Shoppers Haul + Sephora and Partylite Order!

Hey guys! So I finally got a late paycheck after 11 days, and ordered my birthday present (it was from the boyfriend, but ofcourse I ordered it). Anyways, I treated myself to some new stuff, mostly some necessities, and some new candles!


So while my mom was waiting for her prescription at Shoppers, I did some shopping! I've been trying to get a perfect face ritual that works for me. I had been using Clean and Clear Facial Scrub and Facial Cleanser, as well as Boire Pore Minimizing Face Wash. The Boire is doing nothing for my skin. The Clean and Clear duo has helped a little, no break outs or blemish, but my skin as still been oily, isn't helping black heads or my complexion. I had been using Dove Energy Glow Moisturizer, but am retiring it until summertime. I also use Neautrogena Healthy Skin Anti-Wrinkle Cream SPF 15, but only days I'm out in the sun. So my new line up is Olay Total Effects Nourishing Cream Cleanser and St. Ives Apricot Scrub. I've heard a lot of good things about the cream cleanser, and since it was on sale I decided to pick it up (regular $18.99 CAD on for $13.99 CAD). I also used to use the St. Ives Apricot Scrub on my face in the past, and it was amazing for me! I really don't know why I stopped using it. For night cream and for days I don't go out, I got Neutrogena Moisture Oil Free for combination skin. I've also heard a lot of great things about the oil free line they have.

I also got a few other things. All of the Got2Be hair products were on sale for $3.99 CAD, and my mother swears by them, so I figured I'd give them a try. I decided to try the Fat-Tastic Thickening Mousse, since I'm always trying to find something to pump my volume up when my extensions aren't in. For days they are in, and I don't need extra volume, I got Smooth Operator Smoothing Mousse. I've always been meaning to get something to protect my hair before I iron or blow dry it, so I'm giving the Guardian Angel Heat Protect lotion.

For the longest time, I've been hearing about the Soap & Glory line. It's kind of pricey, but the Flake Away Body Polish was on sale (regular $12.99 CAD, on for $9.99 CAD), so I decided it's time to try it out.

The nail polish wasn't all me! I have a 2 1/2 year old daughter, and she LOVES nail polish. While I was looking at face wash and cream, she grabbed the Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Extreme Wear in Strobe Light. It's a super sparkley nailpolish in a pinkish hue, and on top of another colour is a very chunky flaky sparkles, and has a very neat look. Since I was already in the isle, I grabbed the Rimmel Lasting Finish Pro in Violet Metal. The two look great together! I also picked up the Rimmel Lasting Finish Base and Top Coat.

Last but not least, there's that white box! It's a tooth whitening system I've never heard of, Sanaswiss. It was on clearance for $5, so I figured I'd give it a try.

I also ordered from Sephora!! I ordered the Sephora Favorites LastStash Mascara Deluxe Sampler, Sephora Favorites Give Me Some Lip, Sephora Tricks of the Trade Eyeshadow Transformer (turns eyeshadow into eyeliner), Sephora Mineral Foundation + Mineral Matte Setting Powder, and Vanilla Cupcake Body Oil. I was really hoping to get a few more of those box sets like LashStash, but they were all sold out. I'm also so mad! The weekly specials are so much better today than yesterday! I got a free face cream, today was a Lancome mascara and make up remover!

I also made an order with Partylite for the Forbidden Fruits tealight sampler, the 16 piece votive sampler, a huge Caramel Pear Brulee candle, two of those break away melts (banana leaf and tamboti, tamboti smells like sexy men), and the cutest tealight holder!

Anyways, that's it and that's all! It was a fun shopping day yesterday!

My Brush Collection!

So as you can see I have a decent collection. I'm going to do a small review on all my brushes. I use a large variety of brands, MAC, Quo, true you!, Clinique, Lancome, LaCrosse, Joe, E.L.F, even dollar store brands. I'll break it down into sections, face, eyes, liners, brows; so it'll be easier. Lets start, everything will be from left to right.
Foundation and Concealer Brushes:
- MAC 109 SE - $38.50 CAD - This is used for small contours. I used it to set my foundation a little better. After applying my foundation, I use this in a circular motion to make sure I have no streaks in my foundation. Amazing brush!
- True You! Foundation Brush - $5 CAD - I put a line of foundation straight across this, dab it on my face, and basically paint in an up and down motion to apply my foundation. I don't like the synthetic feel of this brush, but I find it's the same with all foundation brushes.
- Joe Foundation Brush- $7 CAD - This brush is from Superstore's (also called Loblaws) new line of make-up. I use it the exact same way as the brush previous, except I find it's even more synthetic-ish, but for some reason I use it all the time. I recommend saving up and buying a higher end brand brush for foundation, as I'm not fond of either of these brushes.
- True You! Concealer Brush - $5 CAD - I put the smallest amount of concealer on the tip of the brush, and apply it under my eyes, and as needed on blemishes. I however do not use the brush to blend it in, I use my finger. I find it absorbs into the foundation better that way. As well, do not rub it in, dab it. Remember if it's visible still your powder will cover it. I find all these brushes to be simple and the same, so I recommend getting a cheaper one like I have. This brush does the job well.
- Joe Concealer Brush - $7 CAD - I use this brush the same as explained above, just as much as the other, and will recommend this brush to anyone as well!

Facial Powder Brushes:
- e.l.f. professional Total Face Brush - $1 CAD - I lucked out and found this at Dollarama, and many other brushes by them. I use this brush for my face powder quite often, I go back and forth between this and my buffer, this I use with my light powder, the other I use with my darker powder. I put a generous amount of powder on the brush, and apply it in a circular motion to assure I have no lines. This brush can also be used for blush, which I find most powder brushes don't well. I highly recommend this brush, it's great!
- True You! Powder Brush - $5 CAD - I completely dislike this brush. It doesn't fan out in a circle the way I need it to, which means lines left over.
- Azziza Face Brush - $1 CAD - This is another Dollarama find. Unfortunately, it's small and doesn't do the trick quite as well as other brushes. If your in the store, I'd recommend grabbing an e.l.f. Total Face Brush (above) for the same price and much better quality.
- Joe Kabuki Brush - $9 CAD - This brush is great! I use it the same as the e.l.f. Total Face Brush, just for a different shade of powder (I wear a darker one in darker environments - bar, movies, fair..). I highly recommend this brush, it does blend much better than the e.l.f. Total Face Brush (I'm going to invest in another so both my powder brushes are one of these). This brush definitely competes well with the $60 one from MAC!!

Bronzer and Blush:
- e.l.f. professional Bronzing Brush - $1 CAD - Another Dollarama find (did I ever mention I bought actual Bump-Its there? Yeah, deadly place!). I LOVE this brush!! This brand is great, I've seen these at Winner's for $5+. I apply my bronzer everywhere! Most people just do highlighting spots, but I'm pale, so I find I can use some kinds all over (unless they are too shimmery). I definitely recommend getting one!
- MAC 187 SE Duo Fibre Brush - $50.50 CAD - This brush is for light powders, emollient, cheeks and water based foundations, but I find it works best for blush. I can't wear blush to dark, and this applies it very lightly. It's very expensive, and I'd recommend trying something cheaper before splurging for this, as for a multi-use brush it isn't great, I find it's only good use is blush.

Eyeshadow Brushes:
- Joe Eye Crease Brush - $7 CAD - I love this brush! It was my second crease brush, my first was huge, and works better as a blending brush. I like that this is small and contoured to the shape of the eye crease. I used to use smudger and shader brushes for this purpose. I always get a perfect eye with this! To use a crease brush, simply close the lid, go from the outer corner, follow your crease line, all the way to the inner eye corner. You don't always have to come this far, but I usually do, as I wear my eyeshadow big.
- Annabelle A-8 Small Shader Brush - $8 CAD - This brush isn't that great for shading in your crease, but works great for popping out the outer corner more. I also use it after my eye is done for more highlighting on my lid after shading, as it's small and doesn't mess up your crease. Good brush, but uses can be accomplished by any regular eye brush.
- e.l.f. professional Eye Shadow Brush - $1 CAD - As you can tell, I have two of these in the picture. I use this for basic application on my lid. Decent brush, I recommend getting one, especially for the price.
- Lancome Blending Shadow Brush #17 - $30 CAD - I got this brush as a free gift for.. shopping too much. I don't really like it that much, I actually use a brush below (in blending or multi-use section) that was about $5 for that. I find this just not fluffy enough for the job of blending.
- this is just a random plushy brush, I actually just gave it to my daughter to play with.
- MAC 239 SE Shader Brush - $29 CAD - I hate this brush. It's so hard that it doesn't blend anything what so ever. I rarely use a shader brush, I just use my big fluffy LaCrosse Brush to blend, but I do have my heart on the MAC 214 Short Shader Brush. I rarely use highly pigmented bright colours, I feel if I did this brush would be more for me, but given I use neutral shimmer's most of the time, a big fluffy brush blends better for me. I do like it for blending lines, especially eyeliner lines for a smokey eye.
- Clinique Eye Shadow Brush - $18.50 CAD - I find this brush only to be useful when applying one colour on the whole lid, or the center. It's too big to work well near the inner corners. I wouldn't recommend buying one.
- Clinique Eye Contour Brush - $18.50 CAD - This brush is pretty good. It works well for blending, and works semi-good for creases. I didn't find it to work well on lines or eyeliner to create a smokey look.
- Quo Smudger Brush - $12 CAD - This brush is okay for blending shadow, but amazing for softening hard lines and bringing out a smokey eye! I highly recommend it.
- this is the second of the e.l.f. shadow brushes listed above
- Annabelle A-21 Large Shader Brush - $8 CAD - I love this brush for all over application! I find almost every brush can be a shader, but it takes a really good brush to be a great shadow brush.

Liner and Angled Brushes:
-Maybelline Gel Eyeliner Brush - $8 CAD - This came with the gel eyeliner. I've only used it once, and I was very impressed. I'm used to a fine point brush, which was much harder to learn. I had an easier time with this brush than I do after years with a fine point brush. I definitely recommend this as well as gel eyeliners!
- true you! angled brush - $5 CAD - I don't really like this brush. It's too bushy and not angled enough in my opinion.
- true you! Small Shader Brush - $5 CAD - This is in the wrong spot, but is small enough to be used with gels and under the eye, so that's okay. I also use this in the inner corners of my eyes. Pretty good brush, many uses!
- Quo Angled Liner Brush - $15 CAD - This brush is great! The hairs are tight and angled deep, perfect for liners and under the eye. Great brush!

Brow Brushes:
I'm not going to review each brow brush, as they all do the same this, same as lash brushes!! The first is Lancome, the second is True You! and the third is no name, and I use for trimming. The last brush is a Caryl Baker Visage Brow Definer Brush. I use this with my brow powder for filling in my brows. I don't really mind it, although I'd like to switch to a gel and proper brush, I don't like these hard brushes and the eyebrow powders.

Other Brushes:
- True You! Fan Brush - $5 CAD - This is the most versatile everything brush out there. It's great for applying blush for a soft, subtle look. It's great for cleaning up fallen eyeshadow, it just sweeps it away. It's great for evening out an area of powder that isn't there anymore, after clean up for instance. The round tip is great for blending as well. Last of all, I sometimes use it to highlight my face. It's basically an everything brush, and great for travelling or having in the purse. I originally got it for sweeping away eyeshadow that falls after application, but it's fantastic for everything!
- La Cross Premier - $12 CAD - I find this brush far too big for the crease, but it is AMAZING for blending!! It's definitely a favorite brush.

I know it's been a long post, but there it is, all my brushes! The only thing really missing is my eyelash curler, but I have a huge collection, and use them all the same. If you have any more questions about brushes and uses, please ask me!!

Summer Haul + Reviews

So this summer I really cut down on higher end brands and started trying out more department store brands. I'll try to keep everything categorized by product. This is just for summer (June to end of August-ish). I think I'll do season reviews, plus monthy reviews and hauls each spree!

Things I Liked:
Gosh Velvet Touch Foundation Primer - $22 CAD - This was my first face primer. I can't compare it, but I can say I love it. It gives my face a perfect serface to apply make-up, and my face always looks more smooth and less cakey and powdering when this stuff is applied.

Physicians Formula Shimmer Strips Blush - Healthy Glow - $17.99 CAD - I recently learned to use blush from a friend (she also taught me how to use foundation), but had a hard time finding one that didn't make me look like a clown. This one was really light, and had a bit of sunkissed sparkle. I like the 5 different shade strips, so you can go darker, use all of them, or go light.

Physicians Formula Bronze Booster - Fair to Light - $17.99 CAD - I usually can't use bronzer, but this is the lightest one I've ever found, and it isn't overly sparkly.

Covergirl LashBlast Volume Waterproof Mascara - $8.99 CAD - I used to be a die-hard Lancome mascara user, but I seen lots of girls with amazing lashes who said they used this, so I had to give it a try. I had to throw out all 3 of my Lancome's after I got pink eye, so I grabbed a bottle of this. I absolutely love this stuff! My lashes look so big!! I highly recommend this to all you girls spending $$$ on mascara!!

Maybelline Eyestudio Eyeshadow - Purple Iron, Pink Persuasion, Give Me Gold and Irrisistibly Ivy - $9.99 CAD each - I love, love, love these pallette's! Each one has four shadows, the perfect whole eye coverage pallette. My first one was Purple Icon, a combo of silver and 3 purples. Then I bought Pink Persausion, a combo of silver, pink, dark silver and black. I bought the last two together, Irresistbly Ivy, a blend of beige, two golds, and a aqua green, and Give Me Gold, a off-white, yellow-gold, dark gold, and dark brown. I love every single one of these, and plan on purchasing the rest of the set!

Maybelline Expertwear Eyeshadow - Sunlit Bronze - $11.99 CAD - I am a brown/bronze eyeshadow lover, so I fell for this one as soon as I seen it. I started using this for days I had to be super quick in lue of my usual Physicians Formula Shimmer Strips + Maybelline Sparkling Wine. Great popping yet natural shades!

Milani Runway Eyes Fashion Shadows - Backstage Pass - $12.99 CAD - This has 6 colours ranging from silver to black. I love the silver/black shadow look, so I fell in love when I found this. It had all the colours I could ever need for the look. Sadly, after two months of addiction, it fell off a counter and shattered. I will be buying another very soon, this was a favorite look for going out!

Physicians Formula Shimmer Strips - Vegas Strip - $17.99 CAD - This is the base to my everday eye, and has been since the day I bought it. It has five colours ranging from gold to bronze, which I use for my brow bone, lid and crease, which is followed up by Maybelline Expert Eye Shadow Sparkling Wine also applied in the crease and outer edge.

Maybelline Expert Shadow High Pearls - Sparkling Wine - $5.99 CAD - As mentioned above, I used this everyday with the gold. Absolute favorite!! Beautiful purple and golden colour!

Aquafina Hydrating Lip Oil - $1.00 CAD - This stuff really makes my lips feel amazing, and I like the cool tingle it brings.

Things I Didn't Like:
Rimmel Recover Anti-Fatigue Concealer - $6.99 CAD - This is bad concealer, I found it barely had any coverage. I purchased mine in Ivory which is around the same colour as everything else I used. Maybe I need to go darker, but this covered absolutely nothing under my eyes, and I don't even have to horrible of dark circles.

Maybelline Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner - $6.99 CAD - I really didn't like anything about this. It goes on streaky and I do not like sponge applicators. I will go back to splurging for Dior Show Style Liner!

L'Oreal Wear Infinite Eye Shadow - Smokey Eyes - $9.99 CAD - This pallette is of silver's and black, but even with primer, it isn't very "popping". I applied it very thick, and still no rich colour.

Maybelline ExpertWear Eye Shadow Shimmer - Silver Lining - $5.99 CAD - This is a very dull silver, I didn't like it at all.

Bourjois Effect 3D Max Brillant a Levres Lipgloss - Rose Red - $22.00 CAD - I assumed this was going to colour and give my lips and beautiful shine and sparkle. It's very clear, and has barely any shine or sparkle, or anything really amazing about it at all. Wasn't worth the money.

Burt's Bees Replenishing Lip Balm - $2.99 CAD - I don't understand the huge hype about this stuff, because it didn't do anything for my chapped lips. It also tastes terrible.

Softlips Aromatherapy - Replenish - $1.00 CAD - This stuff didn't really improve my lips, and it also made them burn.

I also bought the following stuff, but I haven't really used any of it. Although it shall go into the use-more-to-review bin and be reviewed eventually!
- Physicians Formula Organic Wear Blush/Bronzer - Bronzer/Ginger - $17.99 CAD
- Annabelle Glitterama Liquid Eyeliner - Plutonium - $9.99 CAD
- Milani Eyeshadow - Coffee Shop - $6.99 CAD
- L'Oreal Wear Infinite Perle - Reflecting Pool - $5.99 CAD
- Bonnebelle VitaGloss 2o Moisture Stick - $1.00 CAD

I got quite a few brushes as well, as followed:
- La Cross Premier Crease Shadow - $9.99 CAD - I use this for blending my shadow, and it works great!
- Caryl Baker Brow Defining - $22 CAD - I don't like this brush a whole lot, it's very stiff and I think I'm going to switch to something softer (or possibly a tinted gel for my eyebrows).
- Joe Concealer Brush - $6.99 CAD - I do not like these brushes for liquids what so ever. They are a cheap synthetic or plastic brush that is impossible to clean! Not to mention terrible streaks!
- Joe Foundation Brush - $9.99 CAD - This brush is as bad as the previous, synthetic and impossible to clean, and super streaky!
- Joe Crease Brush - $6.99 CAD - Surprisingly, this brand made a slight comback. This brush is an okay crease brush, but I'm going to invest in something better and longer soon. It gives to thick of a crease.
- Joe Kabuki Brush - $9.99 CAD - I've never used a Kabuki brush before, but it's so much better than a regular powder brush! Applying is a circular motion it really stops caking and doesn't give the powdery look. I really recommend trying one!

This summer fashions were all over for me! Like always I went flipflop crazy. I tried out gladiators, and can still say I do not like them. I'm going to miss ripped up daisy dukes so much, as well as sun dresses! I got this amazing yellow strapless Fovever 21 dress. I also fell for a beautiful leather purse with studs and a huge studded peace sign (not sure the brand).

Lancome Absolue Fond De Teint (Foundation)

To this day, I will recommend this to everyone once. I'm really glad I'm re-posting this (since I've used the whole jar) because I have so many improvements to my review to make!

Before you get your heart set on this, it was $72 (CAD) before tax. Despite "so-so" reviews I've read, I found this stuff too makes your skin look perfect and flawless, so luminous, it doesn't look like your wearing make-up, you'll look like a porcelain doll (in your correct shade, it doesn't make you white, obviously). The other big draw in for me was how it went beyond full-coverage. Not only does your skin tones become perfectly even, but over time you will notice your skin tones always perfect, even without it on your face. It's supposed to be for older women, but it honestly made my face perfect!!

The only draw back it has is a low SPF. It's also only made for dry skin, yet contains silicone rather than oils that would provide more moisture.

My only downfall is it's lightest shade was a tad bit darker than my skin (before I used self tanner's I was extremely pale). You must definitely try it in the store, don't just get excited and buy one.