I've Got Mail - November 2011

November's lovely package came from Che of lovefemme. Che hosted a three winner giveaway awhile ago and I was the lucky first prize winner.

The first prize contained the Color Club Back to Boho Collection in Set A and two holographic polishes in Revvvolution and Fashion Addict.


The Back to Boho collection A nor B has made an appearance at my local Winners and neither have I seen Alter Ego, another Color Club collection I've been lemming.
The others or what I refer to as "the bonuses"; Benefit One Prime Day, Urban Decay All Day Setting Spray, NYX The Caribbean Collection 5 Color Shadow Palette, and an adorable Forever 21 necklace!


Not pictured is the Konad stamping set included in the prize. This means I can finally have pretty designs on my nails! (I am one of those unfortunate people with no freehand skills.)

All in all, despite the fact my parent's ditched me at the start of November, this month has been incredible for me. With the SO's visit, mail, shopping, eating... What more could a girl ask for?

Hoarders - Nail Polish Edition

I introduced the, "Hoarders" cosmetic series awhile back. Since then, I've been procrastinating. I didn't know where or when to start but I ultimately chose nail polish to start off this crazy series. (I'm regretting that now...) I should have started off with lip products as that collection is... smaller in physical size (not quantity).

I reorganized my nail polish last night & took advantage of the little sun Vancouver had today to take some photos. Here is the collection in it's cozy shoe box:

Albeit, it isn't the prettiest or neatest way of doing things - it's fine for now. I'm just glad I'm not a nail polish junkie that requires the iconic IKEA Helmer.
{My dad would freak out.. he'd have an absolute fit and I'd never live to hear the end of it. I have no space in my room anyhow ;__;}
I've separated the polishes by brand, split in rows and sorted by color (sort of). A lot of it is still mixed up as not enough brands could fill one row.
My collection ranges from Revlon, Color Club, Wet n Wild, NYC, Sally Hansen, Orly, China Glaze, Sinful Colors, Essie, L'Oreal, Nicole by OPI, Rimmel, Sula, Joe Fresh, Maybelline, Winmax (Daiso brand), Claire's, Seche, and random Asian nail polishes that were gifted.
*Numbers in brackets indicate number of polishes by each brand*
Revlon (14) dominates the collection, NYC (12) coming in second, Sally Hansen in third (10), and Color Club (7) coming in fourth. All of the other brands - I have atleast 1 to 5 of.
I'm actually too afraid to count the total of polishes I have but I should be disposing half of this collection as it is waaaay too old to be using. Nail polish thinner can't even salvage some of the polishes.
I have more nail polishes than my mom has ever had. I'm 19 and she's almost 50. You would think my mom took advantage of all that time but she only cares for pinks and purples. Whereas I, am a fan of all colors (besides vomit green and banana yellow).
I started experimenting with crème and pastel shades last year and I'm oh-so-inlove with mint greens, lavender purples and pink pastelles. A majority of the Revlon polishes are crèmes and pastelles... Confession: I own three mint green crèmes and three lavender crèmes... It's shameful but it was the trend of Spring 2010! I'm positive this was when I started collecting (madly) again. Before then, I hadn't touched most of my polishes.
Honestly though, I rock red nails 90% of the time. I'm convinced cherry reds make my hands appear smaller than they already are. But man, that pop of color... I need it to brighten my day! And hey, even the boyfriend likes the red nails ;)

I should have made a list of colors by each brand but my collection is quite meager and I'm sure full reviews could be found via Google. I also accept questions & requests through comments so don't fret if I missed something!

If it helps, I have some individual shots of certain brands :)

You can see most of the polishes have separated (a little to a lot). This is what happens when you don't rotate your nail polishes enough... And shaking them is a bad idea too but how else do you reverse the separation???
Anyhow, not alot of peeps love Revlon but I can't get enough of their scented nail polishes! I'm surprised the scented ones are better formulated than the regular line. The Top Speed line is by far the best though. They're quick drying, opaque & easy to use!
However, I'm not a fan of Sally Hansen's Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear line. Too bad I have quite a few.. They're atleast two years old & I no longer like the colors I chose but I think a nail polish thinner can fix their current state. I'll try to use them if I ever get into nail art or... Konad! (*___*)
The last four polishes are from Japan. I bought those over 4 years ago! I hardly touched them - too sheer but I can't seem to let them go...

My top recommendations are: Revlon (for scented polishes, quick drying polishes, and opaque polishes), China Glaze (for quality and  price) and Color Club (for price and ease of use). I also like NYC and Wet n Wild polishes but NYC has very little colors I like and Wet n Wild handles feel small and awkward. Oh, I almost forgot Sinful Colors & Orly - I only own two of each so far but they are very good! I'd like to try more but it's obvious I don't need more... UNLESS it's a duochrome or holographic polish!

I feel this post was a tad long... but luckily, I have nothing else to add!

                                                                      Hope you enjoyed,

Getting Luckier!

I'm back again and not a month later.. *claps*
I don't doubt anyone has noticed that most of my recent posts are more "haul" type posts rather than reviews but.. no worries! I'm preparing an abundance of them so please bear with me for a little longer. Please??
I remember saying I was on no buy to a llow buy months ago (feels like eons) and I'm still sticking by it but the rules have changed a little. I started to log my purchases weekly since May of this year and I have noticed not much has changed in my spending habits. I'm still buying atleast 1 to 5 beauty products a week. Since May, I've only spent one week without buying any beauty products and it's now October... That's approximately 6 months of cosmetic hoarding! If you're interested in what beauty *junk* I've bought, I'll prepare another blog post for that, just say the word! All that money could have gone into a new desk that I've been trying to save up for!

Anywho, this is going to be my last "haul" update for awhile. The thing is, I feel like I should do these types of posts because I usually run out of reviews to publish and I don't like going weeks without updating my blog. Since my last update, I featured eyeshadows, to blushes, to make-up that wasn't widely or at all available in Canada. I was lucky enough to find Hard Candy at my closest Wal-Mart last Monday. My initial thought was that the Wal-Mart near me wasn't going to stock Hard Candy but they've finally cleared some room for the whole collection. I must mention however that the lipsticks and glitter liner are seperated from the core collection and there are no testers available unlike the first Wal-Mart I discovered Hard Candy at. This does bother me as I want to swatch everything without ruining something someone else might want to buy! The blushes and bronzers are sealed with plastics (safe) but the lipsticks weren't sealed properly (unsafe!). The plastic doesn't cover the whole entire tube of lipstick and infact, you can just pull out the lipstick from the tube like there's not seal at all! I said I wasn't a fond of the Hard Candy blush in Honeymoon or the Welcome Matte mattifying powder. I still stand by that but I will continue to use it or eventually sell it. I picked up another baked blush and this time in Living Doll. There was a fight between Pin Up and Living Doll as I wanted Pin Up before I saw Living Doll but I decided Pin Up can wait. I have many shades just like it! I am a blush fiend, what can I say? I had my primer phase and now I'm onto my blush phase. I hope I run out of phases to go through so I eventually settle into the nothing phase!

I also went to London Drugs to grab an EcoTools brush set for $8.99 (originally $15.99, on sale for $9.99 but I had a $1 off coupon!). It came with a bonus 5x mirror with suction cups on the back to place on a non-magnifying mirror (I think..?). I didn't need another brush set but I figured this set was a steal for $8.99. The brush set comes with a brush roll containing a blush brush, concealer brush, eyeshadow brush, eyeliner brush, and eyebrow comb. In total, there are 6 pieces and then a bonus mirror. I could use a concealer brush as the three I have currently, aren't very good! I also like having loads of blush brushes to go with my lot of blushes. I'm crazy, I know. And ontop of that, I bought a Balmshell lip stain on clearance for $3.97. A short review is coming up shortly on that. Loads of reviews are coming up shortly! LOADS.
(No photos for these!)
On Wednesday, I bought a Color Club nail polish set at Winners for $12.99. I bought two but tonight I returned one. The set I kept was Wild At Heart. Each set contains 7 nail polishes. Here are a few blogs that are spreading the Color Club buzz!


After returning a Color Club set at Winners, I ran into Cara (formerly The Face Shop) because I saw a hugeee poster that said Giractik Beauty products for $5. Turns out it was $5 for ONE product, $8 for TWO, and $10 for 3. I think I might go back for more, is that wrong? The original price of most of Girlactik Beauty products are $20+. Did you know Girlactik was formerly sold in Sephora? This is definitely a good steal and you might want to check it out if you're into shimmer. Most of the Girlactik Beauty products contain a hint of shimmer!
Oh anyway, now I'm babbling. I bought three blushes, all different shades in: Bora Bora, Havana, and Naples.


All in all, a very short loot. I definitely will try harder not to buy all this unecessary make-up. I know I haven't bought anything skincare for awhile so atleast I can pat myself on the back for that (besides the Garnier eye roller!). I even sold some make-up via Craigslist. I'm not rolling in the riches but atleast my make-up lot is lessening. I'll keep trying to get my stuff sold but until then, wish me luck!

Lotsa ♥,
Ashley.

Spotted: Great Deals & Finds

Remember my Spotted: ELF @ Dollarama post? Well I have another one on random finds and deals I've come across recently. I'm too excited so I'll get right to it...

Rexall is hosting yet ANOTHER 50% off sale on a particular make-up item.. Sometime before the Summer, Rexall hosted a 50% off sale on all LIP PRODUCTS and then they had another one for NAIL PRODUCTS. From October 22nd to the 29th, Rexall will have ALL mascaras 50% off regular price.I've checked their prices and it's similar to Shoppers Drug Mart prices. Don't worry though, with the 50% off, each mascara is either $10 or below. Higher end brands like PUPA, Elizabeth Arden and Emani will be a little over $10, I'm guessing. Be sure to check it out regardless and stock up on your staple mascara!

CARA, formerly known as The Face Shop is having a limited time sale on all Girlactik Beauty products. Buy ONE for $5 or buy TWO for $8. Better yet, buy THREE for $10!
If you don't know already, Girlactik Beauty used to have a stand in Sephora! Prices range from $14-$24+, this is a rough estimate but it is better priced than some drugstore cosmetics!

Wal-Mart now stocks Hard Candy in Canada. I've been longing for it!
I don't know how different the prices are compared to the US but I can give you some of the Canadian prices for comparison. The prices range from $4.98 to $8.98.
Eye Candy (glitter eye cream PLUS glitter liner) - $4.98
Plumping Serum, Hot Smudge eyeliner, Kal-Eye-Descope (baked eyeshadow duos),

Meteor-Eyes (baked glitter eyeshadows), Visibily Wet (shockingly glossy lip pencil), Painted Lady - $5.98
Blush Crush (marbelized baked blush) - $6.98
Button Your Lip (full color liquid lipstick), Outrageously Delicious (flavored body powder),
Nobody's Perfect, Welcome Matte, Moon Glow, Glitteratzi Body Spray - $7.98
So Baked Bronzer - $8.97


Missing prices: Tinted Moisturizer, Sheer Envy Primer, other lipglosses. I think the TM & Primer are $7.98 and the glosses should be $5.98.

Also at Wal-Mart, Wet n Wild products (certain few) are $2, $3, or $4. MEGA LAST Nail Color are $2, MEGA LAST Lip Colors are $3, Color Icon Eyeshadow Trios/Palettes and Blushes are $4 before taxes. I've seen the prices like this for awhile now but I'm not sure if it's on rollback. It may be permanent changes to prices but I wouldn't count on that so jump on it if you're interested!

Winners has Color Club nail polish sets (of seven) for $12.99. I think there are 6 different sets. Before taxes, each polish comes out to be $1.85. That isn't so bad and I hear the quality is beyond decent!

That's all I have for now but head on over to Sparkled Beauty for Weekly Flyer Deals and Canadian Daily Deals for .. well as the name suggests! See you all soon :)Love,
Ashley