Haul: From Christmas & Boxing Day

Yes.  I have yet again another haul from Christmas - exchanging gifts - and Boxing Day.  For those who are non-Canadians, Boxing Day is pretty much like Black Friday in the U.S.  It's a day where thousands of people don't have work and end up shopping at malls.  Boxing Day is always on December 26th of every year.  People go crazy for deals.  And I am no exception.  =)

For the past 4 years, my best friend and I have been shopping @Toronto Eaton Centre on Boxing Day.  So it has kind of been our yearly place to be on Boxing Day.  But we decided to change it up a bit this year and we went to Vaughan Mills.  There were so many people there that people parked on the grass and some drivers got their passengers to walk around in the parking to save themselves a parking space. We were fortunate enough to find a spot in 10 minutes.

First is my Christmas gift from my best friend and her sister.  They both got me a matching set of makeup bag for the purse and a wristlet by Coach.

My friend's been noticing I have this old dirty-looking LeSportSac makeup pouch since forever and I've always refused to throw it out.  So she got fed up and bought me a makeup bag and her sister got me a matching wristlet because my Coach wristlet was turning gray and it's extremely noticeable because my wristlet is white with the colourful "C" pattern.

All my other friends got me chocolate - nothing really interesting.  I'm always asked what I want for Christmas but I never really know because there's really never something I'm dying to get from my friends.  And even if there are things I'm dying to get, I can never justify myself to.  Like I really want a Rolex watch, but I'm not going to ask for one.  Instead, I've decided I'm going to buy one after I pay off my school debts.   =\

Next I bought an American Eagle sweater.  It cost me $23.70 CAD. 

Sadly I only bought an AE sweater on Boxing Day.  I was going to get an Aritzia blazer but I wanted a 2nd opinion.  So the next day, I went to Fairview Mall with my mom and dad.  I took my mom to Aritizia to check out the blazer I wanted.  Finally bought it for $110 CAD. 

Next, my mom and I went into Danier, a store that sells leather-made jackets and accessories.  My mom loves this store, but she didn't find anything she wanted.  I found myself a pair of leather gloves (by the way, are super warm) and a waist pouch/purse.

The gloves were $44 CAD but with additional 30% off and same goes with the purple leather waist pouch, it was on sale for $49 CAD.  So the bill came up to be ~$60 CAD.  

And that finalizes my last haul of December 2010. 

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone! Hope you're all have a great holiday with tons of food and spending valuable time with your family! =)

Review: NARS Sheer Glow Foundation in Deauville

Yes, finally a review on the Nars Sheer Glow Foundation.  I could only justify myself to purchase this foundation because I got it at a discount price at the Shiseido warehouse sale.  This cost me $14 CAD as opposed to $55 CAD @Sephora.

I've been using this foundation for over a month.  In terms of application, I've tried stippling it on with MAC 187 and padded it on using MAC 190se.  Both application methods give a flawless glow finish.  It has a liquid consistency, not very runny.  When stippled on, it is easily blendable, unlike some of the foundations I have had.  As for coverage, it covers the tiny red blood veins I have on my cheeks quite well.  However, don't expect it to completely conceal your dark circles as it doesn't work like a concealer.  Now in terms of long-lasting, it does last for a good 12 hours - with the use of a primer and I don't always take off my makeup right way I get home.  But by the end of the night, my nose crease starts to show that the foundation is wearing off. 

According to Sephora's description page for this foundation, most ladies feel that this foundation makes their skin feel soft and smooth, even out their skintone and make their skin look brighter and radiant.  Undeniably, to me at least, it does do all those features to my skin.  Even though these features are great, it has unfortunately dried out parts of my face - i.e. around my mouth and a little area under my cheekbones.  Basically, it dried out a bit of my non-oily areas of my face.  I started to see flakiness.  My solution to this problem was either applying more moisturizer around those areas or mix in a little bit of moisturizer into the foundation prior to application.

In terms of colour, Deauville is way too light on me so I can't really criticize on how well it matches me.  I can manage to slightly pull it off, but I look way too pale with Deauville on.

Overall, this is a great foundation but I need it to be a little more hydrating.  And with it being at such a high cost, it's definitely a drawback.  It's a good foundation for the summer, not so much the winter.

Product: Nars Sheer Glow Foundation in Deauville
Rating: 4 / 5

Pros:
- Brightens and gives radiant skin
- Makes skin feel smooth and soft
- Easily blendable
- Moderate good coverage
- Lasting effect for the first 6 hours
- Evens out skintone

Cons:
- Drying for certain areas of my face
- Doesn't cover dark circles
- Fairly expensive

Review: Make Up For Ever Eye Liner

I bought my Make Up For Ever Aqua Eyes eye liner in matte black back in September of 2009.  So I have had a pretty long time to try this out.  It cost me $19 CAD @Sephora.  This liner glides on my water line.  Occasionally, I'd it on my upper eye lid lash line, winging it out using a liner brush.  This is a nice liner such that it doesn't require pressure or warming up the product to make the black show up on the lash line.  And when I make a mistake, a Q-tip and 1-3 gentle swipes will do.  When applied to my upper lash line, it doesn't wear off throughout the day.  Now the problem with this liner is how easily it smudges on my lower lash line and water line.  It doesn't take long until it smudges - around 10-20 mins for me, making me look like a panda bear.  Part of the reason is my oily eye lids.  Honestly, I could probably find a similar quality eye liner from the drug store, for a less expensive price.
Overall, I don't hate nor love this eyeliner and I probably won't repurchase this either.

Here's an example of my smudged liner not long after applying:

Product: Make Up For Ever Aqua Eyes eye liner in matte black

Rating: 2.5 / 5

Pros:

- Lasts long on my upper lid

- Doesn't smudge when on my upper lid

Cons:

- Doesn't take long for it to smudge on my lower lash line or water line

- Expensive for the same quality as some drug store eye liners

Oh How I Wish...

I really wished Lancome @The Bay could have extended their 20% discount until Sunday of this weekend.  I was busy all day, and didn't get a chance to stop by The Bay and pick up what I wanted.  =(  I was thinking about what I would have really bought with the discount and decided that it'd probably be the Lancome Le Crayon Poudre in Taupe. 

Promo: 20% off Lancome @The Bay

Dearest readers of my blog from Canada,

Have you been longing for something from Lancome on your cosmetic/skincare/fragrance wish list? Well I just received an e-mail from The Bay, advertising for Lancome counters.  They're offering a 20% off at the Lancome counters that's valid for ONE day only - Friday, December 17th.  From the e-mail, I'd assume it's 20% off anything @Lancome counter.

After reading this e-mail, I looked up the Lancome website for some possible things I would want:

1. Juicy Tubes Holiday set
2. Brow pencil in Taupe

So for me, I don't really have a long wish list from Lancome.  I have enough Lancome Bi-facil makeup remover to last me for some time.  I was thinking about their Lancome Genifique Youth-Activating serum, but online reviews don't think this product was well worth its price.  So considering the amount of money I have spent this whole year on skincare, I think I need to let this one go.  Plus, I need to control my holiday spree and not spend too much!
 
Click on the picture below for a larger view and just print and present it to the Lancome counter for the discount.  Enjoy!

Buffalo Black Friday Weekend Haul

I'm super late on updating this haul.  I went to Buffalo a few weeks ago to take advantage of the exchange rate on the Sunday of Black Friday.  I didn't get much but everything added up to ~$250 USD.

First is a Coach coin purse.  I may seem like a granny for buying myself a coin purse, but I much rather carry a coin purse than to have a bulky wallet filled with coins.  This small coin purse is between the size of a hand and a palm.  This cost me $37.27 USD, including tax, @Coach outlet store in Niagara Fashion Outlet. 

Second, I got Ralph Lauren Polo zip-up sweater from the Ralph Lauren outlet store @NFO.  This cost me ~$44 USD.  Really hot pink eh? I'm usually not the type for really attractive (actually I meant attention-drawing) clothing.  But after staring at it for a little longer, I grew to like it.  I'm starting to try out new coloured clothes and change up my closet.

Finally, the last thing I bought.  I've been longing for a pair of UGG boots for a long time.  So here it is! =) I see classic UGG boots out on the streets, and I'm one to follow the trend but with some alterations that fits my style.  These retails for $225 CAD @SoftMoc or any other store in Canada.  But I got these for $150 USD.  Because of the Black Friday weekend sale, The Walking Company @Walden Galleria didn't have tax on all their products.  Score!  These are super warm.  It's been freezing cold and snowing lately, and I've worn these out without socks and my toes were still kept warm.  So I def think $150 for these boots were worth it!

The main purpose of this trip was to get a pair of UGG boots and I'm super happy that I wasn't custom taxed on them - a bonus!

Haul: Sephora (December 2010)

As I wrote in my last post, I had to decide on what to purchase using my $15 off my $40 minimum purchase @Sephora.  And here is my haul.

I guess they were selling out of the Shiseido SPF50 Sunscreen due to the BI promo but I managed to spot the last one.  With the promo, it cost me $40.25 CAD.
Then I got a UDPP Professional size (0.85 fl oz) for $28.75 CAD, normally retails for $35 CAD.  I was contemplating on getting this when I found the Shiseido Sunscreen, because I could have saved more on my Shiseido Sunscreen.  But thinking twice about it, the UDPP pro size is a little more than 2x the size of the UDPP original ones (0.34 fl oz), which usually cost $22 CAD a bottle.  So clearly, it's worth it to purchase the pro size one using the BI promo discount.

Anyways, I got use my Sephora $50 GC.  Well it came in pretty handy today as I paid $29.92 CAD for my two items.  The two things I bought came up to $79.92, which is weird because the receipt says the subtotal is $69 CAD.  Tax should technically be calculated upon the subtotal, so it should have been $8.97 CAD but my receipt says $10.92 CAD.  This means Sephora calculated tax before the promo code was applied to my purchases.

Sephora Wish List

I still haven't used my Sephora Beauty Inside promo coupon - spend $40 and get $15 off.  Today's the last day to use it and I'm still contemplating on getting Dior foundation or not.  But I know for sure that I want to get a pro size UDPP, and probably Shiseido's 50 SPF one in 100 mL.  =( Or maybe I'll get Laura Mercier's Tinted moisturizer. Ugh, so hard to decide!

Wish list:
1.  Dior foundation (undecided on which one)
2.  Pro size UDPP
3.  Shiseido's sunscreen
4.  Laura Mercier's Tinted moisturizer

A Wal-Mart Rant

Yes, I have yet again another rant.  I went to a Wal-Mart today and received some absolutely terrible customer service at the cash register.  I had to pick up a box of Aspirin for my mom.  Apparently, it is a over the counter item and the woman there told me I have to pay that there.  I was totally cool with that, and I asked her if I could pay for other stuff there.  And she said no, she will only ring up pharmacy department items, which is weird because normally they don't have this rule.  Although it was inconvenient for me, I let it be.  And I could clearly tell she was being a lazy.  I ended paying with my Wal-mart credit card, which I have managed to accumulate $5 worth of rewards.  And $5 rewards is hard to accumulate, especially when I don't shop @Wal-mart that frequently.  Normally, the protocol after ringing up all items and swiping the customer's Wal-mart credit card is to ask the customer if they want to use their reward money, if they have any.  But this b*tch outsmarted herself and assumed I wanted to use my points and redeemed my points without asking me first.  UGHHH!

You can tell when a CSR has been working there long enough if he/she scans your items and types in the cash register really fast, like they've been doing it for so long, they can do it in their sleep.  Anyways, she used my reward money without asking me, so I told her to fix it.  With people lining up behind me, I was starting to make it a big deal and humiliated her in public.  She called the customer service people twice to go to the Pharmacy cash register.  And in between, she told me I could go to customer service desk if I want to hurry things up.  But I knew what she was trying to do, she didn't want to see herself get into a mess and getting b*tched at.  But me being me, I like to complicate things, so I said no, I'm staying here.  When she was calling those CSRs, she literally slammed the phone to hang up.  Clearly wanted to make a statement to me, but seriously girl, you're gonna have to pull your PMS somewhere else.  As I was waiting, I knew I wasn't the only one feeling the same way towards this b*tch.  The lady behind me asked her to ring up her other Wal-mart items, and the b*tch told her the same thing she told me.  After the lady behind me made her purchase, she walked away while saying with a pretty loud voice "whooooa ruuuude!"  What's worse is some other customer bought 2 bags of shrimp cracker chips, a bottle of pills and some non-Pharmacy department item right in front of me.  B*TCH! While I was waiting, I took a close look at her skin.  She's packed on layers of foundation, along with loose powder to camouflage her flaws, but clearly unsuccessful.  She lined her upper eyelid with black eyeliner and winged it out but EPICLY FAILED! She winged out her liner with a thick line.  Girl, before you walk out of that house of yours, the least you could have done is make yourself look half decent and not horrific like you're welcoming Hallowe'en.
 
So finally, after like 10 mins, the CSR finally came by and could NOT fix her f-ing mistake.  What's best is right in front me and in front of other customers, the CSR b*tched @her. Score!

Anyways, I've decided after I accumulate up to my next $5 reward dollars, I'm going to stop using it.  It's a waste of time and effort! So do I recommend the Wal-Mart credit card? Um, no!

Review: Shiseido Hydro-Powder Eye Shadows

The first Shiseido Hydro-Powder eye shadow I bought was in H8 Bare Pink.  I bought it @The Bay for $28 CAD.  My friend was wearing it and I liked how it looked.  It has a creamy consistency in the jar, just like the MAC paint pots.  It claims it is crease-resistant and I have worn the shadow alone for at least 12 hours straight and it is true that it doesn't crease.  However, I have tried using UDPP with this eye shadow and it does work better than using it alone.

I didn't encounter any problems with the quality of the eye shadows until I recently purchased the shadow in H6 Violet Visions.  This violet colour is buildable but can easily fade away.  I never encountered this problem with the H1 Goldlights and H8 Bare Pink.
Also, I find these shadows are a little too shimmery for my liking.  I wish the shimmery formula was toned down a bit. 

Here are the swatches:

Product: Shiseido Hydro-Powder Eye Shadows
Rating: 4 / 5

Pros:
- Long-lasting effects
- Great colour payoff on some
- Crease-resistant

Cons:
- Too shimmery
- Violet Visions didn't have the best colour payoff
- Expensive