EMPTIES I: November 2011

I first came across Beauty Reductionista's blog a couple months ago when blog-hopping and quickly became engrossed in reading all her past posts. I love her writing style, her humor, and the content of her posts - particularly her two series of posts: "Empties" and "Inventory". As the titles imply, one is a series of posts regarding products that have been used up in the previous month or so and the other is an inventory of a particular type of product (blushes, mascaras, etc.).

It's not a new concept; I've seen it on other blogs. But Liz does it the best! Since I have no shame, I'm taking a page from her books with a series of Empties posts myself. Thanks Liz!



NOVEMBER EMPTIES LIST:
Forever21 Love & Beauty Hydrating Wipes
Clean & Clear Face Cleansing Wipes
Pond's Cleansing and Makeup Removing Towelettes
Vaseline Dry Skin Condition Lotion
Clinique Dermawhite Brightening Moisture Gel Cream
NYC 16H Lip Stain in Endless Spice 495
MAC Lipglass in Prize Petal from Spring 2007 "Strange Hybrid" Collection
Chanel Precision Lip Definer in Lilirose 19
Bath and Body Works Country Chic Body Lotion Travel Size

TALLY:
Total Items: 9
True Empties: 6
Expired: 2
Others: 1



Forever21 Love & Beauty Hydrating Wipes - I found two packages of these taped together (30 wipes each) with a $1.50 price stamp on the taping. I checked with the cashier and she confirmed that was the price. I still think it was a pricing error but who am I to complain? There's nothing special about these - they have a light fresh scent, nothing distinctive, and they are quite soft. They take off visible color makeup (not waterproof mascara or eyeliner) but after swiping my face with toner, I still find minimal residue. But for the price, these are great "freshening" wipes for the summer or makeup correction. I would re buy because the price is right.

Clean & Clear Face Cleansing Wipes - This is a sample package of 7 and came taped to a tube of C&C Pore Minimizer Moisturizer. Again, a light fresh scent, nothing distinctive. I found that it cleansed a bit better than the Forever 21 version but not much more. I wouldn't rebuy as they're priced the same as other brands and didn't outperform.

Pond's Cleansing and Makeup Removing Towelettes - I bought these from Winners for $5.99 - they always have a lot of facial wipes (Pond's, L'Oreal, Olay, Blum, Marcelle, etc.) there so I recommend checking it out! Most are around $6-8 for a package of 30. These come in a package of 30. The towelettes were thicker and soft and the scent was stronger but still quite pleasant (as you would find in a pot of moisturizer) but again, the performed about the same as the others. I wouldn't rebuy as I'd rather spend my money on the continuous hunt for the great one.



Vaseline Dry Skin Condition Lotion
These are about $7-9 at Shoppers but they regularly go on sale for $2.99 a bottle. There are a number of different types - Aloe, Cocoa Butter, Unscented, etc. I bought this one last winter as my skin was beyond dry. Well, this was NOT moisturizing for dry skin! 15 minutes after I put it on, I felt like I need more! This bottle is 325ml and I actually finished the whole thing - not because it's a good product but just because I needed so much of it to have any affect on my skin. Will definitely NOT buy despite the enticing cheap price (the cocoa butter one is a completely different story though).

Clinique Dermawhite Brightening Moisture Gel Cream
This is second empty actually. I have a 3rd pot that I'm about 3/4 the way through. I bought these at the MAC/Estee Lauder warehouse sales (which unfortunately I no longer have a hookup for...boohoo!) for $10 or $15, I believe. I don't notice a brightening difference but I just love the consistency of this product. It's similar to the L'Oreal Hydrafresh gel moisturizers. Great for the summertime! If I can get it for the same price, I'd buy again. At retail, I'll stick with similar products from drugstore brands.

NYC 16H Lip Stain in Endless Spice 495
This was on sale for $2 so I bought two. I lost one and this one I'm throwing away because after only a few uses, it's done. I know there is still a lot of product in there but the felt tip nib of this marker does not allow enough product to penetrate. After you've stained one lip, it's too dry to do the other. Leave it for a few days and more ink is on the nib but that's useless! I love the Covergirl Outlast Lipstains a lot more - those are super pigmented and the tips are always saturated with stain. The color is beautiful but what does it matter if you can't use it? Don't waste your money on these.

MAC Lipglass in Prize Petal from Spring 2007 "Strange Hybrid" Collection
This is a pretty light pink shimmer and so nice in the summer or over a cream lipstick. Unfortunately, I forgot about this and now it has that plastic expired smell. I wouldn't buy it again just because MAC has so many similar colors. Actually, I've yet to rebuy any MAC color because there's so many new collections released.

Chanel Precision Lip Definer in Lilirose 19
This is a beautiful color - a brownish-pink "rose" color. When I first got it, it was so smooth and creamy to apply. Very pigmented and I could use it on my whole lips with just some balm. The brush was great and allowed you to brush the product around almost like a lipstick. Unfortunately, it's another product I forgot about and the product core dried up. The brush was also a casualty of some overpacked makeup box.

Bath and Body Works Country Chic Body Lotion Travel Size I love the travel sized bottles from B&BW. They are fantastic to keep at work, in the purse, car, and pretty much every little nook and cranny I can find. They retail $4.00CDN but usually sell $2/5. Sometimes they offer a "preview" of a new scent via a bottle of this priced at $1.00CDN, found by the cash registers. The Frangrantica website description says: "Top notes are grapefruit, pear, green notes, tagetes and amalfi lemon; middle notes are jasmine, african orange flower, gardenia, lily and raspberry; base notes are musk, patchouli, virginia cedar, amber, peach, orchid and praline." It's a fruity floral scent - very sweet and perfect for the summer. I really like it but will not repurchase because like MAC, B&BW comes out with so many new products I want to keep trying new ones.

So that's it! My first empties post. Really looking forward to December's. I have to admit, it feels like a great achievement and is as satisfying as purchasing a new product, if not more.

PS: Go visit Liz's blog! >> BeautyReductionista.blogspot.com

Happy (Insert Special Occasion) To Me! -

There was really no special occasion but I'll be happy to make one up if an excuse is needed.

I jumped on the Micro Four Thirds band wagon this weekend and purchased the Olympus E-P2 camera with a 14-42mm kit lens. I've been casually considering a replacement for my Nikon D70 DSLR for quite some time now. The D70 still works perfectly but it's too bulky to carry everywhere and let's be honest, a part of me just wanted something new after seven years with this baby.

Interesting Tidbit: The Nikon D70, along with its Canon 300D EOS counterpart, were the first consumer DSLR cameras ever released! At the time, retail was $1000US body-only or $1300US with the 18-70mm kit lense. The Canadian retail price was of course, a lot higher especially when you factor in the 15% GST/PST at that time! These days, an entry level DSLR can be had for just a few hundred and everyone and their mother has one. Needless to say, the DSLR revolution has come a long way!

Here is what the Olmypus E-P2 and kit lens looks like in all its glory! These photos were taken with my Canon Powershot G10 point-n-shoot camera which is actually bigger than the E-P2!










I have a number of upcoming product reviews to take photos for so hopefully this weekend I'll be able to test out the ability of this camera! I'm also looking to add a pancake lens to the mix, perhaps the Olympus 17mm 2.8.

Not sure what the Micro Four Thirds is? These links will explain it better than I ever could! >> Wikipedia, Mu-43.com Micro 4/3 Online Community, Four Third's Micro Four Thirds official site.

Any of you have a Micro Four Thirds camera? What's your feedback?

Goodnight.

As you know from yesterday's post, we're in the market for a pair of nightstands in the guest bedroom. I decided once again to search Decorpad.com for some inspirations and ideas.

Here's some beautiful nightstands (and bedrooms in general!) that I found.
























all images via decorpad.com


I am in love with the mirrored look but those tend to be quite expensive and they're not exactly something that could come out a DIY project - unless you're planning to spend as much buying custom-cut mirrors as it would cost to buy a ready made piece.

So with that in mind, my favourites would have to be the first photo with the brass side table - it's slim and the patina is a beautiful contrast against the crisp white linens and the third photo with the ornate shelf doubling as a nightstand - what a great idea and the white paint really shows off the intricate carving against the warm brown and green palette.

I'm hoping we can hit up a few of the larger thirft stores in the suburbs to see if there are any good bones for a DIY project.

Guest Room Progress Report

Cam's mom came to stay with us this past Saturday. We found out mid-week and at that point, the guest room was still looking like the aftermath of a post-move hurricane.

So Friday night we rushed over to Walmart and Winners, which is about 5 minutes away. We picked up a sheet set (the one pictured - it's reversible!) and a couple pillows. At this point we still didn't even have a bed.

Saturday afternoon when she arrived, Cam and her went to Costco and bought a bed. When they came back, we all went out together again to Loblaws for a shower curtain, wastebasket, hand towels, and a few other things.

I was really glad she came to stay with us. She's such a sweet lady and always a pleasure to have around. But on a more selfish new-homeowner level, she was our push to keep unpacking and start getting our rooms in order.

Here's a photo of the before (this is after I already moved several boxes out of here into the study aka. jam-packed junk room) and what I call the "during...".



There's still a ton of work to be done but we're really excited to have gotten a start. Here's the to-do list for this room:

Nightstand and Lamps
Cam saw a nightstand he liked at Sears but at $130 each, that's just under $300 after tax! I find Toronto Craigslist very disappointing - the good stuff is snatched up as soon as it's listed and everything else is either junk or way overpriced. I'm going to keep an eye on estate sales and third stores for potential DIY projects.

I may use the lamp bases pictured by the window above but if the nightstands are too small, I will use them for the master bedroom instead as I'm planning on larger nightstands there.

Window Treatments
I'd like to do plain white blinds. Walmart has faux wood ones that actually look quite decent. They're thicker than the generic plastic/metal ones but not as expensive as real wood (approx $50 versus $200+!). To take the focus of the blinds, we'll hang floor-to-ceiling curtains on the outer border of the window.

Eventually, I have in mind a DIY padding project for the bench area to create a little reading nook.

Color Palette
This room is currently a generic light cream - the kind contractors use. Because this room gets the most sunlight, I'd like to paint it a bright white. It's a color I find really difficult to work with in reality (magazines make it look easy!) when you don't have a lot of natural light in the house. This will also allow us to change up the color palette easily.

For art, I'd like a color painting or print on a large white canvas and if budget allows, a thin gallery frame. Something that has enough colors to easily pick up on the potentially changing palette in this room.

Storage
The small IKEA Expedit has been moved to against the wall at the foot of the bed (you can see a little corner of it in the During... photo. I'd like to refinish that in white (will have to look up tips on painting over laminate). IKEA also has baskets and boxes made specifically to its dimensions. Here's a few of the straw options: Branas, Pjas, Nasum. They have quite a large selection.

Anyway, that's it for now! Not much of a visual update now but my dad is staying for a week during Christmas so I'm hoping to have more finished before then.

*If you're new to my blog, you might also want to check out these previous posts featuring my mouse-enabled drawings: 1. Bedroom Layout and 2. Living Room Layout. The hot-pink just makes things look so professional, no? ;)

TALENT: Fawn Galli Interiors

I came across the first photo with the luscious green curtains and fell in love. I would never have thought to choose such a color but it's just absolutely PERFECT. I had to find out who designed this place!

After some digging, I discovered that the room was designed by Fawn Galli of Fawn Galli Interiors in New York City. Not surprisingly, her work has been featured in two of my favourite magazines - House Beautiful and the now defuncted but very much missed Domino.

What I love about Fawn's work is her fearless use of colors and her ability to work with various styles - mid-century modern, country, minimalist, bohemian, eclectic, etc. I also love how she adds a pop of bright pink to many of her rooms using everything from pillows to art to fresh flowers. It's one of my favorite accent colors and I'm quite partial to this detail she adds.












all images found via google

I highly recommend a visit to her website at www.fawngalli.com for her portfolio of works.

REVIEWED! Urban Decay Supercurl Curling Mascara in Black

This review will be based on the travel-sized version of this mascara, which is 5.11ml/0.18floz versus the regular-size version which is 9ml/0.3floz. I received the travel sized as the 100-points perk at Sephora a couple weeks ago.

The description on the box says:

"Not since your first spiral perm have you been this excited about something that curls. Our protein-packed Supercurl Curling Mascara boosts, curls, and sculpts your lashes, while conditioning incregients like silky proteins, meadowfoam seed oil, and shea better keep them sleek, smooth, and feathery-soft."

Before we go into the review, I have to apologize for these photos. They were taken around the same type as the photos from the Peach Revlon Colorburst and both turned out with a weird haze. I, however, am too lazy to retake. Temptalia or Karla Sugar, I am NOT!

The packaging of the Supercurl Curling mascara is so pretty. I love the contrast of the matte black swirls on the gunmetal chrome tube. I always have a weakness for Urban Decay's packaging - while brands like YSL and Guerlain are classy and elegant, Urban Decay to me is the younger black-sheep sister who wears stompy combat boots and biker jackets.

The bristles are short and evenly spaced. I find this type of brush makes it easier to apply to the shorter lashes although I personally don't bother with my teensy lower ones.

The bristles are close enough together to deposit mascara onto the lashes without much wiggling, which is a problem I have with some mascaras (looking at you Too Faced LashLight!!). However, I don't find that it's as volumizing as a longer denser brush.

The brush itself curves slightly which is suppose to contour to the eyes and I guess "sculpt" the lashes. It looks and sounds good in theory but I've never found it particularly helpful. I prefer to do my own "sculpting" by hand, moving the wand this way and that until I've evenly applied mascara along the entire span of lashes.

I will not be purchasing this mascara again. First, I only use waterproof mascara as they hold a curl much better than any non-waterproof mascara, even the ones that claim to curl. This mascara does not currently come in a waterproof version. Secondly, I don't find that this curls any better than other non-waterproof mascara formulas I've tried. It also doesn't do anything for me in terms of length or volume.

I think if you already had a good base - long, dense lashes that hold a curl - then you'll love this because the black is VERY black. I compared this against my L'Oreal Voluminous Lash mascara in black and I could see a difference. Once held up against the Urban Decay mascara, Volminous "black" looked more charcoal.

So there you have it. I recommend spending your money on Urban Decay's buttery-smooth long-lasting 24/7 eyeliners instead.

The Urban Decay Supercurl Curling Mascara can be found at Sephora for $20US/$24CDN. Travel size is available on the UrbanDecay.com website for $9US but US shipping only.

REVIEW: Revlon ColorBurst Lipstick in Peach

I can't get enough of the Revlon Colorburst line! I'm loving both the lipsticks and lipglosses. I just wish they came out with more colors in both versions or better yet, more colors and corresponding lipstick/lipgloss pairs.

The application of every single lipstick and lipgloss in this line - both dark and light colors, cremes and frosts, have been a creamy smooth consistency with great color payoff . It is also very moisturizing and those without dry lips during the winter can definitely go without a lipbalm.

In the lipstick version, I currently have Petal, Mauve, and Rosy Nude so I was looking for something different. I tend to stay away from anything with even a hint of orange because it's usually unflattering for my medium Asian skin tone. However, this particular shade called "Peach" caught my eye as its not heavy on the orange - this seemed to be the perfect blend of orange, pink, and brown.









The color payoff is not as good as the other shades, not in terms of opacity but more so, similarity between swatched color and product color in its solid state. This particular one reminds me of the MAC Slimshine a little! I was expecting something slightly bolder but it really does come off as a light peachy color.

The color is slightly more intense and redder than in the photo but not by much. (the lighting at the time made things look all dream like for some reason. I tried to photoshop it out but just ended up giving up!)

I still need to get used to the hints of orange in this color. It's almost too orange for my tastes but I suspect I may be the only one who thinks that - I'm just not used to peach or corals...much more of a brownish pink kind of gal.

Here's the color swatched in natural indirect light:



Isn't it beautiful? I think it would look just gawjus with a lighter complexion and strawberry blond hair. It is however, still quite wearable on ladies with darker skin tones.

Revlon ColorBurst Lipstick retails for approx. $9-11CDN and can be found at all the usual suspects - discount department stores like Walmart and Zellers as well as drugstores like Shoppers Drug Mart, Rexall, London Drug, etc. You can often find them on sale, too.

I would never pay retail but that's only because I know drugstore cosmetics are almost always on sale somewhere or another so why pay retail? But if these line was carried by a more premium brand, I wouldn't notice the difference.

Catch Some Zzzz's.

Zebra print is so versatile and I find that it can be either a bold and fun or muted and elegant way of introducing animal print into a room.

Leopard and tiger print can work well, too but something about the clean organic stripes of a zebra print makes it much easier to work with. Less likely to offend those who are not animal-print fans while still putting a smile on the faces of those who are.
















While I do think esthetically they make quite an elegant and chic statement, something about the outline of an animal skin is a little reminiscent of those crime scene chalk borders around fallen bodies. Yikes! And with that, you can see why I can't deal with a pelt on my own. My imagination runs way too wild (har har)!

So I prefer my zebra print on chairs, pillows, frames, lacquered boxes, and other accent pieces. And since Cam hates animal prints, antlers, and pretty much anything else suggestive of hunting, accents will probably be much easier to incorporate into our home decor.

I'm loving the following rooms and how zebra print was incorporated into each one. I especially love rooms where you actually have to take a second look to find the pattern, sort of like a game of Where's Waldo Zebra?













all images via decorpad.com

GOT IT! Marc Fisher Tweed Spectator Peep Toes

Love at first sight! I purchased these peep-toed tweed pumps with spectator detailing last Friday. I have a couple hours to kill after work before going out with some girlfriends so I decided to stroll through the Eaton Center.

I found these at SEARS of all places! I never shop there! It always seems like such a run down bland store to me (they're due for a branding overhaul, no?) but I had to walk through it to get to the rest of the mall. I happened to glance down as I passed the shoe department and these caught my eye.



They're by a brand called Marc Fisher and most of their heels are approx. $90-130CDN. These babies are the "Maddison" and retailed $109.99 but I got them for $54.99 and no tax. A quick calculation...$54.99 = S x 1.13 >> $54.99 / 1.13 = S >> S = $48.66!!

Conclusion? I got these babies for less than $50!!

Peep toe, slight platform, charcoal tweed, patent leather and under $50 befoe tax??.....sounds like shoe-heaven to me!

So. Enough about me. What did you buy this weekend?

Grow, Grow, Grow!

I need help with my Orchid! Or rather...my next Orchid. This one was all pretty and Orchid-like but quickly faded into a shriveled dried up mess. I tried watering it weekly and leaving it in a sunny area but not direct sunlight but it still died! Not sure what I did wrong.

Any tips on taking care of these finicky and delicate plants? Better yet, any suggestions on plants that are easy to take care of for a brown thumb like me?