A Collective Haul for Y'all

Shoppers Drug Mart had another points bonus on and I actually needed a few things (not pictured) so I did a bit more damage.

Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream - seriously a miracle product. You can use this anywhere you have any dry patches for extra refreshment. 
Hawaiian Tropic Dark Tanning Oil - I gotta be tan this summer, and this is a good starter. I use sunscreen on my face and shoulders, but the tanning oil goes everywhere else to make me nice and bronzed
Speaking of bronzed...
Physicians Formula Bronze Booster - another powder bronzer. My rimmel bronzer finally died (I dropped it and it shattered). This bronzer was super duper on sale (more than 50% off) so I decided to give it a try since I've heard good things
Biore Deep Pore cleansing strips - for those pesky blackheads. Biore's new packaging really threw me off, I was looking for the usually green and pink packaging. Not anymore!
Q-Tips - I prefer the life brand cotton buds, but Shoppers was all sold out. Q-Tips are seriously the best beauty tool: clean up eye makeup, clean up lipstick, sometimes I even use Q-Tips to apply liquid concealer. Definitely a product most people don't think about as super useful, but I could not live without them
Maybelline MEGA PLUSH mascara - a newbie mascara from the drugstore. I've been using this for a couple of days already; I also used this mascara in my latest FOTD. This mascara is already up for review (mascara problems)


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On a different day, I ended up making another trip to the drugstore to pick up a couple of necessity items. I strayed a little bit and also picked up these...

• Two essie nail polishes: Navigate Her (green) and A Crewed Interest (peachy-pink)
• The new Maybelline BB cream. I haven't had a chance to try this out yet, but I'll definitely let y'all know what I think about this
• Revlon PhotoReady Airbrush foundation. I've used this once already and my first impressions were not that great. The colour is super orange/yellow tinted and I had a lot of difficulty blending it out. On me, it clung to any dry patches or imperfections on the skin. It also has a really funky smell. I'm going to keep using it to see if I can make it work
• L'Oréal Perfect Blondissima hair bleach. I want to dye the ends of my hair bright blonde. I'm going to start off with this bleaching kit and then see if I need to top it off with a platinum blonde hair dye over top

I hope everything works out 


xoxoDarlingBuds


p.s. I think my new favourite word is "peachy-pink"

NOTD: featuring my first ever Essence polish

 Essence Colour & Go nail polish in Modern Romance

This polish very nearly resembled the colour of my skin. I love the way it looked! It's a peachy-pink colour with a really subtle shimmery sheen. I wasn't expecting too much out of a $1.49 nail polish but I was pleasantly surprised how well these polishes applied and how long they wore.
Very pretty colour!


xoxoDarlingBuds 

Mascara of the Week #5: NYC High Definition Volumizing mascara

Week #5

Yet another post in my Mascara Problems series. My mascara week #4 post revolved around another mascara from the NYC brand: NYC High Definition SEPARATING mascara. I didn't particularly like that mascara. Knowing that I still had another NYC mascara to review, I decided to just do them one right after the other; get it over with. 
So here it goes...


click below to read/see more

Shoppers & Lush Haul

Canadians rejoice! This past weekend was 20X the optimum points at Shoppers Drug Mart! I always save up my shopping list of necessities for this joyous day. Apart from picking up some basics (toothbrush, toothpaste, kleenex, etc.) The 20X the optimum points event is also the perfect time to mosey on through the Beauty Boutique...and that's what I did. I also stopped by Lush because my skin has been being a little bitch lately, and I can always count on Lush for a handy-dandy face mask to make everything better.

click below to read/see more...

Decor Envy: Lovely Desk

I mostly use my desk for clutter and homework - not exactly the most inspirational area in the world. Until now. 

I started "pinning" on Pinterest a few months ago. Since then, I have come across so many lovely office/desk areas! I want to change my old habits and make my desk a place of efficiency, organization, and beauty. These are my favourite desk/home office decor ideas:

I love the organized chaos of this area! I love
the magazine clippings above the desk.

LoveMaegan's Home Office

Ikea Expedits are useful! They're modern, yet classic looking, and they provide ample storage for anything!

Just a lovely thing...

Not a desk, but still a beautiful way to
display makeup and other lovelies on a vanity

A girl can dream...


xoxoDarlingBuds

Another Beauty Wishlist

1. Dior Hydra Life BB cream (SPF 30):  I have been very into BB creams lately. For the past 2 months or so, I have been using the Garnier Skin Renew BB cream non-stop (full review here). I've also heard that Maybelline and L'Oreal are coming out with their own BB creams that will hitting the shelves in Canada in July. However, I have been very tempted by the Dior Hydra Life BB cream - I've just heard the most amazing things about this product, and the SPF 30 doesn't hurt its cause.


2. Dior Rosy Glow - healthy glow awakening blush: Apparently this blush "adjusts" to the perfect colour to suit your skin colour. Even if that is the case, I think this blush looks like the most lovely true pink colour. Almost all of the blushes I have lean more towards the coral end of the spectrum - I don't own any nice bright pink blushes. Dior wouldn't be a bad place to start...


3. Dior 5-Colour eyeshadow in Earth Reflection: I'm going a little wish-crazy with the Dior products, I know; but, Dior has a reputation for not only being one of the finest Haute Couture fashion design houses, but also the creator of fabulous cosmetics. Their 5-colour eyeshadow palettes are, according to the divine Lisa Eldridge, the best eyeshadows on the market.


4. Clarins Liquid Bronze self tanner: I love being tan, but I don't want to damage my skin for the future or get skin cancer. I've heard this self tanner is a really great product, especially for the face. 


5. Clinique Airbrush concealer: Another because -of-Lisa Eldrige want. I'm trying to use up the last of my YSL Touche Eclat and Rimmel Match Perfection concealers, and then this Clinique concealer will be mine!

6. Stella McCartney Stella eau de parfum: Vivianna Does Makeup recently did a blog post about how this is her new favourite perfume for summer (her blog post here). I honestly haven't even smelt thsi perfume yet, but I covet everything Miss Vivianna talks about, so naturally, I put this perfume on my wishlist without even the faintest clue if I'll like it.


7. Phyto Volume Maximizing shampoo: 

Just reading the description of this product will explain why I want it. I have very fine hair so I have been looking for hair products lately to provide my hair with more body and volume.


8. Lush Ocean Salt cleanser: As far as I know, this product can be used on the face and on the body. It's basically a deep cleanser/exfoliant - I've heard it's a good scrub to use on the body before applying fake tan. It's also one of Lush's best-selling products.


9. Lush BIG shampoo: Yet another shampoo that promises volume and body for your hair. Another one of Lush's best-selling products. I have been wanting to try this product for a long time, especially after watching MissGlamorazzi's favorite Lush products video.


10. Clarins Instant Light Natural lip perfector in 02 Apricot Shimmer: between a gloss and a balm, this is the only lipgloss I have tried that literally isn't "sticky". I have one  already in a pink colour, and it just leaves my lips with the loveliest hint of pink. They smells good and they moisturize the lips. I'm looking forward to trying this peachy shade in the near future. 


11. Chanel Illusion d'Ombre in Emerveille: this product is basically a cream eyeshadow. It's the most beauty pinky-champagne colour. It would be such a luxury product


A girl can dream...


xoxoDarlingBuds 

Anxiously Awaiting...

A lot of beauty blogs based in the UK and the United States have really been really teasing me lately. It seems that all other countries except Canada have already released these awesome new products...

The Revlon "Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains" resemble the Clinique Chubby Sticks. According to many sources, they are even better than the oh-so-loved Revlon Lip Butters. Revlon has really been stepping up their game lately, and these balm stains look so cute! I can't wait to try them

Another lip product that has been tickling my fancy are the L'Oreal Caresse lipsticks. They are supposed to be L'Oreal's answer to the Revlon Lip Butters -- AGAIN, another lip butter "dupe". Obviously the head honchos behind new beauty products have discovered that people are super into sheerer lip products that still offer good colour payoff, à la Chanel Rouge Coco Shine.

Once these products finally hit Canadian shelves, the next problem I'll be facing is which colours to get. Until then...

xoxoDarlingBuds

Mascara of the Week #4: NYC High Definition Separating Mascara

WEEK #4

Week #4 of my Mascara Problems series. Up for review this week was the High Definition Separating Mascara from NYC (New York Color).

Beauty Wishlist