Review: Caudalie Beauty Elixir

If you read many any beauty blogs, there is a huge chance you've read a thing or two about Caudalie's Eau de Beute or more simply, Beauty Elixir. Since I have a slight ( or sad, pathetic, hoarder-like) obsession with facial sprays I knew I had to try it.

"Inspired by the “elixir of youth” used by Queen Isabelle of Hungary, this powerful, plant-based skincare smoothes features, tightens pores and gives the complexion a burst of radiance. It is perfect partner for skin that is tired or lacking vitality, this elixir wakes up the skin at anytime of the day and gives it an extra boost throughout the day. For all skin lacking radiance. Beauty Elixir is an exceptional anti-dull complexion treatment and a wonderful after-shave for men." -Caudalie

Swatched: China Glaze Man Hunt

This fall, China Glaze decided to take us on safari; I opted not to go. All the packing, airport security, international layovers... bleck. But, after I saw photos from the trip, I regretted not going a bit. Luckily, I was able to snag a souvenir in the form of Man Hunt.

China Glaze Man Hunt

Swatched: Butter London Trustafarian

Sometimes, I imagine that it might have been nice to be born a trust fund baby. To live without the stress of money, or lack-thereof. To spend endlessly on whatever I fancy... but I'm not, and I can't. I can however, treat myself to little indulgences, like a nice bottle of Butter London nail polish. Which I did.

Review: Origins A Perfect World Cleanser, Skin Guardian, and Moisturizer

"Our multi-action age defenders with rare Silver Tip White Tea surround skin in a virtually impenetrable protective bubble that intercepts damage before it causes lines, wrinkles, dark spots and loss of firmness." - Origins

I don't know who wouldn't be tempted to try a skin care range that can make claims to protect your skin in a 'protective bubble' but I had to give it a try. Around the holiday season, they had little pre-packed value gift sets, which were an inexpensive way to try one of their product ranges. The A Perfect World set included the Antioxident Cleanser, Age Defense Skin Guardian, and the SPF 25 Moisturizer.

I've been using the trio of A Perfect World products (along with a few other items) as my main skincare routine for a few weeks now, and thought it was time to review.

Swatched: Avon Suede Nail Enamel

I seem have to have come out of my polish rut with a bang: 11 bottles in in the past few days. What can I say? I'm a sucker for polish. Three of my newest acquisitions, happen to be from Avon's fall collection of Suede Nail Enamels.

Avon Suede Nail Enamel Platinum Beauty, Blue Royale, and Touch of Taupe

Review: The Body Shop Vineyard Peach Body Butter and Cream Scrub

Move over Fuzzy Peach, you've got competition!

I was super excited (maybe a bit too much...) when it was announced that the Body Shop was introducing their Vineyard Peach fragrance. They've had Fuzzy Peach shower gel for years, but it was lonely, why did they never make it any Fuzzy Peach friends? Anyway, Vineyard Peach is here, and it is fabulous!

The Body Shop Vineyard Peach Body Butter

Help Break the Cycle of Abuse with M. Powerment by mark.

"Studies show that 1 in 4 women will experience domestic violence in her lifetime. It's time to take action.

m. powerment by mark. is our philanthropic initiative dedicated to breaking the cycle of dating abuse and partner violence. All funds are awarded to organizations for education and prevention programs in communities across the country. 100% of proceeds of our m. powerment gift set sales are donated directly to this initiative." - mark. magalog

Swatched: Essie Penny Talk

When Essie's Mirror Metallic Collection promos started popping up, I "oohed!" and "urghed" simultaneously. Yay for metallics, but nay for their often fickle formulas. Then the swatches started appearing, things looked promising... Should I dare try one?

Essie Penny Talk

Swatched: Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Crinoline and Anemone of Mine

Lately, I haven't been into polish all that much. I haven't loved any of the new collections to go haul crazy, but in the past couple days I have cherry picked a few from here and there. BUT, as is the trend, I have two oldies that I thought I'd share first. I picked this up at Wal-Mart just before Christmas, swatched them, and then did nothing with the photos. I had wanted to do a bit of comparing but never got around to it. I didn't see these shades pop up on any blogs, so I did a bit of Googling to discover they are from the Fall 2011 collection. Let's take a look...

Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Crinoline 

Lipstick Wallpaper

I was just playing around with some random photos I had taken and abandoned. I initially started out editing photos for a review... guess I got a bit sidetracked. Anyway, I ended up making a desktop wallpaper. I thought it was kind of cute. Feel free to use it if you like!

Tip: if you're not sure how, right click the image and open it in a new tab. From there, right click again, and select 'set as desktop background' and Bob's your uncle!

Would you be interested in beauty related wallpapers being a regular feature? Any ideas/requests? Leave me a comment!

Review: MAC Superb Extra Dimension Skinfinish

Regularly, I consider myself to be pretty organized... that was until I found an untouched, four month old MAC haul. Oops? I probably shouldn't even review this, as it's no longer available, but it's so gorgeous and fun to look at.

Blog Hop!

source

 Need to add a few new reads to your blogroll? Check out these great blogs:

1. Sabrina at Makeup Addict
2. Alex at Vegan Beauty Blog

3. Amy at The Pretty Vain

4. Ariel at Chic Look xo

5. Rachel at Makeup By Rachel

6. Megan at Magenta Sue

7. Danielle at Love Danielle

8. Jessica at All Things Addicted

9. Chantelle & Hanan at Side Notes PR 
10. Brianna B at Glitter Skull

11. Eva at Fashionista Diary

12. Bailey at I Know All The Words

13. Jacquelyn at Fab Diva 20
14. Marla at Makeup By Marla
15. Zone M at Hook & Eye

16. Kayla at Sheer Beauty Blog

If you found I Know all the Words through the blog hop, be sure to say hello!

Review: MeMeMe Beat the Blues Highlighters

MeMeMe is a brand I started seeing on British blogs some time ago, but really didn't know much about. While they have a full range of products, it was their little bottles of highlighters and cheek tints that caught my eye. Sound a tad familiar? The MeMeMe offerings are quite similar to Benefit's but for a fraction of the price.

MeMeMe Beat the Blues Moonbeam and Sunbeam Highlighter

Review: Wet n Wild Petal Pusher Eyeshadow Palette

Sine yesterday brought us Comfort Zone, I thought I may as well follow up with Petal Pusher, the purple based cousin. Yes, I know, these palettes have been all over the blog-o-sphere and I am laughably behind with these reviews. Oh well. I think I've finally cleaned up the last of my old photos... maybe?

Review: Wet n Wild Comfort Zone Eyeshadow Palette

In a fit of sleeplessness last night, I got a boatload of photos taken. I have a theory that if I'm going to lie in bed awake I may as well get up and do something. It's a much better use of time. Of course, that theory doesn't help one get to sleep, but whatever. Since I had a memory card now filled with photos to edit, I spent a few hours this afternoon organizing, filing and editing photos. During this process, I found a few scragler files... the last kid in the group to be picked for kickball, the cupcake with a glob of missing icing, the... well you get the point. Stuff that never got reviewed. Wet n Wild Comfort Zone was one of them.

Review: MAC Keep it Loose and Evening Stroll Lip and Cheek Colour

Well, I don't know how to feel... partially 'duh' for loosing these photos and being so late with this review, or happy because I did find them. I went a bit nutty trying to figure out how I lost 30 some odd photos. A file within a file, that's how if you were wondering. Since these were limited edition- as part of the Casual Colour Collection, they are no longer available directly from MAC. But as we all know, there are quite a few ways to get limited items after the fact, so I don't feel too bad posting a late review.

MAC Keep it Loose and Evening Stroll Lip & Cheek Colour

“Versatile, lightweight all-in-one colour for cheeks and lips. Creamy, super-blendable, barely there formula. Contains vitamin E to help keep skin and lips nourished." - MAC description

CLOSED Pre-Giveaway Giveaway!

I love a good giveaway, I've been collecting items for a while, but I've been lazy and haven't taken the time to organize anything. I still haven't. I can't decide if I want to do one major prize or three medium sized prize packs... thoughts? I do however have a set of prizes I've been meaning to giveaway for months, which brings us to this giveaway: The Pre- Giveaway Giveaway!

Prizes up for grabs

Review: mark. Gloss Gorgeous Stay on Lip Stain

I usually have some sort of intro paragraph, but you know what? I'm coming up blank. So, let's just get to business, yes? Lets go!

mark. Gloss Gorgeous Stay on Lip Stain in Bare and Frilly

mark. Gloss Gorgeous Stay on Lip Stain in Bare and Frilly

Review: Sleek Blush by 3 'Pumpkin'

Yesterday, I reviewed the Lace Sleek Blush by 3 (here) and today I have part two: Pumpkin!

Review: Sleek Blush by 3 'Lace'

It's a relatively rotten television night, so I thought I might as well do something at least a bit productive. I've been meaning to review a few Sleek items I ordered months ago, and I finally got photos taken. Do you know how badly I've wanted to dip into these? I love how fresh, unused products look in photos, but sometimes it's just too hard to wait it out. You know?

Review: the Balm Mary-Lou Manizer aka "The Luminizer"

The Balm is a brand that I'm slowly starting collect. I don't know why it took me so long to jump on the band wagon, but as a new convert, I have thoroughly enjoyed all of my purchases. On my recent Haute Look haul (which was all the Balm products) I snagged one beauty of a highlighter: Mary-Lou Manizer.

the Balm Mary-Lou Manizer highlighter- back of box

Swatched: Zoya Jane

Zip it. I know some of you reading this just let out a "Owah, not a sheer... sheers suck."

Under most circumstances, I'd agree BUT sheers can come in handy from time to time. Besides being great for layering with glitters, they are fast for those times when you want a clean manicured look, but don't necessarily have time to do an opaque shade. Sheers can be quickly slapped on, they rarely ever need clean up (regardless of how bad you are with a brush) and they go with any outfit and they can look classy and put together. Not to shabby, if you ask me.

Review: Konad Stamping Nail Art Kit

When the lovely folks at Nail Polish Canada asked me if I'd like to review the Konad Stamping Nail Art Kit, I immediately thought "Oh, that sounds fun! Sign me up." It wasn't until after it arrived that I flashed back to my one and only attempt (failed I might add) with nail stamping. It was not a Konad plate, and I had absolutely no success getting any sort of image onto my nail. It was terribly messy and a pain in the, well you know. Why did I agree to do that again?

Review: L'Oreal Voluminous False Fiber Lashes Mascara

First off, please excuse my photos... the reflective gold tube is a pain to deal with and it turns out my camera doesn't function so well on low batteries (go figure...) I ended up with a whole batch of photos that came out a bit too dark. Boo! Anyhow, I love mascara (who doesn't?) and am always trying something new. I never really need to pick up any new ones, as I have a drawer full of new ones just waiting for some attention, but this one was on sale, and it's so shiny.... I couldn't help myself.

Review: Sephora Collection Rouge Shine Lipstick

Shiny, glossy lips that end up sticky and begh... or rich colour that ends up dry and blegh... The age old lip gloss vs. lipstick. Hate having to choose sides? I do. I've always wanted to try one of the many shine lipsticks, but the $35 (and up) price tag always made me think twice, especially if I ended up with something with lackluster pigmentation. Needless to say, when I saw the Sephora Rouge Shines, for only $12 USD ($14 CAD) I knew I had to try one.

Sephora Collection Rouge Shine No.7 Matchmaker

Review: The Balm Nude 'tude Palette

Nudes... everybody loves them, and with good reason; they flatter everyone. Granted, different tones work better on different skin tones and what not, but you get what I mean. Having brown eyes, I learned early that nudey hues worked well and could make me look just as fabulous as any flashy colour. Although, I do have that other famous palette, I couldn't help but pick this up the last time The Balm was featured on Haute Look ( I hauled major, but saved a bundle too... $82 for over $200 of The Balm goodies!)