Spring Cleaning

Although Spring has official arrived, it's still feaking cold here in Montreal.  Today it's was a whooping -25 degrees Celsius. So I have slowly eased into my Spring cleaning. Task #1 going through my make up and seeing what I can use up.  I have had these products for a while at least 1-2 years and for some reason I just can't finish them off.

I have hit pan on all of them and I use them practically on a daily basis, but yet they're still here.  Is it just me or does anyone else feel like when you hit pan on a product it just doesn't seem to disappear as fast?

Is it Worth the Hype?

Pretty much everyone under the sun has talked about this, beauty bloggers and you tubers have tooted it's praise, and I have to admit, this is totally worth the hype.

Last Empties of 2014

Was it just me or did 2014 fly by?  So here is my last batch of empties for 2014.  I feel like I don't use up products as fast as some other bloggers.  What was once monthly empties has now become bi-annual empties.  Am I seriously not slapping on enough products on my face?

Don't be fooled by the number of products, the back roll is mainly hand soaps from Bath and Body Works

I Don't Think I'm a Tarte Girl

The Tarte brand has been exploding all over the beauty blog world, I figured all the buzz it was getting there must be something special about it.  I don't usually just jump on the band wagon, I usually mmm and ahhh for quite a bit before I bite the bullet.

Flannel for your Face?

Some beauty bloggers have mentioned that they preferred washing their face with a flannel wash cloth.  I love flannel pjs so I figured I'll probably love a flannel washcloth.  But boy was I surprised, it was really not what I was thinking at all.

I managed to pick up one at the Body Shop and thank god it was 50% off.

Yes, it is standing up on it's own

Currently Loving

Lately I have been just slapping the following items on my face. Partially, it's due to the fact that I'm pretty much constantly running late for work and the fact that I can get my face on in about 5 mins.

You Either Like them or You Don't

This could have been a "Is this worth the hype" post, but I feel that wipes are one of those things that you either like them or you don't.  After trying 2 different types, I have reached the conclusion that  I'm definitely one who doesn't like them.

Sister-Sister Event #1 of 2014

2013 was crammed packed with sister-sister events, 2014 the sister-sister events have calmed down quite a bit (my wallet was definitely grateful for the break!).  I don't think we would have had any sister-sister concert events in 2014 if this wasn't re-scheduled.

The first sister-sister event of 2014:  Justin Timberlake's  20/20 Experience

Is This Worth the Hype?

Beauty bloggers have ranted and raved about the Jack Black lip balms.  I'm usually not a lip balm kinda of girl, but having gone back on Accutane I decided to give these a test drive.

Is it Worth the Hype?

I'm not a big on nail polish, but since it's summer, I feel that sandals don't look as cute without your toes painted.  Deborah Lippmann, has been a brand that is well talked about amongst beauty bloggers. Little J, sings it's praise, B was not that much impressed by them, and me frankly I dislike them.

Bi-Annual Empties

What has been monthly empties post has become like quarterly empties and now it has become bi-annual empty post because I basically suck at finishing beauty products.  After watching hours of you tube videos,  I have come to the realization that I basically don't slap enough product on my face.

So after 6 months this is what I pretty much managed to finish.  I know it's pretty pathetic.

The Much Talked about Zoeva Make Up Brushess

When Little J, told me she was going to Germany, the first thing I asked was if she could order me a set of the Zoeva brushes. I desperately wanted the Rose Gold set that is currently making it's way around the blogging world.  But each time I checked the site it was constantly out of stock!!  So I opted for

 The classic brush set

Is it Worth the Hype?

These products have been well blogged about in the beauty blog world, I resisted picking these products up for as long as I could, but a business trip to the US and some well timed promotional events at Holts resulted in me ultimately caving and picking up these babies.

Clockwise: 1. Hourglass ambient lighting palette 2. Diorskin nude tan healthy glow enhancing powder 3. Diorskin nude BB cream 4.  Radiant creamy concealer

Spring Trends: Color Blocking and the Orange Lip

I somehow accidentally fell into 2 of hugest Spring trends.

Trend No1: Color blocking- I picked up this pair of color blocked pants during boxing day.  I needed pants for work and the price was right. Come to think of it, this may have been an impulse purchase, which turned out to work in my favor.

Trend No2: The orange lip- I got this Shu Uemura lipstick as a gift with purchase.  I picked this one because I thought it was a nice muted everyday red.  When I got home and swatched it, it was actually orange. Now all I need to do is find an occasion to wear it.

 ♥ Viv   

The Annabelle Marcelle Warehouse Sale

To me this warehouse sale is equivalent to shopping at the dollar store.  Prices are so low it's hard not to just throw everything that tickles your fancy into your basket.  I think the first time B and I hit this sale up, things were literally like a buck.

This is what I picked up

I had my eyes on the Annabelle lip twists, which are the equivalent to all chubby like lip products from brands XYZ.  I kinda of prefer these more than the other one brands, they're moisturizing and the color lasts forever.  Plus when you can score them for $2.50, you can't really go wrong.

All makeup at this sale is priced at $2.50 and all makeup accessories this time around was priced at 0.25$.  Yes you read that correctly, all the brushes and sharpener cost me a quarter each!  Cheaper than using a pay phone.


For those who missed the sale this weekend, the sale will roll around again next weekend.

♥ Viv   

Re-Hauling my Skin Care Routine

I don't know what is going on with my skin lately but it has been a freaking mess.  I don't if it was due to constant fluctuation in the temperature or if my skin suddenly decided to reject all my previous skin care loves, because my skin was a dry flaky mess.  To the point where every type of foundation I was used clung onto it for dear life. I tried every type of mask I owned including manual exfoliation in attempt to slough off the dry skin.  But no luck...

Is it Worth the Hype?

It's been a while since I have posted a Is it Worth the Hype kinda of post, but lately I feel like I have re-entered puberty or something. My skin is having random breakouts, when these breakouts starting becoming a little more routine, I quickly ran out to the pharmacy and picked up a tube of the La Roche Posay Effaclar Duo.

The La Roche Posay Effaclar Duo is like a cult hit in the beauty blogging sphere.  Practically everyone who has written about it loves it and most boast about it as their go to when their skin is misbehaving.

Surprised Drug Store Find

I'm really trying not to buy any unnecessary beauty products this year.  After shocking myself with how much I spent on beauty last year, I really should cut down.  But when you're waiting for friends and a drug store just happens to be there, you can't help but past the time by perusing the aisles and swatching everything that catches your eye.

After the initial swatch, I was like I want...
I'm not sure, why there hasn't been much more hype about these 2 products, but I was quite surprised by them after being disappointment by another product from the the same brand. I actually kinda of wrote the brand off after my disappointment with their mascara.

UNII Palette Woes

A couple of years ago, there was a craze where people where depotting everything and organizing their makeup in palettes. And I jumped right on the band wagon, at the moment it seemed like a great idea, instead of having like 20 quads of eye shadows I can compact them into one palette. The most popular palettes being used were either the MAC palette, Unii palette or the Z-palette. 

The Last of the Finished Products of 2013

Technically I'm not late, since Chinese new year is currently wrapping up.

A quick and short post, nothing exciting most of these are re-purchases. The only thing I will mention is the fairy drop mascara. It's probably one of the only mascara's I'm willing to drop more than $10 on.  Why did you have to pull it out of the stores Sephora?

  ♥ Viv