Spring Colours: Some Blush and Nail Look

Spring is finally here!  Well sort of, it's still pretty cold where I'm at.  Anyway, I decided to do a quick post in honour of Spring.

I decided to treat myself recently since it's my busy time and I've been working long hours, so I bought Marc Jacobs' Shameless Bold Blush in Outspoken.  It is described as a cool lilac pink.  I'm going to be honest, I saw the Sephora displays for the Color of the Year and I wanted to get this.  The Sephora blush palette was too magenta, and this was a pretty colour.  Also it was different.  I am easy persuaded by advertising.  I have an oily face so blushes don't actually last that long on me. Knowing this, I still buy blush because it's fun and there's a slight hint at the end of the day.  

Now this is expensive but I was treating myself, so I splurged.  I ordered this online since I'm a Rouge Member.  I noticed after clicking on purchase that I was charged a bit of border tax. This is a little random since I'm buying off of Sephora.ca.  I bought something earlier as a gift and there were no additional border tax on that.  I am guessing it depends on the item? Anyway, I'm going to have to be more careful next time. Only thing that bothers me is that I did go to the US that weekend and I could have just bought it in store for a cheaper price even if the C$ is lower than the US$.  (My little rant. Sorry).

Here are my quick pictures.

Before I used it

After

Quick swatch.  It's light.  

This is C$36 for 4.5g/0.15Oz.  

My nails of the week

I'm wearing both Nicole by OPI: Alex by the Books and Carnival Cotton Candy.  I really like the look together.

I wanted to see if my perception of NOPI seems like a 3 coater or if it could go with 2 coats (at least the recent bottles I bought). I tried hard and it really looked a lot nicer with 3 coats.  I ended up selling NOPI Selena.  It's such a pretty colour but I wasn't wild about painting 4 coats.

Breakdown
Basecoat: Seche Base
Colour layer: NOPI Alex by the Books (3 coats) and Carnival Cotton Candy ring finger (3 coats)
Topcoat: Seche Vite

I took the pictures at night but I still love how it looks.  My right hand is just Alex by the Books.

Thanks for reading!

Comparisons: Argan Hair Oil Treatment

Today, I have a comparisons for Argan oil hair treatment.  Not necessarily a review since I haven't used one of them long enough and maybe I just wanted to rant about one of the products.

I just want to mention that my hair is straight, but I have some flyaway hair, and some split ends.  I would describe my hair as oily.

Beauty Pure and Simple (formerly Organix) Renewing Argan Oil of Morocco Weightless healing dry oil

This is a spray that you use after you wash your hair.  I just bought this recently and I used a few sprays.  The smell is pretty nice and it's strong.  My first impression of it is pretty good, so I look forward to using it.  I bought this at Shoppers on sale for C$6.99.

Live Clean Exotic Nectar Argan Oil- Oil Treatment

This is the product I wanted to rant about.  This was the first of the argan oil treatments I bought.  It is so sticky, and when I try to rub it through my wet hair like a balm, it sticks some of my hair together.  When I wash my hands, it foams up.  I followed the instructions at the back, so I don't think it's me.  Anyway, in my honest opinion, I don't like this product.  

I bought this at Shoppers on sale for C$6.99.

Josie Maran Argan Oil Hair Serum

This came as part of the Josie Maran Argan Oil box that I bought during Christmas.  This one has a pump and it pumps out a little bit of the product.  Then, I smooth it over my hair.  I really like this a lot.  It left my hair pretty silky and smooth.  I do not know the long term effects because I only felt this on the first day and I usually wash my hair every two days.  I'm not going to comment about the pricing because I don't know how much hair products should be priced around, especially if it's supposed to be placed in the salon brands tier.  

The regular price for this at Sephora is a range from C$16-$60, depending on the size.

Lancome: DreamTone 1

Hello!

This is not a review.  I'm not even sure why I'm writing about this but I thought I would anyway.  So by the end of January, I had received an email from Lancome that there was a promo code for 15% off code and I used Ebates to get a further discount.  I was also able to get a gift set too.  So it's not a bad deal.  My skin has felt really dry and maybe because I'm a year older, my skin doesn't look as it used to. So I wanted to buy Genifique and Visionnaire but the gift set was sold out. So I bought the one that was Genifique and DreamTone.  I was kind of confused since DreamTone has a shade.  The set includes Genifique for 50mL (1.69 Fl. Oz.) and DreamTone for 40mL (1.3 Fl. Oz.).  With the discount, it was $127.50 before tax, which isn't bad since it costs $127.50 for Genifique alone.  

Anyway, the DreamTone only came in DreamTone 1, which lucky for me I am kind of fair. So the top is a twist cap which pops up with the opening.  Then you press down to pump the product out.  DreamTone is very strong in fragrance.  It amount pumped out is very small and it goes on pretty smoothly.  I don't notice the tone to actually cover anything.  It's basically like a cream.  I wear this during the day and Genifique at night.  I've only used this for 1 week, and I do notice a difference in feeling but I'm not sure if I notice anything different in terms of colour.  I also use a lot of things on my face, so any item can be helping my face right now.  If you are able to receive a sample, I think that would be a good idea.

Bottle of DreamTone

Amount pumped out. Sorry if it's a little darker.  I should have angled it better.

Partial amount rubbed and another part just part of the squeezed amount.  So that you can see it's not exactly like a foundation/BB Cream or anything that adds any colour to my skin. 

Thanks for reading!

Nicole by OPI: Carnival Cotton Candy (Carrie Underwood Collection)

Today I have pink polish to share.  I don't have a colour like this in my existing collection and it's pretty.  Also I just wanted something that was a bright bubblegum pink.  This is named after Cotton Candy but that's still very cute.  

I bought Carnival Cotton Candy at Shoppers Drug Mart for C$9.99.  I was lucky because it was on sale for $1 off, usually Nicole by OPI (NOPI) sells for $10.99 at Shoppers.

Thoughts

The colour itself is very pretty and bright.  It's been a very cold winter this year, so wearing this on my nails in February really brightened up my overall look.  Everyone complimented on my nails too.  Whatever I paint on my nails is really for myself, but when people compliment me, it feels good. :)

The formula is medium thick.  I think I should try a different way of painting my nails when I use NOPI because it seems that I don't wait long enough so when I paint it seems like there is a a little bit of build up near the cuticle area and then I have some streaks but it's not the polish itself that is streaky.  For most of my nails 2 coats was enough but some nails I had 3 coats.

I should make a note that I wore this from Sunday until Saturday.  There was minimum chipping.  Only my pinkie finger, so that was great.  

Breakdown
Basecoat: Seche Base
Colour layer: Nicole by OPI Carnival Cotton Candy (2~3 coats)
Topcoat: Seche Vite

Brush picture

Carnival Cotton Candy

I bought NOPI Carnival Cotton Candy at Shoppers Drug Mart for C$9.99.  As mentioned before, usually it's $10.99 at Shoppers.  I can't find the Carrie Underwood collection at Wal-Mart but NOPI is also $9.88 at Wal-Mart.  I held this colour near other pink colours that were similar to this shade but I liked this one the best.

Comparisons: Nail Polish Remover Part 2

I made a previous post about nail polish remover.  At the time, I wasn't sure if it was necessary to buy an expensive brand of remover.  Around the internet, I have found a lot of beauty bloggers and YouTubers who love Zoya's nail polish remover.  I bought that online at nailpolishcanada.com because they had a $3.00 off at the time.  While I still don't like the smell, I finished the bottle.  I have to say that I did notice a difference between regular polish remover and the Zoya nail polish remover.  I change my polish every week and sometimes I can't make up my mind and I'll remove right after application.  My nails, especially my pointer, will be a bit more bumpy.  While using the Zoya nail polish remover, I don't remember that happening and my nails didn't chip as easily.

OPI - Original Polish Remover with aloe vera. 

I finished the Zoya nail polish remover, so I bought a Sally Hansen one, and I do notice that my nails aren't as strong.  Anyway, I bought the OPI Original Polish Remover to test out.  There's a bigger bottle available but I wanted to try the small one first.  

First impression is that I really like it.  The smell does not bother me and it doesn't linger that long.  So far removing polish has been great for creme and glitter.  I will have to provide a further update once I'm done the bottle.  I bought this bottle at Trade Secrets for C$7.99 for 120 mL/4 Fl. Oz.  Without tax, it's about $0.07/mL.  

Sally Hansen - Fast & Gentle Nail Polish Remover with Vitamin E & Aloe

I bought the one for Dry, Brittle Nails because when I use nail polish remover a lot, it becomes a little dry. I wouldn't say it's that brittle but my nails are easier to break and I have short nails.  Anyway, I bought this after I was finished my other nail polish removers.  This has a strong scent of the aloe.  What I like about the Sally Hansen nail polish removers is that it comes in a value size and there's a lot of product. I believe I paid about $4 for 295.7mL/10 Fl. Oz, so it's like $0.01/mL.  Since I am trying out the OPI nail polish remover, I like to have one of the Sally Hansen around for cleaning the neck of the nail polish bottle, or if I am using a stamping plate, then this can clean off any of the excess.


Quo - Nail Polish Remover Dip

This is similar to the format of the Sephora nail polish removers but this is a lot cheaper. I think one of these is also about $4, definitely under $5.  Which is about $0.03/mL.  It's a container with a sponge that has 3 slits to insert your finger to remove polish.  I only use this for glitter polish removal.  When I use a cotton pad to remove glitter, it gets everywhere; this makes it easier to remove.  I dip my finger for a few seconds and then remove in one clean motion.  Before I used to go in a up and down motion because I thought it would help remove the glitter.  Only some of the removed polish would get stuck between the back of my nail and my finger, and the motion itself can seem a little...inappropriate? Depending who you're talking to. I think someone might have watched me do that, and then it seemed inappropriate.

Anyway, thanks for reading my thoughts.

L'Oreal Haul

A short post.  I went to the L'Oreal Warehouse sale yesterday.  This is by ticket only.  I was lucky enough to receive a ticket.  One ticket allows for two people to enter.  They check for the tickets at the cashier.  Also you can not spend over $600.00. 

I didn't take a picture of the actual warehouse look.  It did remind me of Shoppers Drug Mart's display is like in the Beauty boutique.  So it was laid out like a store, unlike other warehouse sales.  Very limited parking space.

It was my first time there.  My goal was to get Visionnaire gift set.  Also Essie base and top coat.  

This is my haul:

Essie Base Coat C$4.75

Essie Top Coat C$4.75

Maybelline Mega Plush Mascara C$2.00 each

La Roche-Posay Physiological Micellar Solution C$12.00

Ombrella Sport C$5.00 each.  I need a lotion and a spray.

Visionnaire Set C$49.75

Genefique Set C$82.00

After tax, I spent $182.00 which isn't so bad.  Considering it would be more.

 The Freebies

Rescue Beauty Lounge: Fire Queen

I bought Rescue Beauty Lounge (RBL)'s Fire Queen during the 50% off sale.  This was at full price.  I figured I can just bundle it up since I was paying for shipping.  

Thoughts

This is part of the Fan Collection and it's a very pretty colour.  I resisted at first but I do like sheer colours that build.  I tried 2 coats and the ended at 4 coats.  That night I didn't have a lot of patience, so I ended up accidentally smudging my polish.  The colour itself is a very pretty jade.  It looks different in dim light and through flash.  It definitely looks better with four coats.

Breakdown
Basecoat: Seche Base
Colour layer: Rescue Beauty Lounge (4 coats polish)
Topcoat: Seche Vite

Two coats

Three coats

Four coats

Four coats

I bought Fire Queen at the rescuebeautylounge.com site. It is US$20.00 for 12mL or 0.4 Fl. Oz.