Neon and Matte - Ceramic Glaze Nail Polish in Shell Me About It

Matte nail polish and matte lipstick colours in bright shades are kind of similar. The matte texture tones it down and keeps it from looking over the top. Here's something interesting - a nail polish that's neon AND matte. It's Ceramic Glaze's Shell Me About It ($10.99, exclusively at Shoppers Drug Mart), a bright cool-toned pink. 

Lately, I've been loving wearing this. It's super bright and the matte texture makes it a bit more interesting than my other bright-coloured polishes. But here's the catch, the polish lasts only 3 days on my fingertips. Unfortunately, adding a top coat changes the finish, so I've always got to reapply or switch my nail colour up mid-week. 

What do you think of matte neon nail polishes? 

Press sample featured

Facebook || Twitter || Bloglovin || Instagram

Mary Kay At Play Baked Eye Trios in Out of the Blue, Neapolitan & Purple Eclipse

The Mary Kay At Play Baked Eye Trios ($14 each) are nothing new but May 16th, 2015, Mary Kay is putting out three new colour variations. I remember testing one of these out but I guess I never ended up reviewing them. All I have to say is they're AMAZING.

Out of the Blue // satin finish blue, shimmery warm brown, shimmery gold

Neapolitan // satin finish pearl, satin finish medium brown, shimmery finish light pink

Purple Eclipse // matte pastel pink, matte black, matte purple

The Mary Kay At Play Baked Eye Trios are three eyeshadows with varying finishes in each set. The shadows are ridiculously pigmented (all of them) with both neutral and slightly more "fun" colours like blues and purples. Out of the three, my favourite is a toss up between Out of the Blue and Neapolitan. I find Purple Eclipse to be unique but quite hard to wear.

There's some fallout but this is curbed with careful patting of a flat brush instead of using a bendy fluffy one. The shadows are soft, smooth, and blendable (aka *beauty blogger eyeshadow buzz words*). The shadows look fresh from first application to 7 hours later when worn with primer. I couldn't really ask for much more in terms of formulation. 

What do you think of the swatches? Which is your favourite? 

Press sample featured

Facebook || Twitter || Bloglovin || Instagram

NYX Butter Gloss in Cupcake (BLG18)

What amazes me most about the NYX Butter Gloss in Cupcake is that it actually smells like cupcakes (?) Late last year, I acquired the NYX Butter Gloss in Cupcake (~$4.99) via Jenn of A Beautiful Zen's kind friend Tian at IMATS. Here's the little advert blurb: 

Get that creamy medium coverage on your lips without that sticky sensation. It's perfect for every sweet tooth! Softens and conditions lips while giving a hint of color and gloss.

Indeed the NYX Butter Glosses are quite sweet. If you're not into flavoured lip products, you might want to skip out on this, as the smell could be borderline overwhelming to some. Personally, I love sweet smelling things and the scent fades away as time goes on, so it's not a problem. 

The NYX Butter Glosses are everything that you'd want in a lip gloss. A hint of colour, a lot of shine, and a lot of moisture. It's a slippy gloss not a sticky gloss, so it glides over the lips like ... ahem... butter. While I haven't heard a single bad thing about the NYX Butter Glosses, the product does have its faults. If I wear a slippy balm underneath the Butter Gloss, the Butter Gloss doesn't adhere well to the centre of the lips. Furthermore, lasting power is... meh (less than 2 hours)... but it doesn't matter because it feels so nice to apply throughout the day. 

Cupcake is a neon pink shade and the sheerness of the colour makes it appropriate for any occasion. Overall, a very good gloss. I wouldn't say it's mindblowing or life changing but it's a good gloss that caters to my likes - hints of colour, lots of gloss, and a bit of hydration. Yes, indeed, I would purchase another colour. 

Have you tried the NYX Butter Glosses? 

Facebook || Twitter || Bloglovin || Instagram

essence 2 in 1 Eyeliner Pen

One eyeliner, and two ways to wear it. essence's new 2 in 1 Eyeliner Pen ($3.99, exclusively at Shoppers Drug Mart) is a felt tip liquid eyeliner that features a thin tip and a thick tip. 

While I don't particularly care for the thick side, the thin one is precise enough for the way I like to line my eyes (with a short, thin line). If you're looking for pin-point precision, this one's not nearly as sharp as all of the brush tip liners I've ever tried. The formula is very black and opaque but bleeds slightly into fine lines. As for wear time, I'm thoroughly impressed. The photo below was taken after a 10 hour work day. Impressive, huh? 

While the essence 2 in 1 Eyeliner isn't perfect, it's decent for the price. If you're looking for a budget eyeliner, check this one out. 

What's your favourite drugstore eyeliner? 

Press samples featured

Facebook || Twitter || Bloglovin || Instagram

FOOD FRIDAY: Korean Side Dish Delivery with Delucious

Banchan is the Korean word for "small side dishes served with rice". If you've ever hung out with me, you'll know that a majority of the time I'm craving food, it's something Korean. In my opinion, Koreans make the best side dishes. 

A cool new delivery service called Delucious started up in Toronto this May and I was offered the opportunity to try it. Someone's Korean mom named Lucy (who has worked at various Korean restaurants) is cooking up Korean food for the GTA. Basically, it's a selection of Korean side dishes delivered to your door. There are two options available. Six 8 oz. side dishes for $17 or six 16 oz. side dishes for $25 (clearly the 16 oz. is a better deal). 

*EDIT: Since receiving the food and writing this review, the website (delucious.ca) is no longer available. So, I have no idea how many more side dish options there are available :( . I would have TOTALLY ordered more but now I've just been inspired to try to make these side dishes on my own! 

Beansprouts // what's usually inside: beansprouts, salt, garlic, green onion, fish sauce, sesame seeds, sesame oil

Korean Coleslaw // see kimchi 

Kimchi // what's usually inside: nappa cabbage, salt, sweet rice flour, sugar, water, garlic, ginger, fish sauce, squid, hot pepper flakes, green onion, carrot, radish

Pickled Radish // what's usually inside: daikon, salt, vinegar, chilli flakes, salt, garlic, green onion

Seaweed // what's usually inside: seaweed, onion, garlic, corn syrup, sesame oil, sesame seeds

Spinach // what's usually inside: spinach, garlic, sesame oil, sesame seeds, soy sauce

In general, Korean food tends to be an acquired taste, often a little to sour or salty for some. I found everything to be pretty darn yummy and very much to my taste preferences. I liked everything with the exception of the Seaweed which I found to be a little fishy (my mom loved it though) and will be testing out a few banchan recipes in the very near future. 

Do you like banchan (Korean side dishes)? 

Press samples featured

Facebook || Twitter || Bloglovin || Instagram

Mary Kay At Play Shadow & Liner in Iced Lilac, Mint to Be, Rebel Rose & Caramellow

Ain’t nothing like a dual-ended eye product. 2-in-1 things always get me because the more portable and multi-tasking my makeup is… the better. New from Mary Kay At Play are the Shadow & Liners ($15 each). The Mary Kay At Play Shadow & Liners come in 4 shades – Mint to Be, Iced Lilac, Rebel Rose and Caramellow. They’re dual ended shadow and liner sticks that are meant to make eye makeup easier. 

Mary Kay says that these are ultra-creamy and smooth with rich colour payoff, smudge-proof, fade-proof, and buildable. For the most part, I would agree. All four eyeshadow shades are rich in colour with a pearlized finish. The shadows don’t crease or smudge on me throughout the entirety of a 8 hour work day. As for the eyeliners, they’re smooth, creamy and pigmented but for some reason transfer like crazy onto the wrong parts of my eyelid in less than an hour of wearing them. Furthermore, the eyeliners have no sharpening mechanism and get thicker at the base (I had a similar problem with The Body Shop Matte Kajals). 

Iced Lilac

Lilac Shadow/Purple Liner

Mint To Be 

Froggy Green Shadow/Forest Green Liner

Rebel Rose

Rose Shadow/Black Liner

Caramellow

Caramel Shadow/Brown Liner

The colours are super pretty! My favourite combo is Iced Lilac. Caramellow is the most wearable but I find the caramel-gold eyeshadow to be a bit too warm for my preferences. Unfortunately, the liner doesn’t work well with my lids but the cream eyeshadows are gorgeous!

What do you think of these shadows and liners? Which one is your favourite? 

Press samples featured

Facebook || Twitter || Bloglovin || Instagram

Clinique Pop Lip Colour and Primer in Poppy Pop

Now that I'm a fairly *seasoned* blogger following beauty launches is a thing. And it has occurred to me that Clinique’s beauty launch game has been on point in the last year. First, the Clinique Cheek Pop Blushes (and the release of some new shades this year), and now the Clinique Pop Lip Colour and Primers ($21 CAD each) are taking over my Instagram and Twitter feeds. 

I received the shade Poppy Pop in a goodie bag at a Shoppers Drug Mart Beauty Boutique Event at the gorgeous Shoppers Drug Mart Runnymede Theatre on Bloor Street West. Imagine an art deco theatre with makeup counters instead of orchestra seats and shelves of drugstore products on the second floor balcony. So yes, the Clinique Pop Lip Colour and Primers are available at Shoppers Drug Mart, as well as Sephora and Clinique counters. 

What Clinique says about their Pop Lip Colour and Primers: Luxurious yet weightless formula merges bold, saturated colour with a smoothing primer. Glides on effortlessly to a modern-velvet finish. Colour stays true, keeps lips comfortably moisturized for 8 hours. Allergy Tested. 100% Fragrance Free.

A total of 15 shades in the range – divided into 4 colour families. 

1// Tawnies & Corals – Melon Pop, Cherry Pop, Poppy Pop, Passion Pop

2// Violets – Grape Pop, Love Pop, Plum Pop, Berry Pop

3// Nudes - Nude Pop, Bare Pop, Beige Pop

4// Pinks – Fab Pop, Sweet Pop, Wow Pop, Punch Pop

All of the shades appear to be fairly wearable. There are some brights and purple-ish shades but no black or blues in sight, which is not surprising given Clinique’s aesthetic as a brand. Speaking of aesthetic, I am in love with the silver square packaging with coloured plastic co-ordinating to the shade of the lipstick inside. I imagine having all 15 shades stored together in a neat 3 x 5 rectangle (rounded lipsticks are annoying and take up a lot of space). I wish all lipsticks were in square packaging!

In terms of colour, Poppy Pop is a vibrant orange-leaning red. Clinique says all of the colours are of a demi-matte finish. I would agree. They’re not glossy or flat out matte but they do have a slight sheen, which makes my lips appear healthy and full without looking fake. True to its claims, the Clinique Pop Lip Colour + Primer is comfortable to wear and true to colour. The colour lasts around 4-5 hours leaving a decent stain that doesn’t look or feel dry. 

Overall, it’s a very beautiful lipstick formulation. I won’t say it’s very different from other lipsticks at the same price point but I will say I am going to pick up one of the nude or lilac shades because of the square packaging. 

Have you tried the Clinique Pop Lip Colour + Primers? 

Press sample featured

Facebook || Twitter || Bloglovin || Instagram

Chocolate and Berries with Montagne Jeunesse

Oh how I love Montagne Jeunesse. Formulated by herbalists in the UK, the brand makes all sorts of wonderful face masks full of fruits and flowers. As an added plus, all of their products are not tested on animals, cruelty-free and Vegetarian society approved for only $1.99 at select drugstores and Walmart. There's over 50 pick-me-up beauty treats in the Montagne Jeunesse masque range. Today, I've got two to share with you! 

Montagne Jenuesse does their chocolate masks right. In the range, there's regular chocolate, white chocolate, dark chocolate, and hot chocolate. I tested the Montagne Jeunesse Hot Chocolate Masque (a warming mask) and this time around I put on the Montagne Jeunesse Chocolate Masque ($1.99). Both have chocolate scents make me want to lick my face. The Chocolate Masque is meant to deep cleanse pores and moisturize and heal skin. On resilient skin, it's a fairly mild mask that does feel like it's pulling the gunk out of my face but not to the point where it's dried out. After washing the mask off, my skin felt clean and slightly hydrated. 

Berries are known for their antioxidant qualities and the Montagne Jeunesse Very Berry Face Masque ($1.99) is packed with blueberry and cranberry juice, as well as aloe and peach kernel oil. The mask feels like a thick, slimy lotion and claims to leave skin feeling refreshed and cleansed. Usually I presume cleansing to mean "removes makeup and dirt from face" I don't think this particular mask should replace your cleanser. The mask leaves skin feeling every so slightly refreshed compared to the pre-mask state. In general, I don't find it to be the most potent mask I've triedThe best part... it's purple. The worst part... it has teeny tiny iridescent shimmers that get all over your hands. Put the best and the worst parts together and you can look like a unicorn for 15 minutes. 

In general, both masks contain way to much product for one person's face, so make sure to enjoy the Montagne Jeunesse masks with a friend. 

Do you like Montagne Jeunesse face masques? 

Press samples featured

Facebook || Twitter || Bloglovin || Instagram

HAIR: Kiss InstaWave Automatic Curling Iron

Festival hair status achieved. The Kiss InstaWave Automatic Curling Iron ($69.96) makes effortless-looking hair....effortless. In a nutshell, the Kiss Instawave is a curling wand with spinning prongs (initiated with the click of a button) , so you don't have to worry about burning your fingertips off while wrapping your hair around the barrel of your curling iron. 

Second day hair with the KISS Instawave

The KISS InstaWave features the following: 

• a fully automatic curler // the spinning prongs grab your hair and wrap strands around the barrel for you. 
• a curl dial // left or right, so you can easily determine which direction to curl away or towards your face
• a 2 heat setting // high or low with a maximum of 420C
• automatic shutoff after 90 minutes // so you don’t burn your house down

Mind you, despite the all the easy-to-use and automatic functions you still have to do some work (i.e. reading the instructions, brushing your hair, sectioning the hair into 1-2 inch strands, etc.). Using the KISS InstaWave is a little different from using a regular curling iron. The motions are a bit more restricted as you should only use the wand parallel to your hair to avoid tangling. Perhaps it takes time to get use to the motion of being lazy, doing nothing, and not having to worry about burning your fingers off to wrap strands of hair around a sizzling hot hair tool. 

Some things I’ve noticed…

• if my hair gets tangled I press the button in the opposite direction and pull the wand out of the hair 
• similar to other heated hair tools, the wand can create loose waves or slightly tighter curls depending on the heat settings and how long you hold your hair on the tool 
• starting higher on the stand of hair (closer to the scalp) curls the entire piece of hair rather than the bottom
• the ceramic ionic barrel doesn’t ruin my hair. 

With only two heat settings and a single barrel, the KISS InstaWave isn’t the most versatile tool in the world compared to something like a wand with 8 detatchable barrels of different shapes and sizes that a hairstylist might use but what’s nice about the KISS InstaWave is that it takes the decision making out of doing your hair.  If you’re a beginner, if you’re lazy, if you’re indecisive and if you like effortless hairstyles the KISS InstaWave is a great fit for you. 

What do you think of the KISS InstaWave? 

Press sample featured

Facebook || Twitter || Bloglovin || Instagram

The Body Shop Honey Bronze Highlighting Domes in 01, 02 & 03

The Body Shop has expanded its Honey Bronze collection. The Body Shop Honey Bronze Highlighting Domes ($16 each) in the shades 01 (bronze), 02 (champagne), 03 (pink) are the collections latest makeup additions. 

The name for these products is quite confusing. As far as I’m aware, if you’re within the range of very fair to quite tan, only one of these is a highlighter (shade 02). The other two (shade 01 and 03) would be more suitably named as both blushes or bronzer and blush. 

Names aside, the product is housed in a cute little dome. Upon opening the dome’s plastic top, you get a sweet fragrance (presumably the Ethiopian fair trade honey). I’d describe the texture as a … waxy cream. All three are not particularly smooth but feel lightweight on the face, perhaps a touch gritty due to the shimmer particles. 

The colour pink and champagne colours are soft and sheer but buildable with multiple swipes and fairly blendable with fingertips.  In terms of shade, I think the pink and champagne colours will suit most people. The bronzer appears slightly muddy on my face and I find it patchy when blending. The shimmer for all three is on the verge of being too much but it’s not over glittery and right at my level of sparkle-tolerance. 

The colour lasts 4-5 hours on my cheeks but a slight shimmer can remain for the entirety of a day. 

Overall, they aren’t particularly ground-breaking but The Body Shop Honey Bronze Highlighting Domes are easy-to-use (just swipe, blend, and go) and thus are good option if you’re looking for a shimmery highlighter, blush, or bronzer that’s travel-friendly.  Lovely new additions to The Body Shop Honey Bronze Collection! 

Have you tried the Body Shop Honey Bronze Highlighting Domes? 

Press samples featured

Facebook || Twitter || Bloglovin || Instagram

Rimmel Scandaleyes XX-Treme Mascara

ANOTHER new mascara! This time around it's the Rimmel Scandaleyes XX-Treme Mascara ($7.99).   The mascara is advertised to give both volume and length at a (presumably) XX-TREME level with its unique brush. 

The wand is plastic, which I'm typically fond of. I find plastic wands are typically better for combing out clumps. One side of the brush is flat, while the other is arched. The flat side is to be used for creating length, while the arched side is meant to be for creating volume. 

Does it lengthen? Yes. Does it volumize? Yes. Does it clump? No. Does it smudge? No. Does it droop? No. 

The Rimmel Scandaleyes XX-Treme Mascara pretty much meets all the criteria to be a Stephanie-approved lash product, perhaps on par with my favourite CoverGirl Clump Crusher Mascara. It provides non-clumpy volume and length without smudging or drooping, so no complaints here. 

Do you like Rimmel mascaras? 

Press sample featured

Facebook || Twitter || Bloglovin || Instagram

Battle of the Blancs // the search for the perfect white polish

Snow white nails can look amazing with the right polish. It can also go white-out wrong, streaks and all. A cream white polish is an essential in my nail arsenal - a back drop for graphic designs, as a base for an ombre or on its own. This is an analysis of the 5 whites in my polish collection, each evaluated by their brush, colour, opacity and drying time. I'm ignoring (1) price - because per fl. oz. they're all about the same and (2) lasting power - because the Revlon Gel Envy Diamond Top Coat fixes all my chipping problems. 

Rimmel 60 Seconds Polish in Hot White Love, CoverGirl Nail Polish in Snow Storm*, The Body Shop Color Crush Nail Polish in Frosting Fancy*, Quo by Orly Nail Enamel in Purity*, Bourjois French Manicure in in Blanc Glamour 

Rimmel 60 Seconds Polish in Hot White Love, CoverGirl Nail Polish in Snow Storm, The Body Shop Color Crush Nail Polish in Frosting Fancy, Quo by Orly Nail Enamel in Purity, Bourjois French Manicure in in Blanc Glamour 

Brush

- Rimmel Hot White Love // Large brush that covers the nail in 1-2 strokes. The rounded edge makes getting close (but not too close) to the cuticle easy. 

- CoverGirl Snow Storm // Small brush with flat tip. Very reminiscent of an Essie polish, the small brush makes for precise application. 

- The Body Shop Frosting Fancy // somewhere in between Rimmel's and CoverGirl's - but not as precise as one or as full as the other. 

- Quo by Orly Purity // The same size as The Body Shop's brush but the bristles are all different sizes which makes it hard to make the edge of your polish tidy. 

- Bourjois Blanc Glamour // Meant for French mani tips, the brush is rounded and angled, which is awkward if you want to paint the entirety of your nail. 

Colour

Quo's is by far the whitest. CoverGirl's has a slight tinge of blue while Bourjois is slightly yellowy (both totally unnoticeable unless compared to a white piece of paper. Rimmel's is not a perfect cream white, it has a subtle silver shimmer, only noticeable up close. The Body Shop's isn't actually white but a white base with a hint of pink, unnoticeable from far away. 

Quo, Bourjois, CoverGirl, Rimmel, the Body Shop 

Opacity

Quo (2 coats), Rimmel (2.25 coats), CoverGirl/The Body Shop (2-3 coats, depending on your skill), Bourjois (3 coats) 

Drying Time

Rimmel (60 seconds, per the bottle and IRL), everything else - between 7-10 minutes per coat. 

In this case, the lower the score the better. And the winner is... Rimmel's 60 Second Polish in Hot White Love. Despite not being a cream polish, the opacity, drying time and awesome brush shape make it my favourite white polish. Plus, there's a cute little Rita Ora graphic, so what's not to love? 

	Color	Opacity	Brush	Drying Time	Total
1 Rimmel	3	2	1	1	7
2 Quo	1	1	4	4	10
3 The Body Shop	4	3	3	2	12
2 CoverGirl	2	3	2	3	10
4 Bourjois	2	4	5	3	14

What's your favourite white polish? 

Press samples and purchased items featured. Press samples are denoted with an asterisk (*). 

Facebook || Twitter || Bloglovin || Instagram