bareMinerals 100% Natural Lipcolor

"creamy, long-lasting lipcolors, which are made from only the best all-natural ingredients. That means no artificial dyes, preservatives or irritants whatsoever. Instead, our nourishing blend combines pure bareMinerals, exotic oils, natural waxes and conditioning plant extracts. Think of it as healthy nutrition for your lips."

Color: Rock Candy 

Official Colour Description: A primrose pink shade 
Price: $18 CDN

PROS: I like the fact that this lipstick is all-natural, because honestly I know that I end up eating my lipstick off my lips during the day. It also has decent staying power.


CONS: This looks really different on my skin/lips than it does in the tube. It also isn't as moisturizing as it claims to be... in fact, it has a dry texture which can make it a bit uncomfortable to apply. It's great over lip balm though. 

Sephora Cream Eyeshadows

I believe these usually come out around the holidays, I didn't see them on the website today when I checked. It would be nice if they were part of the permanent collection though. They have great colour payoff, set quickly, and last all day over a primer (I use UDPP). I shot these back in December and just haven't had time to post anything. Sorry for the quick post!! 

Disturbing behaviour at Sephora (Toronto)

As I am writing this post with the knowledge that there are probably 3 people who actually read this blog. But I'm writing it anyway... I need to rant.

Yesterday my friend S.M. and I went into Sephora in Toronto. It's pretty common for us to wander into the store, swatch sparkly things on our hands, gasp at the prices (that's $110?? why?!) and then walk out with minor or no purchases (please note: it's not that we're trying to waste the samples, we test things out and then save up for the ones we want). 

Anyhow, generally this is a pleasant experience filled with glitter and laughter. However, yesterday's observations left us outraged and disgusted. What I'm about to say should already be common knowledge... nay... common manners... no...common SENSE!!

#1 DO NOT USE TESTERS ON ANY PART OF YOUR FACE!

Those open tubes of lipstick are meant to be swatched on the back of your (hopefully) clean hand. It is not there for you to rub all over your lips, contaminating it forever. If you want to see what the product looks like on your face you can either:

a) ask a sales person to apply it to your face, which they will do with a cotton swab

b) ask for a sample to take home

c) buy it and return it if you don't like it*

Apparently people do not see the problem with using the tester on their face and then replacing it for others to use. Here is an example of why this is DISGUSTING. Let's say you are prone to cold sores. Cold sores can be contagious for something like 10 days before you can actually see the sore. Now, you rub that tester on your lips, contaminate it with the cold sore (herpes simplex) virus. The next person who swatches that lipstick rubs in on their hand, and then doesn't clean it off with alcohol because "it's just lipstick". That person rubs their tired eyes later and BOOM they've got the herpes simplex virus in their eyes. 

Ok, so that's a worst-case scenario. Best case scenario: your saliva gets on the lipstick and then next person who is foolish enough to use the tester gets to have your saliva on her lips. Yummy. *gag*

Makeup testers should never never never be used on your face. Period. Eye makeup contamination can cause everything from stys to pink eye (neither of which are pleasant). Contaminated cheek makeup will probably just give you acne. Regardless, be considerate of others and don't use the testers on your face. Instead, be super considerate and clean your hands will hand sanitizer or the provided rubbing alcohol before using testers on your hands. 

#2 DO NOT CLEAN YOUR EARS IN PUBLIC!!!

As if the the first issue wasn't gross enough, poor S.M. witnessed first-hand an atrocity far worse. As she was reading labels on the shelf, she began to smell something foul. It took mere seconds to discover where the offending stench was coming from, as she saw 2 women joyfully cleaning their ears with Sephora's cotton swabs while one declared "I haven't cleaned my ears in months!!" EW!!!!

Even if you were so desperately poor that you couldn't afford to buy your own cotton swabs, the least you could do is take the acquired swabs into the bathroom and do your business there. Nobody, and I mean NOBODY wants to see (or smell) that. I admit that I rudely stared in horrified shock at the pair... who cleans their ears with their friends anyhow??? I feel sorry for the staff member who ended up emptying that mini garbage bin. 

While I openly admit that I'm a germaphobe at heart, it's not just the germy-ness of these issues that make my blood boil. It's the downright selfish, inconsiderate and oblivious behaviour of these woman that infuriate me. Please: don't contaminate the testers, don't steal the testers, don't open new products in the store and create your own tester. It's just rude. 

Perhaps this is Sephora's fault for not having enough staff on hand to help these individuals, or to even witness these things themselves. But personally I think it's up to every customer to make smart, hygienic and considerate decisions. 

Want more info? Sephora has some guidelines to swatching here http://blog.sephora.com/2010/08/sephora-etiquette-101-no-double-dipping.html

*Personally, I do not return products if I end up not liking the colour, texture etc. because I don't like to waste product. I usually find a way to use the product.

Coastal Scents Haul

Click photo to see full size image (works on all photos)

Initial Reactions on Entire Purchase: The quality is inconsistent from pot to pot. Some of the colours are creamy, some are a bit chalky etc. They all have fairly decent colour payoff when applied with clean fingers, which is what my swatches are.

Keep in mind, if you use a brush these will apply a LOT sheerer, especially the blushes/contour powders.

Where to Purchase: http://www.coastalscents.com/cfwebstore/index.cfm

*I purchased these myself

e.l.f. Essential Custom Compact

Where to buy it:  e.l.f. Custom Compact

Price: $5 (once you've filled the compact)

$1.00 for the empty compact + $1.00 for each pan of lip, cheek or eye colour

Claims (from e.l.f. website): 

Compact: "e.l.f. Elements custom compact is designed for the girl on the go! This magnetic lock-in system has four compartments created to offer the ability to switch out your favorite eyes, lips, and face shades. The compact includes a mirror so you can always be sure that you look your best! Choose your favorite colors that best compliment your unique, beautiful look and personal style. e.l.f. Elements makeup are sold separately for a totally custom cosmetic compact all your own! ."

Eye Shadows: "Luxuriously smooth and silky mineral formula provides eyes with a neutral base and an awakened brightness for a long-lasting wear."

Lip Products: "Intensive hydrating agents along with natural pigments leave lips with Long-lasting color and moisture. "

The pans are magnetic

2 Eye Shadows on top, 2 Lip Colours on the bottom

Sage, Pink Ice, Nude Blush, Guava

Sage is a dark green eye shadow with fine gold shimmer
Pink Ice is a baby pink eye shadow with a lot of gold glitter
 Nude Blush is a shiny pink lip colour
Guava looks more purple in the pan, but shows up red

Verdict: The compact is nice, it has a decent clasp and I like that it's magnetic. That being said, I'm not in love with all the products in it. 

The Sage eye shadow is the best out of the 4 products I bought because it has fine shimmer and no fall-out, however you do need to build up the colour in layers as it is quite sheer.  

The Pink Ice shadow is the worst product because it shows up white on my skin (not pink) and has an irritating amount of fall out. The gold glitter also tends to migrate around your face after a while. This colour may show up on someone with a very fair skin tone though. 

I should mention, neither eye shadows are chalky. 

Neither lip products last very long on my lips, but they do have decent colour payoff. Guava looks mauve in the pan and red on skin, which was disappointing for me. I don't find that either of these lip products are very moisturizing. I also can't figure out if these are suppose to be lipsticks or lip glosses, because they have the texture of a lipstick but the shine and staying power of a gloss. 

I did not purchase any of the face products for this compact, because I couldn't imagine trying to apply blush from a pan that small!

The compact can be converted to hold other products, you just have to pry the white insert out. I've made my own magnetic palettes before... I'll post some photos sometime. 

Overall, you really get what you pay for with these products. I personally think e.l.f.'s studio line is better than the essential line that this compact & pans are a part of. 

Important Note: If you make a purchase from e.l.f., make sure you checkout via Paypal, to avoid high shipping charges to Canada. Just be sure not to sign into your elf account if you already have one.

*This post does not contain an affiliate link.

e.l.f. Eye Transformer

Where to buy it:  e.l.f. Studio Eye Transformer


Price: $3.00 for 10g


Claim: "Convert your shadows into brand new shades with these four opalescent shadows. Wear alone, under, over or in combination with your other makeup. The opal tones transform your dark color into a new shimmering hue."

This palette has green, orange, pink and purple shadows.

They are ok worn alone, but it doesn't have enough colour payoff for me. 

This is what it looks like over a dark shadow. The original shade is on the left (it's just a dark purple from a wet 'n wild palette). Next you can see the green, orange, pink and purple transformers layered over it. I like the way they add a pearly coloured sheen to the flat purple shadow. 

Verdict: This product does what it says it should do, and for $3 it's worth getting just to play around with. I don't get why they didn't name it "Eyeshadow" Transformer though... 

Important Note: Make sure you checkout via Paypal, to avoid high shipping charges to Canada. Just be sure not to sign into your elf account if you already have one.

*This post contains an affiliate link that helps support this blog

OPI: Y'All Come Back Ya Hear?

Collection: OPI Texas Collection (Spring 2011)
Finish: Sorbet (semi-sheer/jelly)
Where to Buy: This is probably sold out in stores now, but you can get it online at Nail Polish Canada
Price: $9-$12 depending on where you shop

This is one of my favourite orange nail polishes! It's a bright, juicy, medium-orange that's not too red or too yellow. It dries to a glass-like finish even without a top coat (although I still recommend wearing a top coat with it).

The "sorbet" finish may not be for everyone... if you have long nails you might have issues with visible nail lines and will probably want to use about 4 coats to minimize that. I personally don't care, and found that 2 coats gave me the sheer wash of colour that I wanted.

Indoor lighting: this looks more red than it actually is

Outdoor lighting: much closer to how my eyes see the colour

I've had this polish on for two days now and I'm starting to see some tip-wear. I did wrap my tips  but I also used a really old OPI top coat which probably doesn't help :)

(Who comes up with these names??)

*I am not affiliated with Nail Polish Canada