Boxing day haul

The night before boxing day, I was so excited to go to this really big mall called Metrotown in Burnaby for boxing day that I couldn't sleep at all and went to the mall right when it was opened at 8 am.  Luckly I decided to drive and get there right when it opened or else there would be absolutely no hope on getting a parking spot and the stuff I bought was quite heavy if i were to carry it around with me the while time I was shopping.  

Even though I went there right when it opened, the mall was already packed and I knew right then and there, I had to head to Lush first since last year they sold out of their Honey I washed the kids when I got there at 11 am.  I wasn't going to risk that chance so I went and got two blocks of it :).  I was happy since everything was still there and I got first dibs on them! Happiest day of my life :D. Also this is the only day in the whole year that I would buy some lush products since it is buy 1 get one free and I usually only just get their soaps.  I don't really take baths in my household so bubble bar and bath melts are useless to me.

 I actually accidentally deleted the picture of the stash of honey I washed the kids but this is a stash of the North pole soap that smells like mint and chocolate.  Its amazing too :).  I picked a piece that just had the pink part which was just chocolate and I love it!

 It wasn't super crazy packed with people when I got there but the line up felt impossible! It felt like the longest thing everrrrr.  All the customers was having a little chat, making the cashier slower and there was only two cashier there too.  Oh my goodness >_<. 

 There was this lady in front of me that had so many of the lush gifts, I'm pretty sure that it run up to at least $300.  Damn LOL.  I wonder how she could carry all of that to her car or even worse if she didn't even have a car.  Just imagining this tiny asian lady carrying it LOLOL.  Okay, back to reality.

 So in the end, I did control myself I think since I got myself two of the Honey farm gift box for $39.95 and it comes with a bar of 100g Honey I washed the kids soap, butterball bath bomb, its raining men shower gel, honey bee bath bomb and soft coeur massage bar which has actual chocolate in it :D.  Most of the stuff I would use so I didn't mind getting this gift set.

I will do another post of this lush haul since I have a lot to say about the stuff I got so watch out for that.  I can't wait to use It's raining men since it is basically the liquid version of honey I washed the kids.  If they had that in a perfume, I'd use that everyday no problem :D.

I got myself two bars of the honey I washed the kids.  This chunck is already $16 Cad which is quite expensive but the smell of it is too amazing.  Too bad I can't afford buying a whole wheel. If i could, id just leave that in my room so it would smell like that.  UGH!

 I believe this is a repromote from their Christmas collection from last year called the Northern lights.  Nothing really special.  This falls into the same category as sexy peel, sandstone and bohemian, citrusy.  I love citrus smells since it is so awakening and refreshing so this is perfect :).

This one is called North Pole which is completely brand new to Lush and it is actually a whole pole in the store so the name completely suites it.  It has a chocolate and mint scent which is very nice and not overbearing to the point where I want to puke.  I usually wouldn't buy a mint scented soap but this is really nicely balanced :).  I quite like it.

The second store I hit was Nine west of course.  Now the prices in Nine west is quite expensive but I have to admit that their shoes are comfortable so I would give them that.  Most of their shoes are really boring and old lady like to me but my most favorite part of heels are from them and they also were the pair of heels that I wore when I first met my boyfriend so it holds near and dear to my heart.  I didn't want to miss the chance to buy the pair of shoes I want and not have my size which would suck so i fought through the river of people to get there.  

Most of the shoes were 50% off but there were also ones that was only 30% off which kind of sucks but I still wanted them so LOL.  Too bad for me to falling in love with them!  I actually already knew what I wanted to get but little did I know that the part of heels was going to be Barbie heels, meaning your foot is arched so much to the point where its basically just walking on your toes LOL.  Too bad because I really loved them but oh well.  I did end up getting these other pairs that I had my eye on called "Drumroll" in the color pink multi suede. 

 They also had these in a more muted color scheme but this was the only pair of size 6.5 I didn't really mind the bright colors so i got these.  I'm actually a size 7 normally but because these are bootie style shoe and the front top didn't really hold my feet properly so I had to get a size 6.5 for a better fit.  These really remind me of the style in the movie Tron, super future-estque.  The cut out on your feet is really unique since it shoes the sides of your feet, never seen or had any pair of heels like this! Its awesome.  I'm also really happy that I have another pair of shoes to add to my collection since I'm a picky shoe buyer and would only buy a pair if they are comfortable, looks good and I can get it at a good price.  I got these for $79 after tax and discount which I think is a very reasonable price point for these since they are still on sale on their website for $111.99 which I don't find that to be a deal since the original price is $140.00.  You can check these out here if you are interested to find these.

http://www.ninewest.ca/product.asp?productid=8992#.UOqVQ649-Go

 Love me some platform heels :).  These puppies has a 1.5 inch platform.

And a 5.5 heel height which really would be 4 inch heel from the platform which is why I love me a lot of platform shoes since it just makes everything more comfortable and I think it looks better too.

This isn't really from the boxing day sale but I finally bought myself a pair of runners since I'm really serious about working out now LOL.  Hopefully I would get off my bum and do as I think.  These were $59.99 which I have been putting off on buying but I couldn't put it off anymore since I finally found a pair that wasn't pink FINALLY! I wore these for the first time and omgawww! They feel like I'm walking on cloud! These are called the Nike air and the inside is so padded, it feels super comfortable.  I think the sole does a pair of the job too.  I don't know much about runners but I'd wear these everyday too :), just to run away from my boyfriend harassing me.  LOLOL joking joking, I love him.

 I was actually already done with shopping after I bought the pair of Nikes but my friend wanted to check out Aldo and they had this little section where it was 50% off all their clutches and an extra 30% off their bags.  I saw this bag called "Ferruso" and it caught my attention since it was actually a pretty good quality bag which is really surprising since aldo shoes is super uncomfortable and the quality of the bag is never really that good. It was originally $50 but I got it for $27.99 which I think was a reasonable price. They still have this bag on sale on their website if you would like to check it out on their website.

http://www.aldoshoes.com/ca-eng/sale/handbags

 The inside has three compartments, two just open spaces and one part with a zipper which I think is a must since the bag itself doesn't have a big zipper to close it completely.  I also love the attention to detail on this bag.  Its not everyday you could come across a good quality bag at aldo LOL for this price too.

 The zipper detailing, which is functional, is awesome too! I can put my phone or loose coins and it would be easy access.

 I also love the small stud detailing on the sides and the best thing yet is that it has a body strap! That is a complete must for me since I don't find that holding my purse or bag is really ideal for which I'm out.  

 I also love the handle detailing! Its this lace up type of thing and it has buckle handles which I believe is just for show.

Overall I think I did a good job controlling myself during such a rush of sale time.  Spent about $300 for a lot of things that i love so no regrets!

What was your most favorite boxing day sale item you got? Did you got boxing day shopping?

Steven Madden Online horror

It wasn't very long long ago when i first laid eyes upon the christian Louboutin daffodile in the strassed verison.  I don't believe that I have seen those in person but I have seen tons and tons of celebrities rock them and they have to be the ultimate girl heels.  Gorgeous, sparkle and in heel version! I mean what girl wouldn't want those on their feet right? And yes I will remind you that I'm exactly like a crow, SHINY THINGS :D.  I mean I'd obviously buy a pair but the retail price of these is a frinkin $6,000.  I mean LIKE I CAN AFFORD THAT! Who in the right working class mind would shell out that much for shoes.  So I took it upon myself to try to do a DIY because I am desperate to have them in my life.  I would just stare at them in my glass cabinet every night.

I was trying to figure out what style of heel I'd love to DIY but I didn't know which one.  I did have the Christian Loubutin Pigalle in mind but if I were to wear that for a night out, my feet would be so uncomfortable. What I do like about the shape of the shoe is that it makes any women's legs look super classy and lady like.

But in the end, I still decided to get the same high platform and stiletto heel.  I mean go big or go home right? I know i know, they kind of look like a porn star heel and it is over the top but I'm a platform kinda girl! I'm only 5'3 so I wouldn't mind having the extra height you know what I'm saying? XD

So when I finally found the exact type of shoe to DIY on, it was from Steve madden. I have seen this shoe around so it wasn't very hard to find but the price tag on this shoe was $99.95 for the babylonn original price but they were on sale for $68.87 and now only down to $53.99.  For the same shoe but in leather version is called dejavu which is more expensive at $129.95 original price but down to $99.98 now.  I choose just to get the Babylonnn one since I heard they weren't as tight as the Dejavu and it was cheaper.

The babylonn is a man plastic material? I'm sorry but I do not know what the material is since it is not stated on the site.  The inside has a man made leather lining too, it feels quite nice :).  This shoe has a 2 inch hidden platform and a 6 inch heel.  Surprisingly, these are one of the most comfortable heels I own, next to my nude wedges.  They are not hard to walk in at all and they fit true to size. 

Now to my story of the horrible online shopping experience on Steve madden.  I first placed my order on their site on December 10. Everything was completely fine, transaction was smooth and I got an email shortly after I placed my order to confirm that they have my order in their system. And then the next day in the morning, they send me a message saying that they were sorry to hear that I have returned my heels and they have received them.  I was quite confused as to why that would happen but I also received another order number and a tracking number so I was like whatever.  I got an email explanation saying that the first shoe had a defect so I was very impressed that they caught that before it came to me and that they do care about their products and customers.  

Since they send me a tracking number and the impatient me as I am, I checked where my package was going since they were sending it by UPS.  It was in Connecticut for some reason and just stayed there.  On Dec. 13 I got another email saying I returned the shoes AGAIN and then got another email saying the same exact thing, how the shoe was a defect and they were sending me another one.  Okay, now they were just wasting my time so I called up to customer service and the guy said the first one was the wrong size and the second one had something would with the shoe.  So I asked him if I was still getting my shoe and he said yes, they have sent it already.  They already wasted 8 days during this whole process so I was already quite fed up with it.  I just wanted my shoe damn it. 

Fast forward again to Dec. 20 when my shoe was finally actually shipped by fedex and as I was tracking the process, it did look like it was finally going to come to me.  Almost every four hours it was already in a new city coming closer and closer to me.  I was happy that they estimated my package would arrive to me in two days at 5 pm.  So that day finally came and they were early! The lady came to me at 2 p.m.  I thought all I had to do was just to get the package but she asked for money.  I was quite confused but I still gave it to her anyways.  I was thinking in my head "Are the actually charging me for express cost? Because I always buy things online and even when it is more then $100, they never charge me custom fee." And this shoe was only $63, so why would they be charging me an extra $34 when I already paid $24 for shipping on their website??

I didn't really care at that time but when I went to open my package, my shoe was frinkin dented in the front! There was glue everywhere.  I didn't pay pretty pennies for a defect.  This is stupid.  They wasted so much of my time with the stupid "I'm defected..blahlala.". If I knew that this would happen, Id save the time and just go to the Steve Madden store here in my mall.  They were $130 CAD and on the website was only $69 so i decided to get it online.  So I emailed them a very strongly worded letter telling them  how unacceptable this is, how the shoe was not worth the price and how fedex charged me an extra $34 for "custom". It went back and forth and back and forth and they finally offered me $50 back.  I wasn't going to argue for more since that already was their shipping charge and the extra shipping charge so I stopped.  

I honestly wasn't going to complain since I was going to cover the shoe with crystals anyways but their customer service really sucks.  Bottom line, I wouldn't recommend getting shoes off steve madden website.  I'd either get it at winners or marshalls when you find the right ones or just get it physically in the store and pay the retail price and save some of your time and energy.

ELF essential jumbo eyeshadow sticks review and swatches

 These came out not too long, about one and a half month ago.  I was completely intrigued by these because they really reminded me of the NYX jumbo eyeshadow penicls.  I think everyone's first impression would be that these look like a dupe for the NYX ones. They do the same job but I think these are actually better! They come in nine different shades and I have all of them to do a review for you guys :D.

 ELF's description of the jumbo eyeshadow sticks:

"This creamy and pigment rich Jumbo Eyeshadow Stick is perfect for creating a natural or smoky eyeshadow look. Infused with nourishing Vitamin E to condition the delicate eye area. The twist up component and smooth glide formula is easy to use for on-the-go beauty. All colors, except Like A Boss, have a shimmer finish."

 Product Packaging:

These eyeshadow sticks first came in the simple flimsy cardboard and plastic, just like any of the other elf products from their essentials line.  Each stick has 0.11 oz/3 g of product which isn't a bad amount. They come in a crayon pencil tube with a twisty bottom which has a glossy finish to them. The tube itself is a matte white with "E.L.F Jumbo eyeshadow stick" printed in sliver on them. The bottoms correspond to the color of the product and has a sticker on the bottom with yet again ant printing.  I really wish that they would have a sticker with the font thats not -0.004. The lid is clear so you can see the color of stick, which is kinda of obvious but I felt the need to type it anyways.

Color Pigmentation/ Payoff:

Out of all nine of these shades, two of these aren't the best and really dissapointed me.  The two lightest shades were actually the biggest dissapointment.  When I was ordering these on the website, I thought that French lace and Little Miss thing would be matte and creamy but most of these are frosty finish. I'll divide these into categories by finish so you guys will get an idea of which you might want to purchase.

Frosty:French lace, Little miss thing, Rock out, Turkish Coffee, Bail Bound

Semi frosty/ a little more matte: Check me out, Feeling lucky
Matte: Like a boss, Midnight Rendez Vous

French lace: Light champange color with pinky peach shimmers
Little Miss thing: Light golden bronze color with gold shimmers
Rock out: Taupey brown color with bronze shimmer
Turkish coffee: Chocolate brown color with bronze brown shimmers
Feeling Lucky: Dark chocolate raspberry color (Just like the Raspberry truffle studio single eyeshadow color) with slight dark purple shimmers
Check me out: Dark purple amethyst color with slight purple shimmers
Bail Bound: Forest green with light green shimmers
Like a boss: Primary matte blue
Midnight rendezvous: Traditional matte black

Even though French lace isn't a matte skintone color that I hopped for, it actally is very close and similar to my make up forever waterproof eyeliner in Champagne color.  It is a really light true champagne color and on my MAC NC25 skintone shade, this looks super natural.  On the corners of my eyes, it just looks like I'm super naturally glowy  and healthy.  I could actually use this on my face and cupids bow too.As for the other colors, I would just use it as a base for my eyeshadows. 

Texture/ Lasting Power:
They are really pigmented and not too too creamy to the point where it would just slide off my eyes. This has just the perfect consistency.  You could wear these on its own but I wouldn't advise it since it will crease on the eyelids.  Use a primer underneath these for a longer lasting eye look but you woudln't actually have to. I would be happy to report that this product is worth buying and spending your time on.  These are even better then the studio cream eyeshadow that I love so much from them! I'm impressed.


Smell:
These have a really plasticy crayon smell.  If you know what wax crayon smells like, this would have the exact smell.  It isn't too strong where it is really annoying to use or you could still smell it once you have used it on your skin.

Price:
I don't know why, but elf has been raising their price from their essential line which I really hope they don't change everything from $1 to $2. But all of these jumbo eyeshadows are $2 each each is still cheap but it was more fun when things were only one buck.

Overall:
This is a really good product and It would be something that I would actually repurchase but I don't think that I would be able to finish one ever.  These do remind me of my Make up forever base but they just don't have the awesome bright colors Make up forever has.  The texture is almost the same but the ELF ones are a little more waxy but still is easy to blend.

Cyber Monday ELF 50% off haul

 Not only do I wait for the coastal scents 50% off everything sale, I also waited for ELF's 50% off which only happens one or twice a year (including their annual birthday one which usually is 60% off but it was only 50% off this year).  So when it happened on cyber monday, I jumped on it! I actually had to go to work really early that day and only had half an hour to pick the stuff out and pay for it!

 The first thing that was on my mind was the newest waterproof eyeliner crayon.  I could have just got the champagne color since I thought it would be beautiful on the waterline but even as a highlight would be good too. The four colors I got was pitch black, champagne, brown and purple.  What I like about these is that you don' t have to sharpen them, just twist them up :). They are crayons so they aren't skinny pencils so these would be great for all over the eyes, or if you are that awesome, use them as a liner but it would be a little bit messy to do. These are $3 each from the studio line but I got them for $1.50 each.

 I've been itching to get myself some lip liners so when I saw these again on the website, I had to get it! I got myself the colors natural and red.  Red would be perfect for the holiday or just for those that love to wear a red lip :). Can't want to try these and they have a brush on the other side of the pencil with a lid so this is convenient! $3 each ($1.50 from the sale)

 The long lasting lustrous eyeshadow was something I was debating on since I saw swatches of these but they were really shimmery and I usually don't wear shimmer on my eyes on a daily basis but I just broke down and got three out of the seven colors they offered.  I got toasted (warm golden brownish color), soiree (pinky purple shade), and confetti (white sliver shimmers).  My most favorite would be toasted since it is a shade that i could wear this everyday.  The consistency is really interesting, I don't think there is anything else like this on the market.  If any of you knows the consistency of the elf studio cream blush or the maybelline bouncy blush but a little bit more moist and much easier to apply! It does stay nicely on the skin but the shimmer does move a little so this isn't something that you would want to wear alone so make sure you use this with powder too!

 If you didn't know that the studio primer came out with three more shades to their line, then now you know.  They came out with three new shades to their already popular studio primer which would be radiant glow, tone adjusting (green) and lavender (purple shade for brightening).  I was really intrigued by this since I did like the original primer but because the bottle and the amount of product you get was very little, I didn't bother on continuing to repurchase.  I have to say that I like that changed the bottle.  The outside doesn't look any different but the inside, they used a different method to pump out the product.  Just like their HD blush, this bottle uses the suction so every time you pump it, the little lever thingy goes up and up so you wouldn't waste any product.  The problem with the old bottle is that it just pumps out with a straw and you don't even get to all of the product and you already run out.  $6 per bottle (got them for $3 each)

Also to their really popular contour blush and bronzing cream, they added two new shades and Turks & Caicos really caught my attention.  I saw a lot of other peoples haul videos and everyone said that this gives a nice flush of color but when I opened the compact, hell to the no can this be "natural!" There so much shimmer! Even in the bronze.  I really hope that this is an over spray because I can't do it.  I just can't.  I'm not a fan of shimmer on my face unless it is a fine fine shimmer that gives a nice glow.  We'll see about these. $3 from the studio line

The last product would be their essentials smudge brush.  I actually picked way more stuff then this haul but I ran out of money on paypal LOL so i had to delete a lot of stuff but I forgot about this so I was surprised that I got this.  I quite like it though and since it was only 50 cents so it wasn't a big mistake :).  These are surprisingly soft! And stiff enough so you use it as a smudger.  I do recommend these but one thing to keep in mind that the glue would wear off and the metal would sometimes come off of the wooden handle.

Overall I'm happy that I finally got my package and really wasn't expecting it to come anytime soon since the Hurricane sandy happened and their HQ is in New York and on their facebook they said that black friday orders would be shipped on December 7.  

What is your most favorite elf product? Which product are you dying to see me review?

Coastal scents black friday haul

Black Friday and cyber Monday is once a year kind of sale that I always wait for since I know my two most favorite make up sites online would have their 50% off sale on everything! Now this years black friday was awesome since stores actually had awesome deals just like the states, but still the states has better deals. So I really can count on online ordering :).

 A really nice surprise that they actually gave me a free hot pot! I absolutely love hot pots so this is a really nice surprise! The color I got is called "Jewel Green" which is a...well what the name sounds like. I remember a year ago, hot pots per pan was $5 but these are now $1.99 which is amazing and I would definitely get them even when they are not on sale.

I got this classic pointed precision brush because this reminded me of those Sigmax brushes but didn't really want to buy the whole set, so i just picked this up. This one was regular priced at $4.97.  I thought it would be way more dense then it really was and I thought it would be great for concealer.  I got it and it isn't as dense as I thought but it still is good :), great for the under eye and just spot concealing too.

Since I accidentally dropped my 88 neutral palette so i was in the market for something new.  I didn't want to buy the same palette since I don't use all of the colors so I thought that the 28 neutral palette would be perfect. I've heard amazing reviews on this so I thought it was safe to buy.  I've swatched all of the colors and my first impression is already not worth the hype.  The colors are pretty yes but most of the eyeshadows isn't pigmented or just down right doesn't show up on the skin.  I'm quite dissapointed but I'm hoping that my first impression is wrong.

 The last item I bought was the concealer camo quad.  Its been the longest time since I have heard of this concealer but I never really was interested.  I didn't have anything else to buy but I was tempted since everything was 50% off so I thought I'd just give it a shot.  It was only $3.97 for four colors so it wasn't bad. The regular price would be $7.95 which I wouldn't usually pay.  When I buy things online, I would buy only the most cheapest things but after my first impression on these, I would :).  These are amazingly creamy, not greasy like the elf concealers and it doesn't make my skin look like it is dry which is a problem for me. I'd have to play around with this product more but as of right now, I really do like it.  This is actually a little bit too light even for my pale pale skin so I'm considering getting the medium color but this goes under my foundation anyways so I guess this would work :D.

What is one of your most favorite product from coastal scents? I have another coastal scents haul coming in with mica pigments, hot pots and another brush I believe LOL.  I can't remember since its been quite a while since I ordered it.