China Glaze - Bermuda Breakaway

Nice navy creme.

It is very hard to find un-shimmered dupes for navy blues.

Similar colors:

Esther Lauder - Blue Dahlia

Rimmel - Midnight Blue

Borghese -  Mezzanotte Blue

 

China Glaze - Bermuda Breakaway

Garnier Eye-Roller

I really don't understand why all the beauty gurus out there are obssessing over this product.

Been using it for 2 weeks now, under-eye area still the same.

China Glaze - Thunderbird

A gorgeous fire-hydrant metallic red.

Similar colors:

Essie -Bold and Beautiful
OPI - I'm Not Really a Waitress 
Zoya - Blair

China Glaze - Thunderbird

Gel Liners

Everyone pretty much has their own way of using gel liners (or gel pots to some). Although most use it as their regular eyeliner, I personally enjoy using them for my waterline. Now this isn't the proper use of gel liners, but most use it for this anyways, since it does work. Most that I have tried manage to stay on my waterline far longer than any waterproof eyeliner pencil. I had tried 3 different brands so far and only one takes the cake when it comes to water resistance: L'Oréal's HIP.

I tried Maybelline's eyestudio pot liner and absolutely regret the purchase. Although I'm sure their liner is easy and wonderful for regular eyeliner use, it didn't pass the waterline test. The product came off minutes after application.

 

The more shocking failure was Stila's smudge pots. Now this is rather disappointing, considering Stila cosmetics are awesome and are reputed for their smudge pots. Well, like Maybelline, as I'm sure they do wonders as regular eyeliner and even as an eyeshadow base, they too failed the waterline test. In fact, the smudge pots were a challenge to apply. The product basically brittle's instantly once it touches your waterline and ends up everywhere in your eyelashes. I felt instant irritation just by trying to get the product on, and not as an allergic reaction, but just from playing around my waterline too much with it. Although, I will admit, for whatever amount I had managed to apply, the product sticks on VERY well, but the application was too annoying to bare to attempt ever again :'(

L'Oréal's HIP color truth cream eyeliner kicks absolute waterline ass. The product is simple to apply and stays on for long periods. It's the only gel liner I am able to bare and swear by  (until I find better :3).

Shu Uemura Eyelash curler

I had purchased a while back what was apparently an award winning eyelash curler from Shu Uemura. Everybody curling their lashes in tutorials were pretty much using this one particular curler. So I figured, why not, I wanted to be cool too XD.

 So.. what exactly is so special about this curler? 

I mean, it does the job that every other eyelash curler does.

I need enlightenment on this curler's AWARD-WINNING SUPER ABILITIES because it doesn't come across as anything out of the ordinary.

Pro Longwear is Long

One product I feel has been overlooked by the make-up community is M.A.C's Pro Longwear Lipcolor.

This is a line of lip products where the lip color sticks to your lips for a LONG time.

It's a cream consistency which you coat only once and let dry for about 2-3 minutes. Afterwards, you coat it with a clear gloss to give it a moisturized look.

in the color Unchanging

These colors shouldn't fade through anything. They last even when eating and drinking.

I like how I don't need to rub my lips together every few minutes to make sure my lipcolor isn't drying off. The color pretty much stays put.

I do have to say though, after a while, I felt as if the product began to slowly brittle. Obviously these types of lip products last a good deal through the toughest events like eating and drinking, but eventually would need a tiny re-application. Meh, maybe my lips weren't properly exfoliated.


Note: If you are someone who compulsively changes lip colors throughout the day, you may not necessarily like this product: It's a bitch to take off. Using baby wipes or water doesn't get the job done, you want to use an oil-based make-up remover, which I'm not sure we all carry around in our cosmetic bags (except you crazy ones out there O_o!)

Cover Girl made a similar product called Cover Girl Outlast Double Lipshine Lipgloss. They both do the same job and last about the same amount of time. The only difference is the shades.
M.A.C's lipcolor (above) is the only shade I am (currently) able to stand. It's very close to M.A.C's Fabby Lustre lipstick. Cover Girl's colors are very misleading. One simple, dicrete shade appeared quite loud and darker when applied. Not very helpful and ended up being a waste of money.

What do you think?

LipstiX

These are, in my opinion, the perfect everyday shades.

I personally cannot wear matte colors, I feel they give my lips an enlarged, flat-colored and overly fake look (excluding bright reds... those are intended). Lustre, Frost and Pearl finish lipsticks are absolutely stunning when paired with lip gloss or mixed around among each other. They apply sheer to give a slight shine or sparkle and can also be built up to appear darker (to a certain degree of course). If they are too shimmery, you can easily dim them down with a cream lip gloss and you will have a perfect balance of both.

Here are the girls:

From Left to Right (and Top to Bottom): 

Frost - Fabby by M.A.C

Lustre - Politely Pink by M.A.C

Lustre - Plink! by M.A.C

Pearl - Luminous Pink by Revlon

The Plink! lipstick is a tad more coral in person than it is bright pink in the first photo.

Frost lipsticks by M.A.C are darker and more pigmented than Lustre shades, but no where near as dark and rich as matte lipsticks. They also carry a lot more shimmer and sparkle than other finishes.

Lustre lipsticks are very sheer and give a nice, smooth and moisture-rich look, also with a tad shimmer.

In the Revlon family, Pearl finishes are somewhat a cross between both.

They're all simple and perfect everyday shades and suit just about every shape of lip and shade of skin.

Amanzi vs Teavana - GREEN TEA BATTLE

Last week I gave myself a week off for spring break and went to New York with the boo. Shopping and eating. Best vacation combo ever. Not too sure how my wallet feels now :/ 

 And now I'm back to a week of non-stop work, both retail AND at home, with very unpleasant weather. Not so fun birthday week ahead ._.

My trips to New York basically mean another fun run at Amanzi's tea counter (went to Garden State Mall in new joizey though).

Best teas ever. Naturally infused loose leaves stored in air-tight tins at affordable prices and in a store where all the tea-lovin' accessories can be found.  The place also comes with a cute tea bar, where you can get pretty much anything made on-the-spot, from Ice teas to Bubble teas ^_^ (Ni hao, bitches). 

Naturally I had to stock up on some of my favorites, being as Montreal apparently isn't hip or asian enough to have tea bars... Not downtown anyways.

Once out of Amanzi, I ran into their competitor, Teavana.

Naturally,  I had to explore.

Contrary to Amanzi which has a very modern, bright and fun look, Teavana is more reserved and bases its business on the ancient art of tea making and drinking. Always fun to learn new things and see different perspectives.

Good tea, good times, but the whole Teavana rave did not leave much of an impression on me as Amanzi did.

First off, Teavana bases its sales by weight of their tea, not prepacked tins. You basically need to pay for $6 tins and THEN select the leafs you want, which will be priced according to the weight. Very expensive buying dry leaves and metal tins :/ 

Sooo I decided to stick with Amanzi because of its affordable prices, equal or higher quality tea and the no-hassle of the 'Weighin' n' Payin' business. I really don't see the point of it. It doesn't make it any more authentic, and quite frankly, doesn't make the experience any better.

So I'll stick with my delicious Morocan Mint green tea and wonder why i'm still awake and 5 hours away from doing aerobics....

HALPPPPPPP

Julie & Julia

Ohhhhh, how did I not watch this movie sooner. Such a delight! Fetch me a croissant dawwwling! Haw haw haw!

Yes, it seems cooking movies bring out my inner housewife. DON'T JUDGE ME.

For those who don't know the movie, it's based on the stories of the life of America's favorite TV cook and author, Julia child (played by Meryl Streep) paralleled to the life of a girl in Queens, New York, Julie Powell (played by Amy Adams) who decides to challenge herself to cooking all of Julia Child's 524 recipes in one year and blog about it.

Both true stories.

Meryl Streep, you make one badass Julia Child.

They just had to reveal this wonderful bit of entertainment on french cooking with the much overuse of butter, dairy and how to make Boeuf Bourguignon AFTER I decide to become vegetarian/borderline vegan. 

You bastards.

New Year, New Diet? Skinny Bitch?

So I've been on a 7 month (and counting) diet and exercise regime. So far, so good, but I'm nowhere near where I want to be.

Although I would love to be a "Megan Fox" dress size by now, I still feel like Will Ferrel in a bikini.

I'm on the verge of hiring Octomom's liposuctionist.

Haha, just kidding...  maybe >.>

I started listening to Skinny Bitch's audio-books, which strangely enough I got into after I had suggested it to a friend (HI ABBAY!).

The book has some solid information on health and nutrition and rips the meat and dairy industries a new asshole.

The book does promote vegan-ism, but hey, don't judge until you've read it. Trust me.
It's not a meal plan, it's a lifestyle change. Whether you decide to convert or not, the authors just want to promote healthy habits, which you can adapt to your current lifestyle how ever you want.

It's the most brilliant and entertaining eye-opener to adopting a healthier and, subsequently, thinner lifestyle.
Gotta say, these bitches know what they're talking about.

Soy milk, anyone?

Skinny Bitch Website

Big Sexy Hair vs Fat Hair

Back from a tiresomeeeee and longggg day at work and have the strange urge to talk about shampoos. Makes sense.

Well my last attempt at "volumizing" my hair through shampoos and conditioners was with Fat Hair products. Although I have spent more time testing the products, my thoughts on Fat Hair remain the same: It sucks.

Knowing about Big Sexy Hair's on-going popularity, I decided to give it a try. Got myself a 2L bottle on special for $11 CAD, rather than the regular retail price at $24+.

The shampoo didn't give my hair significant volume, but did give a small lift and more importantly, a change in my hair's texture.

When using volume shampoos, in general, you will notice overtime how your hair's texture will feel different, particularly when blow-drying.

I noticed, for both Big Sexy Hair AND Fat Hair, that while blow-drying, my hair has become more straw-like and difficult to brush through. The volume-enhancing ingredient in these products simply gives your hair a more coarse or straw-like texture, which then gives you the feeling of thicker hair.

Because this becomes so difficult to brush through, you will be ripping out and splitting more hairs.

I did notice a slight, but not significant change in my hair's volume, but it would be wrong to re-purchase this product at the risk of breaking off my hairs. A very unhealthy choice.

Although, If you are someone who doesn't mind breaking off hairs or simply wants to see the results of these types of shampoos for themselves, I would honestly recommend Big Sexy Hair, since I did see few results.

Unless there actually is a miracle, volume-enhancing shampoo (or conditioner) which exists and does not cause hair breakage, I have yet to hear about its existence >.>

Guess it's back to sprays :\

MAC Lip Goodies

Sooooo

Although I try to stay away from MAC cosmetics as best I can ($$$$ >.<), I decided to splurge on one of their Holiday sets. Their Lipgloss "Mischief" set to be exact and a couple of other items as well.

5 Sexy Shenanigans was the chosen one:

5 simple colors which can easily be used year round and on a daily basis.

From Top to Bottom:

Elle

Morning Glory

Cruise Control

 Poetic License

Ensign

Lip swaps were prepared, but my terribad bathroom (or any other room) lighting made them all resemble one another.

Elle was the big surprise really. 

Although white in appearance, when angled correctly in the light, you will notice red/coral and blue reflections. It's not just a shine or glossy layer, this gloss seems to enhance your current lip color quite nicely, if worn alone and makes any lipstick shade pop. Quite a pleasant surprise, but unpleasant fact that it is a limited edition :(

 

Too Faced - Glamour To Go

Yet another goodie from Sephora. Gimmicky, but I had to have it .

This is a tiny compact from Too Faced which includes eye shadows, blush and lip gloss. 
The compact measures 2" W x 3 1/2" L and goes for $19.50 USD. Not a terrible buy for the quality of the pigments and glosses that you get.

Top Compartment:

6 eye shadows. Simple colors that can be used for everyday and evening looks.

Sigh, again, yellow lit pictures...

Second Compartment:

Below the eye shadows are 4 lip glosses and a blush.

Pretty basic, everyday blush. The lip glosses give a very light tint, nothing over-the-top.

 

 Tadaaaaaa

This obviously was purchased out of pure shopping delight and girly wants.

Amazing Cosmetics Concealer

This is one of many little spoils I got at Sephora in NY.

I have been using Laura Mercier's quarter-sized pot creme concealer for a while and it's been doing fairly well.

After reading a review on this particular brand, I had to give their concealer a try. Although I was irritated that a 6 ml (0.2 oz) tube ended up being $24, I decided to set aside my cheap-ass half for a day and splurged.

Verdict: Me likey.

You really need a needle-tip amount of this to cover your entire eye area. So quantity vs Use vs Cost makes it worth it.

Being within the range of fair skin tones, I chose mine in Light Golden. Anything below would whiten my skin.

(Left: Before, Right: After) 

Coverage seems decent in the pictures above, but not as well compared to a well lit area. My camera (and bathroom, despite the fact that it is all WHITE) adores making pictures look yellow, even though the camera screen shows me crisp, clear pictures. You don't see a dramatic difference, but for someone like me who will always have eye shadows and bags, you still see a difference. Click to enlarge the picture for a better glimpse.

This is of course the concealer alone without any powder. Setting powder obviously gives a full coverage.

Fat Hair - Not so Fattening

Hair Profile:

Thin hair, oily scalp

In attempts to get my hair halfway to Mane-ville (well close to...), I decided to try Fat Hair shampoo and conditioner.

Guilty from reading a review on it, I stumbled on it the next day, on sale for $8.99 at the drugstore.

Try you, you say? Meh, why not.

Results? No dice.

DAMN YOU MARKETING TEAM!

I'm pretty sure the girls who have tried and reviewed these products have had satisfying or even amazing results, but this is probably due to the fact that every hair styling product that they've used has settled over the years. With all that excess sticking around from years of styling products, I'm sure Fat Hair sits on all that deposit quite nicely.

The products are supposedly aimed towards people with "baby thin hairs". My hairs are by no means "baby thin...", but they are thin. It is extremely rare that I spray my hair with styling products. The one I use most often is CHI's 44 Iron Guard, which I use on my ENDS only. My roots remain relatively untouched by boosters and sprays, so for this product to not work is just disappointing.

Just another basic drugstore shampoo and conditioner, perhaps a step-up from Herbal Essences, but you might want to save that extra dollar.

Paranormal Activity

Since my Ninja costume plan ended up failing at the last minute, watching a scary movie at least completed one Halloween-related activity on my weekend list ( that and mouth-raping candy bars... god it's been too long...)

So hearing quite the tales regarding this lil blockbuster hit, I had to see it for myself, of course accompanied by my brave and FEARLESS boyfriend... (Andy you chicken butt -_-)...<3

"Scary" movies don't really scare me, they just gross me out.

No really.

Flying body parts, blood, sneaky attacks, blood, carving corpses, zombies, Paris Hilton , more blood etc etc... those aren't scary, they just end up being overly graphic, disgusting and more importantly, repetitive.

The only exception that has forever terrorized me is The Exorcist. Still scares the living crap out of me.

I gotta say, Paranormal Activity does take the cake. Who knew that a simple $15 000 budget movie would end up scaring the shit out of people to grossing up $68 mill.

This movie effectively unfolds the two things that we all genuinely fear the most: What we do not know and cannot see.

Sure tons of Hollywood big shots have tried to use these themes from their own perspective, but haven't quite mastered it like Paranormal Activity. This movie shows how effortless a real scare can be without all the gore and special FX.

Although most believe that this is based on true events, it is not. This is an entirely fake movie, but it successfully scared and bothered me.


I really, really, really miss those twix and snickers bars though....

Cosmetic Steals - Best Websites

Here is a list of what I have gathered in great cosmetic steals you can order online.

I have not personally purchased from each and every one of these websites, but they have been recommended.

In no particular order:

E.L.F

Every product possible, from cosmetics to professional brushes, most items sold between $1-$5.

www.eyelipsface.com

Coastal Scents

Also hold just about every product possible, even ingredients to make your own cosmetics. Main best buys are their make-up palettes and brushes.

www.coastalscents.com

The Body Needs

This website is known for selling mac pigment samples. Great place if you're trying out Mac pigments and want to test out colors before investing in the full tub.

www.thebodyneeds.com

Cherry Culture

Awesome website, selling great products, such as Eyeko, L.A. Girl, L.A. Splash, NYX, Principessa, Styli-Style, at great prices.

www.cherryculture.com

Jesse's Girl

Inexpensive cosmetics, from nail polishes, to bronzers, to eye palettes.

www.jessesgirlcosmetics.com

Beauty Crunch

Hosts discounted brands such as Too Faced, Stila, Pixi and Pop.

www.beautycrunch.com

8TY Beauty

Nail polishes galore. Home to every possible O.P.I, China Glaze and Essie color at low prices. Feet and hand care products sold as well.

8ty8beauty.com

Zoya Nail Finale

This is a Zoya nail polish named Akyra that came with my last one, Blair.

This will probably be my last purchase from them, since their descriptions are not accurate or consistent.

I like good, subtle shimmer and metallic colors that require no more than two coats of nail polish. This one was described to be very opaque, yet it applies so clear, that it requires about 3-4 coats before you get the full bottle color.

It seems as though every blue to green shade nail polish from Zoya does that. Disappointing really.

Interesting color, more of a summer shade than anything else. I think i'll just stick to the classics from now on.

I guarantee you one thing, this will be a nightmare to take off :/

Zoya Nail Polish Yet Again

So this time I decided to try out Blair by Zoya, a very nice, deep metallic red. So far, me likey.

I also got a nice sea blue color, again in the metallic family (or so I hope) called Akyra.

The lighting makes the red seem a lot brighter than it really is, but it's truly a deep red.

Aveda Pure Abundance

This is perhaps the most dissapointing product out of all my recent purchases.

Aveda's Pure abundance is a powder substance that liquefies when applied into your hair, to give it lift, texture and volume.

I haven't seen much difference in volume. It leaves a sticky residue and gives you a straw-like texture to your hair, which I suppose would be one way of giving it lift.

I would honestly only use this for a second-day root lift, but even then, I just don't enjoy the texture and feeling it leaves.

It's a very tiny 20 ml (0.7 oz) bottle that retails for $30 :\. Yikes.
Luckily I cheaped-it-out over eBay and got it for under $14. I will continue to use it, since I did pay money for it, but not something I would repurchase.

I would rather just spray and blow-dry my hair's roots with CHI's Volume booster to get that extra lift.