Review: Olay ProX Advanced Cleaning System

I was at my local drug store and discovered that this kit was on sale. I actually wanted to try the Clarisonic, but it was simply too expensive and I thought it wasn’t currently necessary enough for me to pay that much for it. This was definitely a cheaper alternative for me.

This set came with the 2-speed facial cleaning tool as well as the cleaning brush. It also came with batteries for it which was great because it is super annoying when companies don’t do that! On top of that it came with a mini exfoliating renewal cleanser.

When I first tried it, I was very impressed. My face felt like a NEW face! It was super smooth and clean feeling, which made me very happy! I used the slower speed on areas that do not have as many pores (such as my cheeks) and the higher speed on areas where my pores tend to clog more often (such as my nose and forehead). The only problem for me is that the mini cleanser that came with the kit contains only 20mL (0.68 FL OZ LIQ). I personally use quite a bit of cleanser each time. And to be honest, the cleanser is good enough to use on its own without the cleaning tool. Unfortunately, the cleanser is quite expensive, I cannot remember exactly, but the price of the full size cleanser actually costs more than the entire kit (that was on sale). On top of that, the cleaning brush must be replaced every three months. In the end the costs do add up as well. It may not be as expensive as the Clarisonic, but still pricey for a drug store item.

PROS
J Impressive outcome; face was smooth and refreshed
J Great cleanser
J Less expensive than Clarisonic
J Batteries included
J 2-speed cleaning tool

CONS
L Pricey for a drugstore item
L Cleanser included is expensive when purchased in full size
L Cleansing brush needs to be replaced every three months

OVERALL
It works very well on my skin and does not dry it out. I give this a 4/5J

WOULD I REPURCHASE/PURCHASE FULL SIZE/PURCHASE MORE?
I might purchase the full size of the cleanser when my mini one runs out.

Review: Dior Addict One-Coat Nail Color in 010 X-Silver

This is one of my prized possessions. I’ve had it for approximately 5 years and it still works just as well as when I first received itJ It is a BEAUTIFUL silvery white colour that is probably of the best quality out of all my nail polishes. It looks amazing layered on top of other nail colours, but to me, it looks best on its own with French tip. The bottle is very elegant and classy and somewhat reminds me of an ice-queen type of a style lol! Also, the brush works super well. I can’t really explain why the brush is so perfectL It does not cause lines from dragging and the size is perfect as well. It is smaller than an O.P.I. brush, but bigger than an Essie brush. Without a doubt I am extremely impressed by this bottle of nail polish.

PROS
J Beautiful colour on its own as well as layered over another colour
J High quality
J Perfect brush size and bristles
J Beautiful packaging

CONS
L Expensive? This was a gift to me, but I would assume it was quite pricey

OVERALL
Very impressed. Definately a 5/5J

WOULD I REPURCHASE/PURCHASE FULL SIZE/PURCHASE MORE?
I would definitely purchase the exact colour again (if it still exists) as well as other colours.

Review: Stila Smudge Pots gel eye Liner in Cobalt

I purchased this a few years ago and at the time, I wanted a pretty blue liner to bring out my brown eyes. I really like the fact it goes on to my eyes smoothly and does not smudge at all during the day. I was worried about purchasing it because at the time, the full size seemed to be too much for me. I thought it would dry up within a year.  Luckily, it didn’t! It was strange because my friend’s Stila Smudge Pots minis dried up. We realized that the full sized liners are made of a glass container and some sort of a metal cap which prevents air from entering and makes it last longer.

PROS
J Long lasting on the eyes
J Pretty colour
J Product did not dry up over three years
J Goes on smoothly

CONS
L I don’t use this shade too often

OVERALL
It is a great product! 4.25/5

WOULD I REPURCHASE/PURCHASE FULL SIZE/PURCHASE MORE?
I might purchase the liner in BlackJ

Review: Leishi Glitters (#32, 17, 2, 57, 55, 28, 27, 53, 93)

I usually don’t use glitters, but my friend gave me these Leishi ones along with the pigments. I have seen her use them sparsely on her eyelids and they give a nice sparkle to it. My only concern is that the glitters seem a bit big, kinda like the ones we used in elementary school! It seemed to be quite harsh on the skin and might scratch it as well. At the same time, using glitter on a daily basis is a bit too much. So what she did was she used it for her nails! It actually worked really well!

I tried using #2 when I went out one day and it looked really nice! I did however, had some trouble with it not staying on and so it was completely off when I came back home L I guess I should have used some sort of adhesive before applying it on.

PROS
J Very pretty
J Very inexpensive
J Works very well with nails

CONS
L Bad packaging, tends to spill on to my table
L May scratch skin
L Does not stay on without adhesive

OVERALL
They are really nice and works pretty much like other typical glitters in the market.  I give them a 3.25/5

WOULD I REPURCHASE/PURCHASE FULL SIZE/PURCHASE MORE?
Probably not.

IMATS Toronto 2011!

J I attended IMATS Toronto 2011 on November 13th and this was my very first time going. For those of you who don’t know about IMATS, it stands for International Makeup Artist Trade Show. It is an annual event in which different makeup brands showcase their products and sell them for a discounted price. Some of which includes Make Up For Ever, NYX and Yaby Cosmetics. I was very excited because I LOVE MAKEUP! I really wanted to have a makeup splurge after a few of my midterm exams and this was pretty much my late birthday present to myself! I actually didn’t know about IMATS until watching Jen from frmheadtotoe’s video. I was like “I wanna goL” and my friend told me there was actually one in TORONTO! It was about a month or two ago when she told me this and she immediately purchased tickets for us to goJ It was actually less expensive to purchase tickets well ahead of time prior to the event. We were able to get tickets for approximately $30 each and if you were to go on the day of the event, it would end up being at least $40.

I was very excited after the ticket purchase that I started making a list of what to buy! I was really looking forward to Make Up For Ever, NYX, Yaby Cosmetics and Crown Brushes. There were countless other that I was excited to see, but those were the four I was more familiar with prior to the event. I created a list of exactly what I wanted and same with my friend. We also made an agreement with each other to NOT purchase any more makeup PRIOR to IMATS....of course that didn’t last long when we tried to justify anything we bought LOL. For example, “Nail polish is technically not makeup....and so are false eyelashes” or even “lipsticks don’t count since I do not INTEND on buying any during IMATS”. Last is my favourite excuse use “but the NARS blush palette is a LIMITED TIME OFFER!!!!”.

After doing a bit more research on IMATS Toronto, we realized that there were a lot more makeup brands available during the IMATS in Pasadena. They have the Unii palettes which I’ve been dying to get as well as the Sugar Pill cosmetics. I was slightly depressed when I realized that, but it only got worse. We discovered that those who attended the event on Sundays were at a disadvantage compared to those who attend the one on Saturday. Why? Because apparently they do not restock for Sundays. That means all the good stuff will most likely not be there. Nonetheless, I did not let it ruin my excitement for the actual event. The event on Sunday started at 10:00am, but we decided to arrive at 8:00amJ We were then shattered when we discovered that the Toronto Public Transit did not begin service until 9:00am on Sundays.........So we panicked for a few days before the event and luckily we were able to get someone to give us a ride!

On the day of the event, I was super excited!! I had my list in my hand and we got there early and everything went well except.......the items of high demand were out from the Saturday events. I wanted to get three shades of eyeshadows from Make Up For Ever, but ended up getting one shade that I did not intend on getting and an Aqua Liner. A similar thing happened at NYX when I wanted to get the blush shade in Cinnamon, but they were out and so I simply purchased another random shadeL Overall I liked everything I purchased, they ended up being a lot less expensive that I originally budgeted them at (which was awesome!)J I definitely learned my lesson to go on Saturday in future years to not be at a disadvantage.

On our way out, we bumped into Pursebuzz! She was super friendly, nice and happy! LOL it was so cute! I even got a picture with her!

Overall, my friend and I had a great experience at our first IMATS. We do intend on going to IMATS in future years and we even agreed to ONE DAY-maybe in a few years from now, to go to the ever-so-epic IMATS event in PasadenaJ

Here come the photos!

-Empty when we're early!

-long lineup while we were one of the first ones!

-my bag

-my bracelet

-Make Up For Ever!

-NYX booth photo taken by my friend :)

-Crown Brush booth photo taken by my friend

-Everything I purchased at IMATS :)

Review: Leishi Pigments Vibrants (#1, 89, 13, 36, 90, 91, 72, 16, 35, 84, 6, and 62)

I separated the Neutral and Vibrant colours of the Leishi pigments simply because I own quite a lot of them and so this seemed to be the most appropriate way of grouping it. Once again the low price, but poor packaging still applies! It may be a problem to some people as it may create small messes in their makeup drawers.

Number 1 is a very pretty shimmery pink. It is a very dolly princess type of pink and I actually wish I owned a blush in that type of pink. Number 89 is a bright orange shade that is more on the matte side in comparison to the other shades. Number 13 is a golden shade that has an orangey-yellow tone to it. It kind of resembles a curry shade. Number 36 is a very pretty shimmery lilac shade that is a very nice spring colour. Number 90 is my favourite vibrant shade. It is a very pretty shimmery amethyst shade that is very wearable. Next is number 91. It is a VERY bright fuchsia shade that resembles the shade Junkshow from the Urban Decay 15^th Anniversary palette (I will be reviewing this soon). Number 72 is a light sky blue shade. To be honest, it is not a shade that I use too often because it doesn’t really show up on my eyes. Next is number 16. It is slightly darker than shade number 72 and shows up more on my eyes. Number 35 is a very bright blue. It is not something I am used to using, but I can imagine it would be an interesting contrast with bright red lips. Next is shade number 84. It is a glittery/shimmery teal that has a mermaid feel to it. It is a very pretty shade, but does not show up too well on its own. Next is shade number 6. It is a pretty and bright mint green shade that I haven’t used too often last is number 62, which is a pretty green apple shade.

I actually don’t use these shades too often as they are not too wearable. I’ve also noticed that the shades that are more on the matte side, such as the number 89, tend to not show up as well as the shimmery shades.

PROS
J Very inexpensive
J Variety of colours

CONS
L Poor packaging
L Causes fallouts when applying
L The matte shades don’t show up as opaque as the other shades

OVERALL
It is a very decent product at a very inexpensive price. I give this a 3.25/5

WOULD I REPURCHASE/PURCHASE FULL SIZE/PURCHASE MORE?
No, simply because I currently have way too many!

Review: Leishi Pigments Neutrals (#73, 74, 44, and 76)

A friend of mine purchased A LOT of these pigments and was super kind to give me all her duplicates as well as some other funky ones. I will be reviewing the vibrant and glitter shades in a different post simply because there are way too many shades to review in one. To start off I would like to mention that these pigments are VERY inexpensive. You would probably be able to purchase nthe majority of the shades (including the vibrant and glitters) at around $30 CAD. With that being said, the product is, on average, decent in quality and the packaging is HORRIBLE! The lids sometimes fall apart and the product may not be secure. But keeping in mind the price being paid, it all evens out.

Number 73 is probably my favourite out of all the neutral shades. It is a redish copper brown tone that looks really nice and warm and is perfect for the fall time. Number 74 is a metallic and sparkly beige colour that is also really nice. It gives like a nice frosty eye effect. Number 44 is a black shade with fine sparkles in it. It is a lighter shade of black in comparison to my other black eyeshadows. Last is number 76. It is a metallic gun metal shade with a slight blue hue to it. It is similar to the shade Gunmetal from the Urban Decay Naked Palette.

-From left to right #73, 74, 44, 76

PROS
J Very inexpensive
J Variety of colours

CONS
L Poor packaging
L Causes fallouts when applying

OVERALL
It is a very decent product at a very inexpensive price. I give this a 3.25/5

WOULD I REPURCHASE/PURCHASE FULL SIZE/PURCHASE MORE?
No, simply because I currently have way too many!

Review: Smashbox Artificial Light Luminizing Lotion

I got this as a Sephora 100-point perk quite a while ago during the summertime. At the time, I didn’t like it too much because I felt as though it was a little heavy for that season. It had a great summer LOOK to it after application, but it didn’t feel too amazing. However, I find that it is perfect for the fall time! It gives a nice warm look to the face and it is perfect for the season! I like to apply it to my cheekbones as if it were a blush and it gives a nice “darker- tone” look.

PROS
J Great for fall colour
J Gives a nice warm glow to the face
J Easy to blend

CONS
L Heavy for the summertime

OVERALL
It is a great product, however, it is not something I can use all year long. I give it a 3.5/5

WOULD I REPURCHASE/PURCHASE FULL SIZE/PURCHASE MORE?
I think having the small sample size is good enough.

Review: Sephora by O.P.I. Nail Colour in Never Enough Shoes

When I first bought this nail polish, I thought it looked very nice in its bottle because it was black AND sparkly! It wasn’t a typical silver glitter as it was actually more of a dark glitter. I imagined that the dark glitter would give it a very interesting effect in comparison to the usual black nail polish, so I purchased it!...Unfortunately, it ended up looking like the typical black nail polish. The dark glitters did not do anything and looked non-existent.

PROS
J Pretty good quality
J Did not chip fast

CONS
L The colour is pretty much the same as any other black nail polish
L The glitters were unnecessary

OVERALL
I usually like O.P.I. nail polishes, but this one was nothing too special. I give this a 3.5/5

WOULD I REPURCHASE/PURCHASE FULL SIZE/PURCHASE MORE?
Probably not this colour, but definitely other ones.

Review: Boscia Green Tea Blotting Linens

I received this small pack of blotting sheets as a part of my 500-point perk at Sephora. I thought it was very cool because it had small bits of green tea leaves embedded in it. Green tea is known to be good for your skin, so I thought it wouldn’t be bad at all. However, I was never a fan of oil blotting sheets that are made of “tissue paper” material. They are usually not as effective at oil blotting in comparison to the plastic/rubber ones.

PROS
J Usually I need two sheets of thin “tissue paper” material blotting sheets, but these sheets were a reasonable size in which one was enough for me to blot my entire face
J Lightweight and better for the environment in comparison to my usual plastic ones

CONS
L The green tea pieces embedded were not necessary

OVERALL
JThis is a great product for those on the mild to moderate side of oily skin. Also, it is great if you love the scent of green tea. I give this a 3.5/5

WOULD I REPURCHASE/PURCHASE FULL SIZE/PURCHASE MORE?
I don’t think I will be repurchasing this later on.