Lotions/ Creams -Bath and Body Works - White Citrus
northernwinterlude 4/20/2013 2:21:00 PM
This body lotion reminds me of Miller Harris Citron Citron. I remember years ago staying at a hotel and the Miller Harris line of shampoo, conditioner and body lotion Citron Citron was provided by the hotel. I became hooked on the product and even resorted to buying it on ebay since I was unable to find it here in Canada where I live. Bath and Body Work's White Citrus is a very similar scent and I feel it's a good substitution to the Miller Harris lotion. White Citrus smells clean and fresh and it's one of my favourite body lotions in the Bath and Body Works line.
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Liquid -MAC - Studio Fix Fluid SPF 15
northernwinterlude 7/1/2012 6:17:00 PM
Hands down my favourite MAC foundation formulation! I tend to use this foundation mostly in the warmer summer months. My skin type is mostly normal but seems to transform more to the combination skin type in the warmer climate. My Nars sheer glow foundation suits my skin perfectly in the fall and winter months, but Studio Fix and Estee Lauder's Double Wear Light are favourites of mine when I want to wear a semi-matte oil controlling liquid formula. I wear Studio Fix in NC44. The pros of this product, include the fact that it provides buildable light to medium coverage. I find it easy to apply and blend with either a foundation brush or make-up wedge. The shade match is also fantastic!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Gels/Soaps -Avon - Naturals - Strawberry & Guava bath products
northernwinterlude 6/10/2012 8:43:00 PM
I really love using this shower gel. It has a pleasant fruity and strawberry scent, not too sweet or intense and my skin feels so clean and adequately moisturized after showering. I hope Avon never discontinues this product! The shower gels and the Avon footworks line are products that I purchase regularly from my Avon rep. I've used different shower gels from drugstore brands, VS, Bath and Body Works, and I always come back to using this one. There is not a lot of product in the container, so I just make sure to stock up when Avon has a good sale.
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Fragrances -Elizabeth Arden - Taylor Swift Wonderstruck
northernwinterlude 1/16/2012 1:25:00 PM
If you are a fruity scented lover this scent would probably appeal to you. Taylor Swift is another celebrity that has come out with a fragrance under the Elizabeth Arden Brand. The purple bottle caught my attention recently when I was browsing the fragrance section of Sephora. I spritzed the scent on my wrist, and continued with my shopping in the mall. Initially the scent seems like a strong fruity perfume with hints of berries. The scent actually becomes very subtle after a few hours of wear. This is the only disappointing fault I can find with Wonderstruck. Even though the lasting power isn't the greatest it didn't deter me from buying it. The 50ml bottle retails for $63.00 at Shoppers Drug Mart, but I was able to get twenty dollars off, when I redeemed my Shoppers Optimum points.
5 out of 5 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Unlisted Brand - Justin Bieber Someday
northernwinterlude 1/16/2012 1:11:00 PM
When I read reviews that Someday was a fruity scented fragrance, I had to test it out. I love fruity and floral scented perfumes, and I am always trying these types of fragrances whenever I visit Shoppers Drug Mart, Sephora or a department store. I was in no way put off by the fact this was Justin Bieber's perfume. I am sure this scent is marketed towards the teen and 20's age group, but this 43 yr old lady loves this scent! It seems that many of the celebrity perfumes are fruity scented. I recently bought Taylor Swift's new fragrance and will review that separately. Justin's scent is a mixture of fruit and subtle hints of floral and vanilla notes and it's not too strong or overpowering. Finding a scent that works with your body chemistry is not always an easy challenge, but Someday seems to be a nice and appealing scent and the staying power is pretty good on my skin. I love the fact that the proceeds of this fragrance is going towards charity. Great job Biebs! I predict this celebrity fragrance will sell very well.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Marc Jacobs - Daisy Eau So Fresh
northernwinterlude 9/11/2011 8:31:00 AM
I enjoy scents that are fruity or floral, so Marc Jacobs Daisy Eau So Fresh appeals to me. I like this scent much better than Marc's original Daisy perfume. Eau So Fresh smells light, fresh, fruity and floral and it's indeed a nice fragrance and not overpowering. It's hard to describe this scent and some other reviewers have done a good job of describing it. I love the bottle and the top with the flowers, and the cap is easy to remove. I don't wear perfume to work but on my days off this is one of my fragrances in my collection that I like to wear.
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Palettes -Coastal Scents - Ultra Shimmer 88 eye shadow palette
northernwinterlude 6/18/2011 7:47:00 AM
This is a lovely palette! Since it's named the 88 Ultra Shimmer palette I was expecting the colours to be ultra shimmery, even more so than the Metal Mania Palette. I am glad the eyeshadows don't look too shimmery on my NC44 skin. I do notice that some of the shadows have less pigmentation than others and some of the pale beige and light colours are harder to blend. However, there are so many nice colours in this palette that are nicely pigmented it makes up for the ones that are not as nicely pigmented! The green shades are well represented, with so many greens available. If you are a green eyeshadow lover I think you will be happy with this palette. There are also some nice gold toned shadows, and bronzes. So many options! I've discovered using a small amount of Urban Decay Primer Potion and then applying my MAC Paint Pot in Soft Ochre or Painterly on top of UDPP seems to really help these shadows stay on 10 + hours on my oily lids.
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Palettes -Coastal Scents - 88 Metal Mania Palette
northernwinterlude 6/5/2011 10:37:00 AM
I knew it would just be a matter of time before I purchased a Coastal Scents palette. I had been debating for a while if I should jump on the Coastal Scents bandwagon. I've seen many youtube reviews and tutorials on the Coastal Scents palettes that the make-up lover in me could no longer resist!! The 88 Metal Mania Palette appealed to me and it's my first Coastal Scents palette and I plan to buy some others. I bought it from the Coastal Scents website and received it in 7 days. I was impressed how nicely packaged it was with lots of bubble wrap and paper. Shipping costs to Canada was reasonable at $7.92. I was expecting a really cheap looking plasticky palette, but the palette is not as bad as I expected. It may not be the same quality of a MAC palette, but it's sufficient. I do prefer to keep the transparent plastic sheet that covers the eyeshadows in the palette since it helps helps prevent eyeshadows from transferring and making a mess. I advise not to throw it away. The eyeshadow colours are fabulous, with some nice olive greens, plums, browns and bronzes. There are a few colours that don't appeal to me in this palette, including the fiery orange shades and two fuscia colours. There are a couple of MAC look a like shades in this palette as well. Yes, there is fallout when applying the shadows, but I experience this when using other eyeshadows from even more expensive brands, such as Stila and Nars. The eyeshadows are metallic and not over the top too shimmery and the staying power is pretty decent. I do use a good eyeshadow primer, UDPP or MAC paint pot underneath these shadows. I notice after about 10-11 hours the shadows begin to fade on my lids, but I can't complain too much. If any eyeshadow lasts that long on my oily lids it's a bonus! Overall, I believe this palette is worth it. I would repurchase it in a heartbeat, but with so many shades in this palette it probably would take me a long time to use up all these eyeshadows!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eye Shadow -MAC - Surf USA
northernwinterlude 6/1/2011 6:27:00 AM
Wow MAC! Why can't all your limited edition eyeshadows apply and blend so well and have the same type of pigmentation as Surf USA? I purchased some of the Surf Baby eyeshadows online and was pleased to see the shadows look nicer in person when my package finally arrived. I didn't expect to like Surf USA so much but I do. A really gorgeous teal shade! The only MAC shadow that I possess that is kind of similar is Waternymph. However, Waternymph when applied on my NC44 skin is not as deep as Surf USA. It's a little bit of a lighter teal in my opinion.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lip Gloss -Estee Lauder - New Pure Color Gloss - #7 Tempting Tearose
northernwinterlude 3/7/2011 11:03:00 AM
Tempting Tearose is a beautiful neutral light pinky-beige. If your a fan of the nude and subtle lip, this gloss is for you. The formulation is not sheer, but more on the pigmented side. Very moisturizing and a great new product from the EL brand. I need to get some more of these!! In the past, I have been put off by Estee Lauder lip products. I found the lipsticks and glosses too scented. Estee Lauder seems to have toned down the scent and taste with these new glosses. The artificial fruity scent is very faint. These glosses retail for $22.50 CDN. I had expected the price to be higher considering EL products are expensive.
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Concealers -Laura Mercier - Secret Concealer
northernwinterlude 1/31/2011 9:24:00 AM
I'm really impressed with this concealer from Laura Mercier. I use shade #4 and it's a very good match for my NC44 skintone. Some cream concealers can look dry and cakey under the eye but this concealer seems to blend in well. I prefer this concealer to Bobbi Brown's Dark Peach corrector. Bobbi Brown's concealer can look a little drying if I don't apply an eye cream underneath it first. For reference, I do not have any dark circles under my eyes but have some slight discolourations. I am 42 yrs old and notice a couple of very fine lines in the undereye region. I love the fact that LM's Secret Concealer doesn't settle into these lines. I find the best way to apply Secret Concealer is to apply some to the back of my hand with a concealer brush and then pat a small amount of concealer to the affected areas and then apply a light dusting of loose powder on top.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Blush -MAC - Matte Blush - Darkly My Dear
northernwinterlude 10/8/2010 2:47:00 PM
Don't be intimidated by the look of this plummy brown toned blush. It looks darker in the pan than when applied to the face. At least that has been my experience with Darkly My Dear. I assumed it was a Sheertone blush because it's not as pigmented as my other MAC blushes but alas it is not a sheertone finish. I don't know if any other reviewers have experienced this blush fading a little by the end of the day, but it does on me. I don't believe I have any other blushes in my make-up collection that is the same shade as this one. This is one of the reasons why I was drawn to Darkly My Dear from the Venomous Villians collection. On my NC44 skintone, this blush looks great!
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Eye Primer -NARS - Pro-Prime Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base
northernwinterlude 7/28/2010 9:50:00 PM
Nars new eyeshadow base gets an enthusiastic thumbs up! I have been using my sample from Sephora over the past few days and I'm loving this eyeshadow base for various reasons. It seems to help control and curb oil production. I have oily lids, and it seems to have worsened thanks to the summer heat and humidity. I have tried different eyeshadow bases/primers in the past, UDPP is my current favourite, as it seems to make my eyeshadow look vibrant and helps my oily lids from getting excessively oily. Too Faced shadow insurance creased on my lids and Lorac's eyeshadow primer irritated my eyes. Nars eyeshadow primer is a whitish shade but once I blend it on my lids it appears colourless on my GGG skin. I do feel UD primer potion seems to do a slightly better job with making my eyeshadow colour look more vibrant verses Nars eyeshadow base. I absolutely love the fact that I have experienced no creasing and fading of my eyeshadow and eyeliner after 10 hrs of wear with Nars Smudge Proof eyeshadow base.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Powder -Unlisted Brand - Caryl Baker Mineral Pressed Powder
northernwinterlude 6/9/2010 9:57:00 PM
I was really skeptical to try another mineral based face powder after having some negative experiences with other brands. Caryl Baker Visage is a Canadian cosmetic company with many retail locations in the city where I live. I've used some of their products over the years, mainly their lipsticks because they are not drying compared to other brands. One day when browsing on their website I noticed that the company had a mineral pressed powder in their cosmetic line. The next time I went to my local mall, I visited the salon to check out the product. The consultant recommended the shade Pecan, and it has turned out to be a perfect match for my NC44 skin. This finely milled powder provides good coverage, doesn't look powdery or cakey on my skin, lasts all day, and works as a powder foundation as well. One of the downsides is that it gives my skin a bit of a shine, but I rectify that by using Oil Blotting sheets during the day. I've used other mineral foundations in the past including, Bare Escentuals loose powder foundation which made my skin look way too shiny and Pur Minerals powder foundation which provided nice coverage but it would oxidize on my skin. I am a liquid foundation type of gal, but there are some days when I don't want to use liquid foundation and want a very quick make-up look.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eye Shadow -Pur Minerals - True Emerald
northernwinterlude 6/9/2010 5:46:00 PM
The name of this eyeshadow is a bit misleading. It's not a true emerald green shade but it's still very pretty. When I first saw this shade at the Pur Minerals display at Shoppers Drug Mart, it reminded me of MAC's Juxt. However, True Emerald is a little more darker than Juxt, and more pigmented. If you love green eyeshadow I would encourage you to check out this one. It has nice pigmentation when I pack it on my lids with MAC's 239 eyeshadow brush. Staying power is pretty good when used on top of Urban Decay primer potion. Overall, a really nice eyeshadow from the Pur Minerals line.
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