Small Nail Polish Haul

So I've been dying to get my hands on a certain special nail polish this last week, as well as get around to checking out the hunger games nail polishes and today just seemed like the perfect day.

 Unfortunately the store I went to for the nail polishes had sold out of some of the hunger games polishes. Thankfully they had swatches of all of them and had my two favorites in stock :)

 This is China Glaze's "Smoke And Ashes" from the hunger games collection. Its a Gorgeous Black with silver/green/blue shimmer. I've been considering getting a black in my collection since I don't have one and as soon as I saw this I was hooked. It's hard to see the colored shimmer in photos, but basically this looks like a midnight sky somewhere in the middle of nowhere. Think Twinkling stars .
I love it so much!! *swatches at the bottom*

 This is OPI's "Mod About You" from their permanent collection. This is the whole reason I went to buy nail polish. I used to only wear light pink baby nail polish until I got adventurous and wore everything besides light pinks.  Then I saw a blog post about this color and went to go paint my nails a light pink and realized I didn't have a single color like that any more. I needed this color. Bad :)
At least that's what I'm telling myself. "Mod About You" is a light milky blue toned pink. Seeing this now in photos it's hard to believe that next to all of OPI's millions of other light pink colors this looked a bit lavender next to everything else.   Anyway it's beautiful, it's classic, and I can wear this all year round. This is also the nail color I'm wearing in the photos, but I did such an awful job I redid my nails before this blog post, so please don't judge my mess :) *swatches at the bottom*

 The last one that I picked up was also from China Glaze's Hunger Games collection. This is "Argo", a stunning light catching olive green with manly gold shimmer and a hint of copper.  I had wanted an olive green for the fall that wasn't creamy or matte a while back and I actually purchased and OPI one that I cannot think off. Anyway turns out it was from their suede collection and dried to this awful matte looking mess that I hated and have never worn. A lesson learned in reading the labels.
Thankfully this is everything I was looking for in a olive polish. An absolute eye catcher. *swatches at the bottom*

 All in all I was very impressed with China Glaze's color selection for their Hunger Games collection. Very earthy colors which I think represent the movie very well. I don't think they are going to be in every ones taste but I think that they are lovely and I'm happy with the ones I bought.



Top- OPI Mod About You
Middle -ChinaGlaze Argo
Bottom- ChinaGlaze Smoke and Ashes

-StayFabulous

NOTD - Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Yellow Kitty

 Spring spring spring!! I am just so excited and I keep showing it through my nails with yet another springtime polish of mine.  This is Sally Hansen's Complete Salon Manicure in Yellow kitty.
A beautiful canary yellow that is sometimes bright, and sometimes pastel depending on the light.

I picked this up sometime last year at walmart when they were having a sale, but never wore it till now.  I had no idea what on earth I was missing. I had seen Ingrid ( MissGlamorazzi ) have this in one of her videos and just fell in love the color. I wanted a yellow nail polish bad!!

 This is my only yellow nail polish, and I love it! the color and consistency are fabulous, and just looking at my nails made me happy :)

This is three coats though....the only downside since I am so impatient. I wish this were more opaque. Till they reformulate this, I am dealing with it.  This does dry fairly fast but 3 coats? come on...

I did see a post on Allison's blog ( Amarixe ) on a new Revlon polish called Buttercup that was gorgeous that I'm dying to pick up now that I've tried this.

This Little darling of mine sure loved this polish too :)
He couldn't stop rubbing the bottle and purring and meowing at me.

-StayFabulous

Garnier Skin Renew BB Ceam

So I've been using Garnier's BB Cream for close to 2 months now and I thought it was about time I shared my thoughts. There has been a lot of hype for BB creams now that their popularity has come west and I had been dying to get my hands on one and see what all the fuss is about. The reason I chose the Garnier BB cream was because it's easy to get a hold of as it's a drugstore product. This is the only drugstore BB cream that I know of (If anyone knows others I would love if you shared your thoughts) Most that I am aware of are sold in Sephora and cost $25 and up.

So what is a BB cream anyway? Well BB stands for beauty balm or blemish balm, and BB creams are supposed to be extremely nice for your skin as they are supposedly acting as moisturizer/ primer/ foundation and sometimes sunblock.

They were originally made for women (maybe men, no judgement here) who had procedures done on their face and needed a makeup that was gentle and soothing, as well as covered scars and things.
Asian actresses made BB cream very popular and after some years the hype has finally worked it's way over to western countries.

 Alright, lets get to this. Garnier's BB cream has focused there BB cream on renewing and brightening the skin, hydrating and evening out the skin tone.

The packaging is very nice. I adore the squeeze tube because you really get to choose and adjust the amount for your needs.  You also get quite the bang for your buck. This product set me back $12 CDN and Ive been using this practically everyday and this feels just as full as the day I bought it.

The formulation is soft and velvety, and blends like a dream. The scent I'm not the fondest of, it's a soft sweet floral scent that does linger on the skin for a bit but fades away in less than an hour (I've never been able to smell it while it was on my face but my bf could smell it at close distance)

 The left picture is before I have anything on my hand. The right is a quick rub of the product before any blending is done. By the way this is the Light/Medium color. The lightest one they have out of two.

This is the after shot. You can notice that I forgot to blend in by the knuckle of my pinky but otherwise everything is as it should be. On my face yes this does even out my skin tone. To an extent it does whiten a bit, but only temporally. I haven't noticed any permanent whitening done once the makeup comes of at night, which is fine by me. There is a sheen to the skin when wore on my face which is subtly shown on the pictures of my hand.

Do I like it? Yes. Do I love it? No.  I have oily skin so having the sheen aspect is nice at first but when I do wear this I need to have blotting paper in my purse at all times. In about 4 hours I need to whip those suckers out.  If you have dry or normal, possibly combo skin I think you would love this. It is extremely hydrating. If you have oily skin you might want to pass and look at another BB cream. BUT if you have some flakes on your skin, this is going to show them. I had a very awkward day with a dried up pimple between my brows and walking around with this was horrifying.

I do however like to wear this to the gym on a bad skin day. The formula evens out my skin tone very nicely but doesn't cover up big problems (like that unfortunately placed zit I had) this looks very natural.  I also like to wear this on short days at my work because my skin does really feel healthier after wearing this, although on long days at work I do get very shiny.

So would I buy this again? absolutely. And I think I will if it ever runs out haha.  This is for sure not my favorite of product but I do think it is quite lovely under normal circumstances (no flakes on the skin) I would still like to try out some other BB creams since this was my first, so if anyone has some recommendations that are easy to obtain (no shipping in from Asia)

-StayFabulous

oh and PS

I just looked at the website and it says that this product has SPF15. I threw out the box when I bought this but it doesn't advertise that on the tube. Who knew? That is a BIG bonus in my books!

NOTD - OPI Come To Poppy

OPI - Come To Poppy

Spring is in the air. Finally! And as a salute to spring I decided to paint my nails the most spring-ish color from my collection.  This is OPI's Come To Poppy from their summer 2011 Nice Stems collection. A stunning bright poppy pink that leans slightly on the coral side.  Slight shimmer and high shine.  I used  two coats but you can definitely get away with one, because this polish is  pretty opaque.  This color is so young and fun and just screams  nice weather, so much i have it on both my hands and toes :)

 What's your favorite spring polish?

-StayFabulous


Few things I've been up to lately...

 My favorite breakfast joint that my friend shared with us while my boyfriend and I visited him in Calgary has opened a bunch of locations in BC!!  Cora's! This is one of my faves! 1990's harvest. It's pretty much a raisin cinnamon bun done up french toast style with an egg and some bacon and a pile of fruit. So Delicious!

I went to my first ever Canucks game. This was the Vancouver vs. Chicago game.

I'm not the biggest Canucks fan (maybe a Bieksa and Kesler fan *wink wink ), but I do love hockey!

 I got my hair done!! it's hard to tell from this picture but I got some natural blond streaks throughout all of my hair to lighten it up and some blond ombre in the front and a tiny in the back. I haven't loved my hair so much in such a long time. 

My friend Mike got one of those aging apps on his iPhone and when he sent me my picture I couldn't stop laughing!!

 And yesterday my bestie Carly and I spent practically the entire day together. We shopped for my boyfriends birthday present, had the yummiest wraps for lunch, then randomly decided to visit all the places she used to live in our city (she recently moved to a nearby city) and had so much fun. We went for a walk in some trails that were behind the last house we visited that we have so many memories from. We reminisced the bittersweet memories and I picked some wild daffodils that were nearby. Then we stopped at our high school that we used to go to and walked around looking at all the old classrooms and pictures on the wall. They had all the grad class photos except for ours :( we were really disappointed. Last stop we went to one of our favorite local pubs that have Tuesday wine specials and sipped on our pinot grigio and gossiped on the patio.  I ended the night going to see Titanic 3d with my boyfriend (And yes I had to drag him there. He had never seen it before! crazy.) It is just as amazing as I remembered it. I tried so hard to choke back the tears but caved during the scene when Rose is with jack on the water. It was the first time I cried in front of my boyfriend. Humiliating and memorable haha.

Do you have any embarrassing stories of crying in front of someone special?

LOTD - NARS Lipstick - Roman Holiday

 NARS LIPSTICK IN ROMAN HOLIDAY

3.4 g / 0.12 oz.

 Roman Holiday. My very first NARS lipstick. It has definitely been well loved.
The reason I went to buy a NARS lipstick, and I have never forgotten this, was because MissGlamorazzi said that NARS lipsticks were like lipsticks that felt like lip balms. Which is 100% correct I feel. And when I tried it, I had to buy a few more duh :)

Roman Holiday with both natural and artificial lighting

It's a beautiful blue based bubble gum pink. The formula has a very sheer consistency, but can easily built up for more opaque color if more is applied. Very glossy, absolutely no glitter no shimmer. I'm not sure what the ingredients are in this lipstick, but there is something in this lipstick that moisturizes and conditions the lips.  This feels like putting butter on your lips, it's so softening.
By far my all time favorite brand of lipsticks has to be NARS. The consistency and formula alone are reason enough to buy this lipstick. If you find a color you like, I highly recommend buying it.

For $28 CDN it's definitely on the pricier side, but it's also one of the highest quality on the market.

Have you tried any NARS lipsticks?

-StayFabulous

Best Hand Cream Ever! - Nivea Pure& Natural

Nivea Pure & Natural hand cream
100 ml / 3.3 Fl oz.

 In my post on how to cure dry chapped hands, I mentioned about using a good hand cream...This one is the one I would recommend. I had a serious case of dry hands this winter season and I don't know how I would have gotten by without this. It's so creamy and moisturizing. Argon oil is is one of the ingredients that is advertised on the bottle, and I think it's the main reason this cream is so softening.

 when I first apply it I always think "oh gosh! I squeezed to much out of the bottle!". The cream is very blendable (Think rubbing butter over your hands) and then before you even have time to think of how to wipe off what you think is excess hand lotion, it's dried! and your hands are so soft.
Soft seems to be the only word I can describe my hands feeling after this hand cream. It's awesome :)
They are BABY SOFT.

Some other pros : NO parabens; NO silicons; NO colorants; NO mineral oil;

The only con: The bottle isn't the cutest or the most flashy bottle. But hey! I'd rather use a product that works and has not-so-cute packaging, rather than cute packaging and a shitty product.

What are your favorite hand creams or lotions?

-StayFabulous

NARS Orgasm Blush

NARS ORGASM BLUSH
4.8 g/ 0.16 oz.

NARS Orgasm blush is a cult favorite. It's a pinky peach with glittery gold reflects. Very flattering on almost any skin shade, unless your a glitter hater. And most of the year, I am.

This is usually a product that comes out when my skin is behaving.

Never the less I love that you can tone down the shade quite a bit with a light hand, but still be able to create a rich opaque color that will pop on the cheeks.

At about $35 a pop CDN, this product is for the serious. I absolutely recommend you checking this blush out in person before spending all that money. The only reason I bought it the first time was because I was really young( This was my first high end blush ) and had great skin. AND it was on sale at Sephora for $15 CDN. I loved it. And I was really upset when I lost it. A couple years later when I thought about it again fondly,  I repurchased it online thinking "duh I already love it!". BUT my skin had changed and when I wore it again and I wasn't happy with what I saw. The glitter will make your bumpy flaws very obvious.

That being said, if your skin is under control and you don't mind glitter, this could be the one for you. It is after all a cult favorite for a reason, and is a beautiful unique shade that will stop people in their tracks.

Have you tried NARS ORAGSM? thoughts?

-StayFabulous

Hard Candy Kal-Eye-Descope baked eyeshadow duo in High Maintenance

HARD CANDY EYE SHADOW DUO IN "HIGH MAINTENACE"

Hard Candy eyeshadow in High Maintenance
4.5 g/ 0.15 oz.

I'm not a huge fan of the color selection from Hard Candy's eye shadows, this was in fact one of two that I seemed to be drawn towards. Most of them are very colorful in an over-the-top sort of way. Not my thing.

One side is a champagne. The other is a plumy taupe.

The two colors are very..dupable. You can find these colors in almost every makeup brand. BUT what I find very unique about this duo are the finishes. They are both high shimmer/ and metallic and soooo pigmented, more than I've ever seen in any drugstore brand.

Formula :  Super velvety. A bit of fallout. You should probably use an eye primer. I don't and it doesn't crease but it might help with the glittery fallout.
Price :  So affordable. I got mine from Walmart for less than $6. There is so much product which is just an added bonus considering this is a very high quality drugstore product.
Finish : Shimmery metallic. OH SO PIGMENTED

 Have you tried Hard Candy eye shadows? Thoughts? Favorites?

-StayFabulous

NARS Charade eyeshadow Duo

NARS Eyeshadow Duo in Charade
4 g/ 0.14 oz.

Charade has got to be my all time favorite duo from NARS. The quality is great. The colors suit me. And since I'm an Audrey fan, I had to get my hands on this little item right here. Actually, that's probably the only reason I wanted it so bad. When I finally got it I found out the how amazing it really was  :)

Muted Mauve/ Smokey Plum

smokey plum/ muted mauve

Alright lets get down to the nitty gritty

Formula : It is so soft and buttery. I've worn this without any eye primer and it lasts literally all day. creasing? none.
Finish: Both colors are matte, though It's hard to tell from the swatches. I had to have my hand so close to the lamp, that sheen on the right is just a bit of glare.
Price : A bit more than I'd like to spend on makeup. I got from Sephora for $38 CDN. it's been well loved though. Well worth the price.

Has anyone tried Charade? Thoughts?

-StayFabulous

My MAC Eyeshadow Collection & Swatches

My MAC Eyeshadow collection & swatches

All That Glitters (velux pearl) -  light golden chapagne

Arena (satin) - softened orange gold

Brule (satin) - nude cream beige

Crystal (frost) -frosty muted grey with violet duo chrome

Crystal Avalanche (velux pearl) - pearly snow white

Era (satin) - medium beige-brown with slight shimmer

Femme FI (velux pearl) - pearly golden cream

Honeylust (lustre) - shimmery warm toned golden bronze

Naked Lunch (frost) -  light frosty pink chapagne

Satin Taupe (frost) - frosty brown/taupe with plum under tones

Wedge (matte) - warm toned light matte brown

Vex (frost) - beigey grey with golden pink duo chrome

What are some of your favorite MAC eyeshadows??
-StayFabulous