Dots and Stripes

Ordered online at F21

:)

JOTD 02.27.2012

Necklace from Etsy

Received my order from F21.  Trying on these wooden bangles and spike ring.

:)

#1: Testing Borange.. Testing Greeple..

When I first started getting into makeup, I was into doing really bright and colourful eye makeup.  Somehow over the years, I slowly but surely settled into just doing neutrals.  So on days when I don't have plans to go out, I like to experiment doing bold colours again.  I just used the opposite colours on the colour wheel. Whee..

LEFT EYE

Products used:

Sepehora's smoky liner in Water Park

MAC eyeshadows in Electric Eel & Atlantic Blue

WnW's trio in Silent Treatment (Crease & Lid colours)

Cargo's Cool Neutral Palette

Maybelline's eyeliner in Midnight Master

UD 24/7 liner in Lucky

RIGHT EYE

Products used:

Maybelline's colour tattoo in Edgy Emerald

MAC eyeshadows in Jealousy Wakes, Sassy Grass, Lucky Green, Trax & Cranberry

UD 24/7 liner in Rockstar

Smashbox eyeliner in Imperial

:)

Crowning Glory

This post is going to be about my hair care.  My hair is naturally coarse, wavy and super frizzy.  It has also been coloured.  In the shower, I just use whatever shampoo and conditioner is available.  After, the products I use depends on whether I am straightening my hair or leaving it au naturel.  

If I am straightening my hair, I first use John Frieda's 3-day Straight Styling Spray then apply Redken's Straight 12 Straightening Lotion.  Then I let my hair air dry.  I try not to blow dry my hair because I am already applying a lot of heat on it when I flat iron.  Once my hair is dry, I use Redken's Iron Silk 07 Ultra Straightening Spray as a heat protectant.  The use my beloved GHD.  Afterwards, I use Matrix's Switch Trix Wax-Gel Combo then Healthy Sexy Hair's Soy Renewal which has argan oil.

And if I wanna leave my hair wavy for the day, I use Bumble and Bumble's Styling Lotion and Curl Conscious Defining Creme.  Then to control the frizz, I also use Redken's Smooth Down Detangling Cream.  Granted, I can only pull off letting my hair be natural in the winter as it's too humid here in the summer and my hair becomes a frizzball no matter what. 

 Here are the other products I use.  I love Aussie's 3 Minute Miracle.  It is one of the best conditioners out there.  L'oreal's Elnett Hairspray is also pretty good because it doesn't make my hair crunchy.  Batiste is my go-to dry shampoo especially the coloured one.  I wish I bought more actually because I haven't seen this kind since.

:)

EOTD 02.26.2012

Products used:

Sephora's creme liner in Rags to Riches

L'oreal's infallible e/s in Goldmine

MAC's Sketch and Sushi Flower e/s

UD 24/7 liners in Eldorado and 1999

Maybelline's gel liner in Blackest Black

:)

Random Blurry Shot

:)

EOTD 02.22.2012

Products used:

Maybelline's Tough as Taupe colour tattoo e/s

NARS' Lhasa e/s

L'oreal's Purple Obsession infallible e/s

MUFE's no. 92 e/s

Maybelline's Too Cool colour tattoo e/s

Physician's Formula's kajal liner in purple (from the green eyes set)

Maybelline's gel liner in Blackest Black

:)

Shop and Tell #7 (Feat. Winners, Shoppers & Dollarama) - Continued..

So yesterday at Winners, I also bought this tupperware for $7.99.  I was looking for a container to use with salads and I thought that this was perfect.  I can use one of the two serving containers for the dressing and the other for chicken or croutons.  And it comes with an ice pack too.

I also got this colourful polkadot gift wrapping paper for $3.99.

 At Shoppers, I saw this makeup brush kit on clearance for $4.99 (originally $14.99).  I really just wanted that short brush with the straight bristles because I thought it might be nice for contouring.

(P.S. It's a little flimsy.)

 Then today, I stopped by the dollar store to pick up some more red pens (need them for work).  I also grabbed some moist wipes, some plastic ties and storage bags.  I wanna use them to store my cheap bracelets so they don't tarnish easily.

The almond Hersheys were from Shoppers (on sale for 59 cents each).

:)

Shop and Tell #7 (featuring my new purse)

For the last couple of weeks, I have borrowed and used my sister's London Fog bag.  We saw this together at Winners and I was planning on purchasing it myself for $59.99 but it was too similar to my Michael Kors one.  So my sissy grabbed it instead.  

Everytime I went to Winners after that, I would check their clearance section hoping that this bag would be on sale.  Instead, I saw this one yesterday and the colour intrigued me.  The tag said "taupe" but it's more khaki brown and honestly in some lighting, it's poop colour :P

Still, it was different and marked down to $34.  Plus, it had the same long body strap.  I wish the front had a zipper too but oh well.  It's still such a steal.

(P.S. It didn't come with the strawberry.  That's a reusable tote I purchased from Ebay.  I got 50 of them with free shipping for $40.  It's what I gave to my coworkers for Christmas 2 years ago.)

Here's a peek inside.
The pink that you see is the purse organizer I bought a few days ago.  Mitts from Aritzia.

:)

Winter Booty

These are the two boots that I use all this winter.  I picked up these Sorels at Aritzia on sale for $85.  These are heavy-duty boots, perfect for walking in the snow but that also means that they are a bit heavy.  After walking for awhile in these, I find myself dragging my feet in the end.  Either way, I still love them and they look cute with skinny jeans.

 Ahhh, my UGG boots.  I used to think that they're overpriced and totally not worth the hype but after wearing one, I am now a total fan.  I got them at Journeys in the States and these were size 6 for kids which were perfect for my size 9 feet, they're just shorter in height.  Yay!  And these were $115 compared to the $200-$250 that you would spend if you buy them in a women's size in Canada.  I know the pic looks like I have one in chocolate brown and grey but they are both brown.  I seriously have worn these everyday and they look a bit beaten down so I may need to replace them for next winter.  I think I'll pick up the grey ones next.  Another plus, NO SOCKS!

:)

The skin is the largest organ so..

These are the skincare products that I am currently using.  I know it looks like a lot but I don't use all of them everyday.  Also, a bunch of these products I use specifically for the winter season since they are more hydrating and my skin gets really dry.  I am also oilier in the summer so I switch to lighter products (like gels as opposed to creams) and I'll probably do a post then for my summer skincare routine.

My main regimen right now are all Lancome products.  I wash my face with their Comforting Creamy Foaming Cleanser then use their Comforting Hydrating Toner.  After, I apply their Visionnaire serum, wait a few minutes then apply my Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream.  

On the days that I am too lazy to wash my face, I use Bioderma's Micelle Solution.  I used to use makeup wipes but I find them a bit drying and I just feel that Bioderma does a better job at cleansing my face.  The cotton pads I love to use are Shiseido's Facial Cotton Pads which are $8/pack.  They are a bit pricey but totally worth it since they never leave those annoying fluff on your face and they don't break apart.  A cheaper alternative is the Delon+ Premium Cotton Rounds which on its own is half the price but I found them at Costco for $12.99 for a 6-pack.  One side is textured and the other side is smooth.  After my cleansing water, I use Lush's Breath of Fresh Air as a toner then apply Vichy's Aqulia Antiox Cream. 

For my eyes, I alternate between Origin's Ginzing Eye Cream and Garnier's All About Eyes Serum.  For pimples and blemishes, I use Murad's Acne Spot Treatment.  Another alternative to Murad is the Clean&Clear Persa-Gel 10 Acne Medication.  

For eye makeup removal, I really like Marcelle's Gentle Makeup Remover.  It's a bi-phase like Lancome's Bi-Facil but cheaper.  I was able to purchase 2 for $7.99 at Winners.  Before I used The Body Shop's Camomile Eye Makeup Remover but with all the long-wearing, waterproof eye products these days, it just can't handle that.  For my entire face, I sometimes also use Clinique's Take the Day Off Cleansing Milk.

Last year, I used MAC's Lightful skincare line - their Foaming Creme Cleanser, Softening Lotion and the Deep Ultramoisture Creme.  This line is focused on brightening the skin and I loved it at first then it kinda stopped working for me.  The scent is really nice though.  I am just trying to finish the last 2 that I have so I use it once in awhile.

I exfoliate once a week with my Clarisonic Mia or MAC's Volcanic Ash Exfoliator.  I feel that those two are way to abrasive to be used everyday.  Although every other day I use a gentler exfoliant like Vichy's Softening Exfoliating Cream or Lush's Buche de Noel.

 So before I go to bed, I also apply lip balm.  As much as Fresh's Sugar Lip Treatment smells good, the price is plain ridiculous.  I also have EOS Lip Balm in Mint (my fave) and Maybelline's Baby Lips in Grape Vine.  Smith's Rosebud Salve is also nice and I grabbed one when I saw in Sephora that they made a tube version.  I don't really like potted lip balms.  They're kinda gross.  The Dior Lip Glow Color Reviver Balm is just a luxury buy.  It's one of those lip products that adjust to your own chemistry and on me, it's a nice pinkish colour.  And the packaging is gorgeous.  Besides, a girl can't have too many lip balms, right?

Of course, you can't neglect your hands.  I mainly use The Body Shop's Almond Oil Intense Hand Rescue but I also love Kiehl's Ultimate Strength Hand Salve.  I also use Lush's Lemony Flutter but it smells like the lemon Pledge that you use to polish your furniture.  Burt's Bees Almond Milk Beeswax Hand Cream is also nice but can be too oily.  What I carry around with me is Vichy's Lipidiose Hands Concentrated Care and the ever-so-popular, L'Occitane Dry Skin Hand Cream.  This stuff is awesome and I got it for free!

In the morning, I just use any of my cleansing waters. Right now it's Sephora's Triple Cleansing Water, to rid of the excess oil and buildup from the night before then I apply sun protection.  Since it is winter, I use Kiehl's Ultra Facial Moisturizer with SPF 15 and in the summer, I really like Josie Maran's Argan Oil Daily Sun Protection with SPF 40+.  When I want a bit of a tint, I like using Lancome's Aqua Fusion Tinted Moisturizer with SPF 20.  Sometimes, I wake up with dry patches on my face so I use MAC's Naked Honey Skin Salve to treat that.

P.S.  Here are some of the wipes that I am trying to use up.

Whew, that was a looong post.  I should include my body skincare stuff too but that will be for another day.  

:)

Shop and Tell #6 (Feat. Shoppers, The Bay & F21)

Had my dental appointment today to replace my old fillings.  Dang, their chair was super uncomfortable.  Plus my mouth was so numb for like 2 hours.

Afterwards, went to Shoppers and their ROC cleansers were on sale for $14 each, normally $24.  Picked up the cleansing water because you guys know I love that stuff.  They also had a cleansing milk which was supposed to be hydrating so bought those since it is winter time and my skin is kinda dry.

Shoppers also have a sale on their Physicians Formula makeup so I picked up the kohl kajal trio since I have a mail-in rebate for $9.  It was on sale for $9.99 so I would have only paid $.99 once I receive my moolah back :)  I also wanted to try their booster blush since it looked like a dupe for the Stila one.  Grabbed the one in warm because it seemed the less frosty out of the three there.  Also I just checked their website and they also have a $9 rebate for the blush as well.  Yay!  At the till, the lady told me they have a promo where if you spend $75, you get a gas card for $20 and my subtotal was already $50+ so that's why I ended up with 4 ROC cleansers.  Oh geez..

Swatches of the kajal trio and the blush 

 The Bay was also having an additional 40% off their sale stuff so grabbed this purse organizer in neon pink for $9+ and this BCBG top for $30+.

 All I got at F21 was this necklace since they said it's a dupe for the Sydney Evans (?) pave necklace.

:)

One company's trash is my awesome treasure..

Ever since I saw these jewelry T-bars at Esprit, I wanted one and I searched online but found none that I liked.  So when I heard that Esprit was closing down, I asked the manager if I can buy these.  Our convo went like this..

Me: Hi!  Can I buy those racks?  Are you selling them?

Manager: You want them?  Take them!

Me: Seriously?!?!  Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

So omgee.. I got them for FREE!!  Perfect for my necklaces and bracelets.  And these are good quality.  They are adjustable and made of really sturdy metal which is why in the photo, the necklaces were swaying because they are heavy on their own and my hand was shaking trying to hold one and take a pic at the same time.  Basically, the manager said that she'd rather just give them to me than for her to ship it out to wherever.  I wanted their bench too.  Hmm, wonder if they're selling that??

:)

Shop and Tell #5 (Feat. Walmart, Spring & Shoppers)

 Went to Walmart and picked up 3 more of these L'oreal infallible shadows at $6.96 each :)

Then Shoppers has this clearance rack and grabbed these 4 items.  Total was just over $15.  The L'oreal Ever Pure hair mask was just $2.99 and same for the Neutrogenas.  The Marc Anthony mud hair mask was the most expensive at $4.99.  I'll probably go back and get more hair masks.  The prices are just so good.

Lastly, picked up this scarf at Spring.  It's a leopard print with feathers and the colour is this very subtle blush pink.  It was cute and only $14.99

That's all for my mall adventures folks!

:)

JOTD 02.15.2012

Necklace from Etsy.  Couldn't find just a straight bar so I bought this slightly curved one instead.

:)

Shop and Tell #4 (Feat. Esprit, Winners, Sephora & Shoppers)

It's payday!

I went back to Esprit to check out more sales since they're closing all their North American stores.  Boo!! I really love their jackets and I buy one practically every winter season.  I'm so bummed to see them gone.  Anyhoo.. everything was still 70% off and I was hoping that they would still have their leather jackets but it looked like they were moving all their merchandise to Europe or Asia because they had a very limited selection now as opposed to when I was there last Sunday.  So I picked up 2 pairs of jeans, a striped blazer (with elbow patches) and a touque.  All for a grand total of $83+.

Also went to Shoppers to check their post-Valentines candy and picked up some Belgian chocolate seashells.  Also they had this silver antler-looking jewelry holder on sale for $7.49.  Grand total was $33+ since I also bought bus tickets.

Then went to a different Winners hoping to find my Pour La Victoire flats but no dice.  On my way out, saw some velvet hangers and they were on sale for $5!  Picked up 2 sets with 18 hangers each.

 Oh yeah, also went to Sephora because I wanted to redeem the NARS VIB gift.  Made a mistake and purchased the wrong NARS e/s so ended up paying $100+ in total.  I wanted the Lhasa eyeshadow and accidentally grabbed the trio.  I did end up buying the correct e/s at The Bay.    

 These are the swatches for the Tokidoki "Til Death Do Us Part" palette ($12) and I have to say that this sucks.  The eyeshadows are not pigmented and the blush was super sparkly.  Return!

 Saw these Sephora smoky cream liners on sale for $3 each so picked up the only 2 colours there.

L-R: Water Park | Rags to Riches

Also grabbed Sephora's own version of the cleansing water which I am hoping is comparable to my beloved Bioderma.  Actually, I just like Sephora's dispenser.

So happy that they still had this.  Can't wait to try the eye primer and the mini Laguna bronzer is soo cute.

Btw, this is the best swatch I can manage of NARS' Lhasa eyeshadow.

:)