Review- Elemis Skin Care

I was sent some samples of Elemis skin care from Timetospa and I finally have time to review them for you.

I was sent a facial wash, toner, and a mask, I am in love with the sample sizes!

 Balancing Lavender Toner:

This balancing skincare product effectively tones the skin, maintains the skins natural pH balance and preserves natural oils, without the use of alcohol or harsh detergents. This facial toner helps you regain wonderfully clear skin while combating oily t-zones. Ideal for use on acne prone, combination, or problematic skins.

Feels great on the skin, and get's the rest of the dirt off your face that the cleanser doesn't. I can feel it working on my acne on my chin and it already started to clear up!

 Tri-Enzyme Resurfacing Facial Wash:

This daily facial wash stimulates the skin's natural cell renewal cycle, actively smoothing and refining, whilst gently sloughing away dead skin cells which dull the complexion

This is a gentle cleanser, so it's perfect for sensitive skin. Does not lather it's more like a milk cleanser nice and creamy. Does not leave your skin feeling dry after you use it, and it's anti-ageing (which is a bonus!)

 Herbal Lavender Repair Mask:

This powerful herbal lavendar regenerating mask for combination skin contains antiseptic Rosemary, Thyme, and Elemis Lavender Essential Oil, which synergistically rebalance and purify the skin, making this the ideal mask for sallow and youthful skin prone to congestion.

I would have to say out of all the mask's I have used, this is in my top 5. It feels great, does not dry while your wearing it, and the smell is wonderful makes you all relaxed. I noticed a huge difference in my skin and I only use the mask twice a week. 

Prime Time

One of the most annoying things after spending hours perfecting a smokey eye or creating amazing eyeliner, is to have it crease on you before you've even left the house. Creasing can look really beautiful if it's intentional. If not, it's bloody annoying. Like almost everyone obsessed with makeup, I've dabbled in many a primer; some have been awful, some amazing. After a little root through my make up collection, I've chosen the ones I use most regularly:

Urban Decay Primer Potion

The UDPP is probably the most widely known and used eye primer out there. Hailed as a "legendary' product, it promised more 'vibrant eyeshadow that lasts 24+ hours and NEVER CREASES'. While it is a great product that does increase the vibrancy of eyeshadows used after, something about its texture puts me off. To me, its greasy. Even a tiny amount of product patted onto the eye takes a while to sink in and for me, has never really done much to help the longevity of my eye make-up. My eyes will still crease after a few hours and its wand does nothing to help spread the product. While I have never finished a full bottle of UDPP, its packaging makes me slightly weary, even after a few uses the primer potion seems to dry up and nothing seems to be left. Although UD have changed the bottle, the fact that I have to cut open the bottle to seize over half the bottle irritates me. Especially when it doesn't work that well on me. Am I doing something wrong?

MAC Painterly Paintpot

While I've tried many of the paintpots in MAC's collection, it is Painterly that I always revert back to. Its matte texture and skin colour makes it the most wearable, and it is definitely more hard-wearing than UDPP. By taking the smallest amount on your ring finger, gently placing it on the eye, it creates a thicker layer than the UDPP and makes the colour more vibrant and last a lot longer. But again, for me it doesn't last all day. There is still some small creasing, hardly noticeable unless pointed out. To make the product last longer, I gently apply a light layer of translucent powder, which helps to set the primer.

NYX Concealer in a Pot

And finally comes the NYX Concealer in a pot. Lots of people swear by using a concealer on the eyes, followed by a dusting of powder to set it; while others claim this never, ever works. For me, it works in the same way as the others. It lasts a few hours, until slight creasing can be seen. But for those on a budget who don't want to invest in a specific eye primer, its a great way to ensure your eyeshadow lasts longer. 

Do you have a preference when it comes to eye primers, or are you bothered?

Happy Sunday! 

Review- L.A Colors 5 Metallic Eyeshadow Palettes

Today's review is on L.A Colors the 5 Color Metallic Eyeshadow Quads.

I have never used any of their eyeshadows before, every time I went to buy them, the store never had the color's I wanted. I have some of their lip products. So this was a first and a great buy!

 I picked up three pallets.
L-R EP23 Serenade, EP24 Unforgettable, EP46 Stormy
All swatches are only a one time pass, I didn't pack on the color on my arm, what you see is from one swipe! Very pigmented!!

 Serenade. I love all of these colors!

 Unforgettable. You can't see one color because by some miracle I actually got a tan! But it shows up on my eyelid.

Stormy. These are all grey's and look great with the other colors. Also makes a great smokey eye!

If you don't have any L.A Colors what are you waiting for! You can find them at Cherry Culture and I found these at my local dollarstore for $3!
You get a great color payoff and it last's all day!
I'm sure it would last with the heat wave that most of Canada is getting and the United States. (not me we are at +10!)

LA Splash Crackle'd nail polish

My local Harmon just got a huge stock of new products in, rearranging the entire front wall of the store to display all this fun stuff! One of the many things they've started stocking is crackle nail polish in every brand that makes them, including OPI's Shatter, Sally Hansen's Crackle, and this new LA Splash Cosmetics (LASplash?) stuff.

I've been dying to try crackled nail polish for a while, and the LA Splash polish was only $4.79, so I decided to give it a try. They had this amazing looking silver glitter crackle called "Ice'd", which I chose over a black since I thought it would look less goth. I put it on over my existing chipping purple manicure (which I was going to take off tomorrow anyway) and came up with... what??

The thin silver glitter immediately turned thick, white, and opaque... it looks like moldy bread! I'm really befuddled because it changed so drastically and looks downright gross (which is exactly what my mom said when she saw my nails... "Ew, gross!"). I tried to apply a thin coat, but perhaps I put too much on? I will try it again tomorrow with fresh polish, but if it still looks like this, I'm going to take advantage of Harmon's fantastic return policy and try a black, or just forget about it entirely.

Even weirder is I haven't found a single mention of this polish on the internet no matter how many variations of "Crackle'd" I search for. No blogs, no reviews, no online stores selling it. It's not even on LA Splash's official site! What's with this mysterious product?

Priorities Change

Recently, I've been obsessing over bright lips. Strange, I know. Colour isn't really my thing. Maybe its the fact that my eyes sting like hell from applying, taking off and re-applying make up on the course multiple times a day, but focussing on my lips has become more of a priority for me when I have free time, rather than whacking on a ton of eye make up.

Contrary to popular belief, well mine anyway, its not as hard as you'd think. Nope, they're not perfect. It's only recently that I've noticed just how out of proportion my face and lips are (a room surrounded by mirrors will do that to you). But perfection is a bit overrated, right?

♥

Illamasqua Lipliner 8J1

MAC Impassioned Lipstick

NYX Clear Lipgloss

I'll have a 'tutorial' of this up tomorrow on my channel , and hope you enjoy! Have you changed what make up you apply over the last while?

Sight For Sore Eyes

My major obsession with Liz Earle Skincare was obviously further compounded when the lovely Andrea offered to send me the Eyebright Soothing Lotion to test out; I jumped at the chance. Liz Earle is a brand that suits my skin so perfectly that the chance to try out new products I normally wouldn't pick out is really lovely. Their products are gentle on the skin and are the possibly one of the only brands where almost all the products I've tried have suited me. As always with LE shipping, the bottle arrived in beautiful packaging, wrapped in lovely tissue and contained the Eyebright lotion, the Summer guide, product guide and price list. 

From the day I received this eye lotion, I have been using it everyday. It is marketed as a product that 'cleanses and revitalises the eye area'. Containing witch hazel, organic aloe vera and cornflower, it leaves the skin feeling refreshed and awake. Every morning I sweep this quickly across my eyes to wake them up and get them ready for any make up. In the evening, you can gently soak two cotton pads and place them over the eyes for five or ten minutes. It not only refreshes and cools the eye, but removes any eye make up that may still be lingering after cleansing. Mascara, be gone! For an extra treat, if you leave Eyebright in the fridge, it works really well to keep your eyes in tip-tip condition, having a lovely cooling effect. Since beginning my make up course two weeks ago, make up has been applied and removed from my face and eyes about three times a day. Painful. But since using this lotion everyday, they aren't as irritated as they were. 

The 150ml bottle costs £9.70/11.25euro and lasts ages. Have you tried this product and what did you think? 

sponsored post: PinkyParadise

Hi! I got two pairs of circle lenses to review from PinkyParadise.

http://www.pinkyparadise.com

PinkyParadise is online store retailing Korean made circle lenses. They have +350 choices of circle lenses, ranging from natural series, enlarging series to cosplay series. Lenses are ready stocks and products will be shipped out in 1-3 days. Besides great choice of circle lenses, they also carry lashes, mascara, facial mask to BB cream and etc. So, PinkyParadise is ‘your eye make up one-stop online beauty store’


Wow I never got before purple elephant lens case! XD I have so many of those hippos, pigs and frogs so it was really nice I got that :D


Extra gift! Kamipita "hair holder". It has Velcro-like hooks that keep hair gently in place without grasping it firmly the way traditional hair accessories do. You will be amazed by how weightless this thin pad is you can barely feel it on your head! It can be used to keep hair out of your face whenever you are washing your face, applying make-up or skincare. Very practical~


For my review I chose Princess Mimi Sesame Grey (Bambi series) and Barbie King Size Circle Aqua lenses.


Let's take a loot at Bambi Sesame Grey lenses first.

Diameter : 15mm
Water Content : 38%
Base Curve : 8.6mm


Here's how they look in my eyes - with and without flash. I think it looks pretty much same :D


I really like Princess Mimi/Bambi series. Their design is just so unique and special. I already have Chocolate Brown and Apple Green but I think this Sesame Grey fits me best out of them. Or what do you think?




In a little bit different lightning. My natural eye color is green and it shows little when wearing those but I think colors blend together well!




And secondly, Barbie King Size Aqua Blue. What a pretty blue color, isn't it?

Diameter : 14.5mm
Water Content : 38%
Base Curve : 8.6mm


Although I'm so in love with Bambi series, Barbie King Size lenses still beat them! It's my favourite circle lens series ever. I think those lenses are just perfect in every way - enlargement, colors, design and comfort.


Bambi series has bigger diameter but somehow Barbie King Size makes my eyes look more bigger and dolly ^-^ I also think that dark colored fit me better over light colored lenses, they look more gyaru, I think! XD






Which one you prefer on me? Or maybe you want to get those lenses yourself too?

Then check out PinkyParadise.com!

I have special coupon code for my readers \(*^__^*)/

Coupon code: koakumachou

By entering this coupon code:
1. You entitle a FREE cute animal lens case PLUS mystery gifts
2. The coupon code can be stacked, if you purchase 3 pairs, you will get 3 lens case plus 3 mystery gifts.
3. A minimum of 1 lens purchased to activate the code.
4. The code has no expired dates!

But remember to read caution note, please:

You are best advised to consult your eye doctor before wearing any contact lens. It is your responsibilities to minimize the risk of wearing lenses. Kindly please read the wear & care guide carefully to ensure proper handling of lenses (which is provided in the website). The rule of thumb for your eye safety is, if you experience any discomfort, please remove the lens immediately.


Big thanks to PinkyParadise for sponsoring me those lenses!

Color Club "Wicked Sweet" scented nail polish collection

I found this scented nail polish collection at TJMaxx for $7.99. I was hesitant at first because I wasn't familiar with the Color Club brand (they don't sell it around here) and I thought it was a cheap drugstore brand. Little did I know! This awesome neon collection is called "Wicked Sweet" and retails for around $20-30!

The colors include, from left to right (click above image for larger view):
Get Your Lem-on - bright yellow shimmer
The Lime Starts Here - bright green shimmer
I Always Get My Man-darin - tangerine-orange shimmer
Yum Gum - sweet pink creme
Raspberry Rush - magenta creme
Gimme A Grape Big Kiss - bright purple creme
Wicked Sweet - neon blue shimmer

They are scented when dry, they all have various sweet fruity flavors. The lemon, to me, smells like lemon scented toilet cleaner. They're all little silly, but the scent isn't as strong after the first day, so it's not bothersome.

I'm fully into the neon trend, and went crazy with the colors. Why wear just one?!

I used all colors but the grape. I've gotten so many complements on my brightly colored toes - they really make me smile! :)

My favorites are probably the green, blue, and yellow because they're the most unique. Without the rest of the collection surrounding them, the pink, raspberry, and grape cremes look like boring, generic nail colors because they're not particularly neon (seriously, my grandma always has her nails painted a similar raspberry color!). I think they would have looked better as shimmers too.

I think I will continue the fun multi-colored toes look this summer, but I can also see myself using most of the colors by themselves. It was definitely worth the 8 bucks!

Review: Montagne Jeunesse Beauty masks

Montagne Jeunesse products have been around for a while. They are made in the UK. I actually remember picking up some of these little convenient mask packets when I was around 12 years old and giving myself a facial. I've found their products in a number of stores near me like WalMart for instance and on Amazon.

Montagne Jeunesse products are an affordable way to pamper your skin.  Their website is selling them right now for $2.25 a packet and get a second one for 74 cents.  I believe I saw them a little cheaper than that at WalMart.

They offer a variety of masks for whatever your skin care needs or concerns.  Just a few of the many choices are Crystal Masque to condition skin, Fudge Sauna self heating mask to draw out impurities, revitalize, refresh, and moisturize and Passion Peel Off Mask to deep cleanse and purify.  There are many options though including masks specifically for men and hair masks.  They even make their own pore strips for only $2.99 a pack!


I recently just try the Fudge Sauna mask.  The instructions tell you to cleanse your skin with water only.  Then apply mask while skin is still wet.  The packets size is very generous.  There was plenty to apply to my face and neck.  This mask is not a hardening mask.  It has something of a honey texture on my skin without the stickiness.  I could feel teh self heating effect as soon as it hit my skin.  Within a few seconds however the heating feeling died down.  The smell of this particular mask is incredible.  It's vanilla fudge fragrance.  To be honest it was a little bit of a temptation on my face.  It smelled so good I wanted to lick it off.  Of course, that would not have been a good idea, not to mention nearly impossible.  The instructions state to leave it on for 10-15 minutes.  I left it on the full 15 minutes.  It has sort of a tan color to it. 

The mask was easy to remove.  My skin felt so soft and smooth after I rinsed it off.  I think these masks would be great to pick up for a girls night in or just to give yourself a little pampering.  Think about this, a mother/daughter beauty night including these mask.  Wouldn't that be fun? 

Check out the site to find their specials and close outs too for even more savings. 

You can follow the company that makes Montagne Jeunesse products on Facebook and Twitter (@alphahydrox) too!



I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com created by WebBizIdeas.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commissions 16 CFR, Part 255 Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising. Tomoson Product review & giveaway Disclosure.

                  

Peachy Keen

After a recent trip to my local MAC, something The Mother has been saying for years finally struck a chord. Not only do I buy too much make up, but I repeatedly buy the same sorts of products. I was looking at the mass amount of blushes available, and was slightly overwhelmed until one of the artists came up and recommended Springsheen. Although I was initially looking for something more bronze, I instantly fell in love with its peachy tones. Money handed over, thank you ma'am.

Only to get home and discover that I had three other almost identical blushes. Doh! At the beginning I was a little miffed, having spent over twenty euro on such a similar product. But then rationalised that its a colour that suits me and as long as I don't buy another one (hopefully) equally similar life is peachy. Yeaah?

So the moral of this story? I should probably invest in a variety of products, but hey, I probably won't need to repurchase for a while!

Do you hoard similar make up? Don't even get me started on eyeshadows..

Nars Orgasm - A peachy pink with shimmer, but not glitter. Believe me, I am not a glitter person; so its fab.

Sleek Rose Gold - Sleek's dupe of Nars Orgasm and they are almost identical. If you have one, you really don't need the other. Oops.

Nars Orgasm Multiple - Ditto. Double Oops.

MAC Springsheen - Although very similar to both the Nars and Sleek blushes, its slightly more of a peach. Again, its probably not a necessity. Triple Oops.

New Revlon "Just Tinted" jelly nail polish!

I discovered this new nail polish when I was scrounging around Harmons in a last-minute attempt to buy something with the $2 off Revlon coupon that was about to expire. It's called "Just Tinted", to go with their lip stain "Just Bitten" (which I really do not like, but that's for another day)... and it's a jelly! I've heard all about jelly polish but I've never tried it, so I gleefully got it in the shade "Victorian" for $2 off the $4-something price tag.

It's super cute!! The above photo shows it with 2 coats and no top coat. As you can see, it has somewhat of a matte finish, which I left like that because it was an interesting look. I will probably put a top coat on it the next time to see what it looks like all shiny. It held up pretty well even without a top coat - I took the photo on the 3rd day after doing my nails, so they're a little chippy at the tips but still looked good.

I hope they create them in more shades - currently there are only 4, all pinks. It's definitely a cute and fun look, now I'm sold on jellies!

Wet n Wild Mermaid's Cove nail polish

Wet n wild came out with a summer line of nail polish entitled Mermaid's Cove. They came out about a month ago at Harmon and quickly sold out at $1.79 a piece. I haven't seen them anywhere since! I was lucky enough to be at the store right after they had been stocked, and picked myself up two colors - Atlantis (shown above) and Magic Trident (shown below).

Once again, wet n wild has impressed me with their new products! This new line of Fast Dry nail color (which I've mentioned before) really does dry quickly and lasts a long time. I love these bold and fun new colors!

I've yet to try the Magic Trident on my nails - honestly, I only got it because it made me nostalgic for an orange nail polish I had in Japan, which I wore because a member of a favorite band of mine wore - oh, silly college days! But the color is pretty cool nonetheless. I think it'll be a great beachy shade for a pedicure.

Atlantis is a mix of pink and silver glitter and is super fun, it's like a party on your nails!

The collection has 8 colors total, including some cool green, blue, teal, and purple shades. I'm definitely becoming addicted to these nail polishes!