Too Faced - Better than Sex Mascara

 I love mascara samples, they [usually] last a couple weeks and you don't have to fork out heaps of money to give it a try.

For christmas, my gift to myself (along with many) was the Too Faced "Everything Nice" Holiday Palette, a small sample of Too Faced "Better Than Sex Mascara" came with it.

Bare lashes

I adore these scandalous names that companies give their products - its creative and humorous. I was of course, very curious to see if this mascara was, well... better than sex. ;)

With Better Than Sex

If you've read any of my previous mascara reviews, I mainly use waterproof mascaras since they are the only ones that have enough wax to hold the curl of my very straight lashes. And I usually don't spend money on high end brand name mascaras purely due to the product life of a mascara - its a costly product to keep repurchasing every 3 months. I'm already drowning in debt with student loans, I don't think its the best idea to add to that debt with beauty products... handbags on the other hand, well, thats another story.

This is an alright mascara, nothing amazing or a must try. It provides great volume, pretty decent length - you'll have fairly thick and "fluffy" lashes. I did notice a bit of flaking by the end of the day, it didn't bother my contacts or anything but it was still there and I feel like for some other people it have more of a negative affect.

One thing that I did notice while applying this mascara is that, i'm not sure whether its the shape of the wand or it's size but it can be at times very difficult to apply. Meaning it took me a little longer to apply this mascara than compared to others. I think its a mixture of its shape and its size... hm. Also, depending on your application, your lashes can clump together.

Overall, its a decent mascara. I wouldn't recommend to go buy a full size of this product to try, if it comes in part of a set that you've been eyeing - I'd say go for it. It gives you thick, fluffy lashes but be careful of your application because it can cause some clumping or it may take more time to apply this mascara.

The Face Shop - Volcanic Clay Nose Strip

I love biore nose strips.. when they work properly and who doesnt? I love clearing those nasty ass black heads, popping those deep zits. Yeah, yeah, shouldn't touch those pimples but it's so hard to resist.

Nose strips are always fun! This one.. not so much. I usually like The Face Shop's products, they recently opened up a store in West Edmonton Mall which I'm happy to see a korean company expand past Asia and into the western side.

This one didn't perform. I've had the biore strips leave some residue before on my nose, but it's white and less messy. This one was messy. The black "volcanic clay" transfers when it's wet to your hands and when you rip it off your nose it does leave black residue on your nose. It didn't work for me, it didn't pull anything out of my pores. It was messier then the biore strips. I will pass on these nose strips. 

 

The Body Shop - Vitamin E Overnight Serum Oil

Dry skin will always be my worst enemy. Moving to Saskatchewan has not helped it at all. I've been using it a couple months now, almost done the bottle and thought its time for a review.

This is one pricey bottle for $28/CAD for a 28 ml. I've tried other brands such as Josie Maran Argan oil, which I will review later.

This is an alright product. A little thicker/ not as light as the Argan Oil and not overly greasy. It didn't last me as long as I thought it would, I bought it back in September and I am just about finished with it. Its not as moisturizing as I thought it would be, which maybe is why I've been using more product. Others I've talked to about this have said that they've had a bottle for over a year. It has the signature Vitamin E rose scent that is present in their Vitamin E line.

I like using oils before my moisturizer every night but personally this one didn't really do any priming for me. It's not really moisturizing and for it's price I can get a bigger bottle of just regular Vitamin E oil... which I'm planning to do.

I wouldn't recommend this product, it's pretty pricey and doesn't have a great performance.

TARTE Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Full Coverage Foundation SPF 15 in Medium

Canadian winters. My skin hates them, I hate them, everyone i know hates them yet we still stay here.

There was a VIB sale back in november, i took this chance to try out a new foundation. I love my MUFE HD but just wanted to see what else is on the market. And since it's rising in price, i don't really want to use it as much.

Found this Tarte full coverage foundation in .08 oz (which is more then plenty) in a little kit. The kit costs $41/CAD, comes with a rollerball of maracuja oil and a full size mascara.

This is the first Tarte Product i've ever tried. And I love it. This is a great foundation, i think its a bit light for my skin but its not too noticeable unless i'm in bright light or in photos.




One thing that's been bugging me about MUFE HD is that sometimes it gets a little hard to blend out, if I look closely at times I notice I didn't blend too well on my chin or cheek and can see the foundation vs my skin. And since its dries pretty fast it can be hard by that time to blend it out. Whereas this Tarte product is very easy to blend into my skin.

It provides great coverage up for almost 12 hours without touch up. You don't need that much product for your face. It goes on very smooth, I've used it with a stippling brush and a flat top brush. I've heard the Tarte airbrush finish brush does make a difference for application. But since its such a steep price, at the moment i'm content with my flat top or stippling brush...
I have pretty dry skin and it didn't dry my face out anymore, look cakey (unless i cake my face) or cause those little darn flakes.

I have yet to try out the maracuja oil or mascara but I think this kit is great! So far I am loving this foundation almost over my MUFE hd... almost.

After

Before

8 hrs later. Noticeable wear off in forehead, a little shine / fade

The Body Shop - Vitamin C Cleansing Polish Review

Been watching wayyy too much tv when i should be studying. This is how lazy i have become.
Well back to a review, i love the smell of citrus. Wakes me up. And i do enjoy this Vitamin C -  Cleansing Polish by the Body Shop. It costs around $16/cad for this product... but the body shop always has great deals going on.
Its a gel like face wash with beads (not too many) inside for exfoliating. I really like the texture and consistency of this face wash, it isnt too harsh so you can use this everyday. Your face feels so refreshed afterwards. It lathers extremely well and does a great job of getting rid of your make up. I don't think this improved the brightness of my skin at all.. but when does that actually happen?
I really like this product by The Body Shop and will repurchase it. 

Make Up Forever - Smokey Mascara

Received this mascara as a gift with my purchase. Its a more dry formula which i usually do prefer. It is not a flakey dry formula. It says it will curl,volume, lengthen and give intense pigmentation. Quadruple threat. Who doesn't want lashes like that?? It didn't holy my curl perfectly but it didn't deflate it either. I didn't notice much volume but i did notice a bit of umph with my length. And with the intense pigmentation, I didn't notice it my lashes being darker then with other regular mascaras.

My lashes didn't clump unless i was super slow/distracted and basically tried to layer my mascara. Never had any problems of it smudging on me, its a more a natural looking mascara. Find it around $27/cad for a full size mascara. Comes in different colors.

Honestly, its a pretty average mascara. It didn't do anything stunning that made it stand out from all the other mascaras. Won't be repurchasing it.

Top without mascara,
Bottom with

Make Up Forever - HD Invisible Coverage Foundation in 128 Almond

Start of the day make up! 

The highly coveted MUFE HD foundation!  There's a reason why its so popular, its amazing. I'm on my second bottle and my sister (who i converted to this) in on her third!

Its a flawless coverage foundation with medium to heavy coverage. At first i was a bit skeptical because i've read its not that great for dry skin and meant more for oily skin... but i saw pictures of the finish and just had to try it out.
I have really dry skin and usually have to lather my face with some moisturizer. This foundation doesn't dry my skin, sure it's not moisturizing and it is a matifying foundation but it doesn't dry out my skin. As long as you have a good moisturizer on it'll still look great on your skin. If you do have flakey skin, it does show up with this foundation but it in no way enhances it like it has happened to me with other foundations....

They have an extensive line of colors, so you're most likely to find a very close match to your skin tone. It photographs pretty well and doesn't have any white cast that I've noticed. It's extremely long lasting. I've worn it for over 12+ hours, at work and then out at night and it still looks basically flawless...

Four/five hours of wear

You can find it for around $50 dollars CAD in shade 128 almond. Its about the average price for any high end foundation these days. A little goes a long way for this foundation and the price is worth it.

In the photos, i had class for half the day, then work later at night for around six hours serving. And with serving, most of the time you are running around from the kitchen to the dining area. Your make up does get a little runny from all the heat in the kitchen and the mini workout. You can notice in the photos, around my nose and forehead after a couple hours from class it was getting a little shiny. And and the end of the day it has dried up/caked up around my nose a bit and not that you can really tell in the lighting but my t-zone was a bit shiny. No finishing powder was used nor touch ups! And no primer!

The only flaw i have noticed is that it dries quiet quickly and sometimes i do not blend it out evenly enough and if you look closely enough you can see it be a little patchy/uneven however when i say look closely enough in my terms it means basically having your nose to the mirror... but other then that it's my HG foundation. I see myself having a back up of this foundation at all times. Everyone must try this foundation at some point! I think it lives up to its hype!

End of the day, around 14 hrs of wear

End of the day after school + work!

Too Faced - Lashgasm Mascara

I got this in a little Too Faced Kit which had a couple of items to try out. I didn't like it at first, i found the formula too wet. But after a few weeks after the formula dried I liked it a bit better. A full size one would be around $28/cad

So i hated it at first, it was too wet. Didn't hold the curl, didn't really voluminize or thicken my lashes. But after a few weeks when the formula did dry, it held the curl better. Was easier to apply on, before while it was wet it would easily smudge.

This mascara doesn't clump my lashes at all. The plastic bristles made it easy to seperate my lashes.

But overall this mascara didn't do an amazing job at lengthening or voluminizing my mascara and i would not repurchase this.

without mascara ( I use this photo multiple times)

Hard Candy - Sheer Envy Primer

I've been on a lookout of an affordable good primer, who isnt? This is the first product i've tried from Hard Candy. From what i've heard, they have mostly good products for decent prices.

This is lightweight and blends in nicely into the skin. It comes out clear, except it does come out a bit.. chunky(?) from the tube but once you mix it with your fingers it's smooth.
I notice that my make up does go on smoother and last a bit longer before having to touch up.
It doesn't shine from any other primers i've tried but for its price of $6-7/cad its a good steal for alot of product.
I most likely will repurchase to have on hand. Its a good product to try out.

The Body Shop - Hemp Products

Back with a review on a couple products from the Hemp line by The Body Shop.
This line is popular for people with eczema or psoriasis, or just super dry skin! First off, i've had pretty bad eczema throughout my life. I'm slowly growing out of it as I get older but my skin is still dry and sensitive. For me, a good moisturizer is one where i only have to apply once or twice and I'll feel comfortable in my own skin. Most moisturizers I have to layer it up a couple times and then top it off with other products in order for that to happen :(
I finally tried this line out since there has been some buzz for it.
I dislike the smell of all the hemp products, smells like... plastic mixed with random incense.

Hemp Body Butter:
$20/cad per body butter.
Repurchase: No
I've used a bunch of body butters' from The Body Shop before. None are really moisturizing but i was suggest to try the hemp and that it will be more soothing and comforting.
Sadly, it was a no go for me. It wasn't any more moisturizing then the other body butters nor was it any help to my rashes or irritated skin. Didn't like the scent. Didn't like the price. Didn't like the moisturizer it provided (which is bare minimum by itself)

Hemp Moisture High Balm
$15/cad (not sure since it is not for sale anymore?)
Repurchase: No
This item is kinda like vaseline petroleum jelly except not as bad. Sadly I did not like this product, its very greasy - does not absorb into the skin easily. I thought it would help and dry flakey areas but it didn't do much. Preferably i would use an actual body oil for the dry patches since it would be more effective then this product. Another weird thing is that, I didn't touch the product for a few weeks and then when i went to try it again it developed a weird .. skin like film on top. Equivalent to if you left pudding out, you'd have to break through the skin to actually get to the pudding.

Hemp Hand Protector
$20/cad for regular size, $10/small
Repurchase: Most Likely Not
One of the Body Shops Best sellers! Its actually a pretty good hand moisturizer, doesn't take too long to soak in. But the smell puts me off, its different for body products since I usually can't smell whats on my arm. But i do smell my hands often (leaning my face against them, rubbing my nose etc) and the smell of this hemp line just isn't worth it. There are other good hand moisturizers for a lesser value that smell better.

Overall I've tried enough of the Hemp products in that line, to know I will not like any of the others....
None of the products really worked for me even if they did, the smell of the products would turn me off from using it.

http://www.thebodyshop.ca/en/shop-by-line/hemp.aspx#/hemp.aspx

Benefit - Pore Minimizer

Back with a review on Benefit's Porefessional. Says to minimize apperances of pores. 

So you may have noticed, i got this in a kit from benefit, small sample but lasted me a long time!
I really enjoyed this primer. Made my skin super smooth before make up application, it did minimize my pores a bit but not overly.
It did make my make up last longer and well as controlled my oil while being lightweight.
Honestly its a great primer. Only downer is that it's a bit pricey $36/.75 oz BUT one good thing about benefit, is that they also have great gift sets for a great value!
A lot of value sets they offer, have either full size or sample size (which can last a while (2 months for me!)) with other products of theirs to try out!
If you want to try it out, I suggest getting a value set!
I would definitely repurchase!

Butterfly Weed Herbals - Green Wisdom All-Heal Salve

Hey there,

I've been using this for a few months now on my eczema, any rashes, cuts, dry itchy skin...
I love the idea of this, since the alternative that works is steroid creams which isn't too good for the skin in the long run.
I picked this up at Rocky Mountain Soap for about $16/CAD. Product was all made Canada, which is a nice change.
I love the smell of tea tree.. most people hate it. But that medicine smell of tea tree and eucalyptus... its comforting as odd as that sounds. The scent on this balm is very faint!

Overall its a decent product. It is moisturizing and does help the healing process!
The only thing is that it the Chickweed Herb works for anti-itching.. that part I didn't find work...
Little goes a long way.

I could see myself repurchasing this. I was looking at other products they offer, may pick up a few of those too!

Update March 2014 (Nine months of use); Would honestly not repurchase.. sometimes i find myself itching even more....
Update July 2 2014 : Have finished the whole product, recently my eczema has been flaring up pretty bad and i used up this trying in order to stop myself from using my steroid cream... it hasn't had much effect on my skin. Like i've mentioned before, I do find myself still being itchy in some areas or even at times, even more itchier. Won't be repurchasing this for the lack of performance it has shown in the long run...

http://grassrootsblog.ca/2011/09/butterfly-weed-a-herbalists-story/

Rocky Mountain Soap Body Butter

Hihi,
I've heard a lot about how natural and good rocky mountain soap items are! I decided to try it out the lemongrass body butter!
I love the scent of lemon grass, the taste not so much (had lemon grass chicken one time).
I was quite pleased with this product, you rub it on and then rub in it more with your hands. It does leave a residue on the surface that sinks in through the hours but you know it's moisturizing when...
The scent of this product is not too strong, it lingers for a bit.. Strong lemongrass scent.

Lemongrass Body Butter

When I was in the store, the sales associate said that they were all going to become organic, which is neat.
I liked this body butter and will probably repurchase it every once in a while.. Use it when I need that deep moisture by layering it on top. I prefer to use this at night so it sinks it.
For the price of the product ($13/55g) and it's size (I can see myself going through this pretty fast) it wouldn't be a staple in my moisturizers.
Thanks guys!

Estee Lauder Double Wear Eye Shadow in Antique Gold

Hi Hi,

I love cream eye shadows, I just find them easy to blend and easy application! Perfect for any fast looks!
I picked up Estee Lauder's Double wear cream eye shadow in Antique Gold.
The color is very neutral, good for a day to day look.

Its a more bronzey gold, with a bit of shimmer in it. Depending on my day, if its just an office work or class day it will last about 5/6 hours fading and creasing minimal but existing. With a primer it does last about 9 hours before any creasing or fading!

If i'm working in a restaurant, wearing it without a primer, the eyeshadow tends to start creasing and/or fading before the five hours which is still pretty good with all the sweating and heat from the kitchens.

Overall it lasts pretty good for a cream eye shadow, color pay off is excellent. Not too much shimmer. Classy packaging.
Can be a good base for other eyeshadows as well! I actually accidentally left the lid open one time when I aw was in a hurry and didn't notice it til the next morning. So 24 hours without the lid on during a winter day in Canada (Heater on the house going on constantly) it surprisingly didn't dry out. You can see in the photos the edges are a little dry but the product still was and is creamy! Impressed.

I bought it for around $20 CAD (I can't find it on the site anymore... guessing it got discontinued? Havent been to a counter in a while so not entirely sure! For the amount of product, I feel like its a decent deal and would purchase it again.

I haven't had a paint pot from MAC before but I'm guessing since Estee Lauder does own MAC. the formulas have to be some what similar...

Thanks for reading!

Clinique - Blended Face Powder

Hello! Hello!
Back at it with a review on the Clinique Blended Face Powder, described on the site as a

" signature blended powder. Loose, lightweight texture is right for every type of skin. Sets and perfects makeup, makes pores seem to disappear. Airy, skin-hugging formula delivers a reliably flawless finish. "
I bought #04 in Transparency, its a tan translucent powder. It does come in another colors. I was looking for a loose finishing powder.
Its light weight and provided a great matte finish. My make up did lock in longer with a great powder finish.
It can get a bit messy as well, which is expected with any loose powder and the brush that came with it is deemed useless like any other brush included product!

But sadly, I broke out to this product... not sure what ingredient made my break out :( but it did! Overall its a decent (MUFE HD is still the HG) matte finishing powder with a pretty good lasting power... a lot of product is included as well for the $27 CAD price tag. Too bad it broke me out!

i  k

Body Shop - Tea Tree Skin Clearing Lotion

Been using this for a few weeks now as a daily moisturizer($13 CAD for 1.69 fl. oz)... Very light and moisturizing!
Has a slight hint of Tea Tree oil which I do like! It hasn't helped my redness at all,  in the ingredients the percentage of actual tea tree oil is pretty low which is why I don't think this helped my blemishes.

Love the tingly refreshing feeling you get when you put it on! It dries matte, it doesn't go on greasy and is very lightweight! 

Its a great moisturizer but it doesn't do what its "suppose" to which is clear my blemishes...
Wouldn't repurchase just because of the high price and lack of performance.
If you're looking for something to clear your blemishes - i'd skip this product.
** I do love the face mask - will do a review soon!

Too Faced Lash Injection.

Too Faced Lash Injection is suppose to give you a boost of volume and length.

Cost: Around $20 CAD

I like this mascara, correction liked this mascara. It did what it said gave me length and nice volume.

Pros: It has a huge tree brush the size of my eye which makes it pretty fast for application.
Does what its suppose to do. nice packing.

Cons: DRIES UP FAST; after a few uses the formula was dry and then after i applied it, it becomes flakey. Takes way to long to dry, the formula is really wet.

Overall its not worth 20 bucks, 10 maybe. It dried up pretty fast which is a waste of that 20 dollars, maybe i didn't close the lid tightly but i've heard this happen to others as well...