grapefruit.

Would I buy it: No.  This product seems pricey for the results it gave, and personally I wouldn't buy it based on the scent alone.  

Save that $3.86 a vial for a Grande Latte.

Cheers!

Sarah

Face of the Day 11/8/2011

Today I'm wearing shadows from the Urban Decay Book of Shadows IV that recently came out.  I was in the office today, so I kept it pretty simple.

On my lids is Sin, Missionary in the crease and Zephyr to highlight.  I have Gravity on my lower lash line.  I lined my eye with Mac Feline eye kohl, and Fascinating in the lower waterline.  Blush is Mac Nuance, and a Mac lip gloss that the name has rubbed off on!

Cheers! 

Sarah

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

Marcelle Essentials Soothing Cleansing Water Review

Hey Everyone!

I have a review for you today on the Marcelle Essentials Soothing Cleansing Water. It is a makeup remover that gently tones your skin while removing makeup. 

Here the eye makeup I removed for this review (Please pardon the eyebrows!):

As you can see, there is black liner & dark shadow, typically products that are difficult to remove.

I applied the Marcelle remover to a cotton pad, and here it the result after one swipe across my lid:

Probably about 70% of the makeup was removed in just one swipe of the remover. This is pretty impressive in my books, as I really dislike having to rub my eyes over and over to get all the product off.

After only a couple wipes of the cotton pad, all makeup was removed.

This removed worked great for me! It has no scent or dyes, which I like in a remover. It didn't leave my skin feeling greasy, and I like the packaging.  The clear bottle allows you to easily see how much product is left, and the pop-top lid allows you to easily pour the product onto a cotton pad.

I would definitely recommend trying this out if you're in need of a new makeup remover.

Marcelle products can be bought at Shoppers Drug Mart and online http://www.marcelle.com/blog

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

Getting Organized

Looks like it's officially Fall here in Vancouver, it's raining today :(
If you're staying indoors this weekend, why not take some time to get all your makeup organized? It will make getting ready in the morning easier, since everything will be easy to find.  It also will give you the opportunity to get rid of any old/broken makeup, or find stuff you forgot you had!
Here's how I did mine :)

 

My Full Coverage Foundation Routine

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

Enjoy!

Sarah

Think Pink! Hot Pink!

Here is a makeup tutorial I did using hot pink eyeshadow. It's a fun look for summer, or for a night out on the town.