Sparkled Beauty

While the topic is still hot, what did you get from Sephora VIB Rouge Spring Social?

I grabbed Hourglass Ambient Lighting blush in Mood Exposure (CAD41) and Bite Beauty Matte Creme lip crayon in Sweety, a coral pink (LE, CAD28) - I actually wanted all 6 shades in the line lol.

Sephora Sand Illusions baked eyeshadow palette was near the checkout isle, CAD18, 6 x 0.023oz (0.138oz in total). It is a better deal than the Moonshadow baked palettes (CAD33 for 0.17oz total).

Sephora Define Yourself (LE) colour eyeliner set was a steal too, CAD38 (values $72) with 5 bright eyeliners (turquoise, purple, green, gold) in waterproof formulas. I wanted to try more 12hr wear Contour eye pencils and 12hr wear Jumbo liners too, so this set came in handy!

I braved the rain Sunday morning for the event, as I wanted to do lots of swatching before buying and I am glad I did.

I would be disappointed if I went for the freebies, as they aren't that impressive. Don't feel bad if you didn't make the event :)

The stripe cosmetic bag is small, probably fits a few items for touchup during the day. The samples (6 in total) are those free ones you normally get with an online order, size wise. I don't really care for those much.

Other retailers also had some fun sales going on.

Bath and Body Works and their famous BOGO sale on all candles sucked me in. This has been the best deal on their candles so far, works out to be $22.50 for 2.

I got Market Peach and London Calling, with beautiful special edition lids. I wanted to check out the Italian collection but they didn't get them in 3-wick size yet, only a few Mason jars.

I also found the little porcelain cake pedestal to display the mini candles. It is too cute to walk pass, even with a $11 price tag. Glad I had a coupon :)

Happened to walk in a Claire's shopping event, I was excited.

This was no ordinary sale! Same 10/$10 deal but they upgraded the regular extra 50% last ticketed price (for items of reg price over $11.50) to 75%!

They also brought out about 5 times as much stuff as usual. The items were still in plastic bags (not on the shelves), which required digging and sorting, but that was part of the fun :) After the event, they packed away more than 10 boxes to send off to storage.

Squirt and I went to town. What we found, besides earrings and necklaces: a studded denim backpack, fleece-lined leggings, Conair You Lift clips, a beaded ID holder, etc. Nothing was more than $2 :)

According to staff, the event is going to be hosted about once a month for this location only (Halifax Shopping Centre, as a test run) at this point. They can add your name to the calling list for next event :)

I told you a few weeks back about the online warehouse sale at Lise Watier.

The prices were great, I got quite a few items as gifts. Can't help showing you the beautiful packaging here :)

I bought both of the Glamour Rose eyes and cheeks palettes, only $10 each (reg. $45). The pink and purple gems embedded on the glittery case killed me and the colours inside were equally pretty.

On an oil kick, I had to get the Sensationelle dry oil to try, $12 (reg. $42). The bottle would make a beautiful piece on your vanity too.

La Senza is running their sale again - $3 panties and 50% off selected bras/ sleepwear, etc. I always stock up, but don't think you need a pic of the haul lol. What goodies did you get last weekend?

So we went out for our first shopping trip this Boxing week, I was glad the mall was not a mad house.

My regular Shoppers "shrine" did not disappoint with great clearance sale. Note that not all locations offer the same sales as I did go to more than 1 Shoppers to check.

The first lucky score was this Quo by Orly Holiday gel kit with lamp, half price, reg. $99, valued $115, with a cleanser, a primer, base + top coat, a gel nail colour in Burning Love and the LED lamp.

I have been curious about gel manis, was eyeing this set for a while, excited to find it on clearance. The other gel kit with the pink lamp was also on sale but it cost a bit more (reg. $110), if you want it.

And then, the big items from Quo Christmas 2013 collection, on half price:

- On the Go beauty set (lower left corner), reg. $60. It reminds me of the Tarte of Giving Collector's set - a travel makeup bag with an eyeshadow palette, lip products, etc.
- Master brush set (in the background), reg. $60 with powder brush, blush brush, foundation brush, concealer brush, lip brush, liner/ brow brush, crease blender brush, all over shadow brush, definer shadow brush and shadow smudger brush, plus a cute black/ gold bag
- Stained Glass beauty set (the larger round compact in the lower right corner) with 16 eyeshadows and 4 face powders, reg. $35
- Back to Basic palette (up top), reg. $25. A giveaway might or might not in the work for this :)
- Deluxe bronzer (the smaller compact), reg. $20 with shimmery strips of colours running across
- Shimmer puff (upper right corner), reg. 20. I bought this as it was super cute with the gold metal bow on the lid, I didn't even know how it looked inside as it was sealed :)

If you haven't headed out to Shoppers yet, go today for x20 points with $50 purchase using this coupon.

At Lawtons, I got this Marcelle BB cream holiday gift set in Light to Medium, also for 50% off, reg. $49.95, valued $83.80. Comes with a black quilted bag, BB cleanser (200ml), BB cream-to-powder (7.5g), BB cream (45ml) and BB Roll-on concealer (2.8g).

There were other skin care holiday sets from Marcelle as well, if you need to stock up. These gift sets are always of good value to start with, now that they are on sale, it is the best time to grab them.

I couldn't make it to my favorite Lawtons location yet, so no report on nail polish on clearance, unfortunately.

Sally was doing extra 50% off clearance, and I had to renew my Sally card, so I went. Found a few Finger Paints shades for cheap.

The shades, from L-R: Sparkle top coat, Hue Brighten my Day, Enchanted Winter, Spell Binding and Sketch-y, $1.25 - $1.75 each after discount. The gel colours: Good Golly Miss Holly, New Year's Kiss, Splash of Bubbly and Snow Globe Shimmer, $3 each.

In the background is the free wallet clutch I got with purchase of 3 Finger Paints nail polish. The hot pink with black tone is hot!

From Sephora, I had ordered a few things online with the Sale-on-Sale code for some Sephora palettes and the Make Up For Ever Ultimate eyeliner collection (yes, that huge set with 7 Aqua Eyes, 3 Kohl liners and 4 Aqua liners, all full sized). Couldn't justify full price for these but when they showed up on the sale page and extra 20%, I grabbed them quick :)

From the store, I only got the Sephora 12hr wear waterproof contour eye pencil set for $13 - with Black Lace, Diamonds are Forever, Tiramisu and Sailor Suit, all full sized. I remembered seeing it on sale online more than this price and didn't get it then. Now seeing it in person with that holographic glow from the background, I wanted it :)

Clothing wise, I made my regular trip to La Senza to stock up on undies (10/$30) and sleepwear. Also found some cozy flannel and fleece PJs at Joe Fresh for $10 each and a legit hot pink Hello Kitty onesie (footie, to be exact) at Winners for $23 (down from $29.99, comparable at $60). Girls' PJs sold out a lot faster, so Squirt didn't find any but got some cute tops to make up for it.

Winners is also running a sale on active wear, many workout tops and capris were on sale for $22 or less, good style and colour selections at my location. I had a really hard time deciding which ones to leave behind.

The makeup section at Winners was not that exciting. Other than NARS, Clarins, Smashbox items and individual Real Techniques brushes I saw before, a few Anna Sui and Becca makeup pieces arrived. But anything that was not locked in plastic cases was swatched, I am upset every time!

I got a Sibu purifying mask ($12.99, comparable at $30) and hydrating serum ($12.99, comparable at $40), Sue Devitt Day & Night Neutrals eye, lip & cheek palette ($7.99, comparable at $25) and Nubar nail polish in Pink Dot and Sour Candy, $5.99 each, comparable at $8.

Have you found anything good lately?

Claire's had 10/$10, a few special effect and multi-layered nail polish were there. I got Pop Art and Graffiti (Splatter collection), and Surfs Up (4 layers, mango scented). I included a few other small things as an accent for the pic lol.

I still haven't got to the very first Forever 21 in town (opened during my time away), BBW and the Bay, etc. so the hauls aren't inclusive yet. Had a few online orders on the way, stuff for the house, nothing exciting.

Jetlag is still killing me, only the exciment of shopping keeps me awake a little, then I am not sleepy before midnight. Diet is also another thing that bothers me. I ate so well back home, great home cooked meals and street food, fresh fruits, sea food, etc. I gained a few pounds but it was worth it. It is tough to figure out what to cook now :)

Another shade from Claire's Splatter nail polish line to follow Flashing Lights (a blue), this time it's Paparazzi, a pink :)

A quick glance shows that the glitter size combination in Paparazzi is similar to Flashing Lights, small white hexa with mini/ medium/ large pale pink hexa & bar. However, the bar glitters are a lot more fine in Paparazzi, hardly noticeable when it's applied on top of a pastel/ light base. And there is black hexa floating around in there too, which Flashing Lights did not have.

For a change, I am showing you a dark vampy base with Paparazzi today.

This is LA Girl Color Addict in Intoxicate, a beautiful dark plum purple. That gorgeous gold glow in the bottle you see in the pic unfortunately hardly transferred to the nails. The gold sheen might be buildable if I do more coats of Intoxicate but that was not the purpose of this mani, so I didn't.

Nonetheless, Intoxicate was opaque in 1 thicker coat or two thin coats. I love the whole Color Addict line for its colour options and payoff. If you still can find them where you are, grab a few :)

Closeup on the glitters, just to make my point lol. I'd probably repeat myself, but I'm just glad more brands are jumping on the multi-glitter wagon with reasonable price range.

Upcoming is Avon with their Urban Splatter line, $6.99 each. The bottle is smaller than Claire's (12ml vs. 15ml) while costing a bit more (Claire's is $8 but BOGO1/2). Just like textures, chunky glitters are fun to play with but not for everyone :)

Did you try Claire's or Avon version, or other brands? What do you think?

I am trying to enjoy the last few days of August (and the long weekend) before Back to School season. Though it's only relevant to students or parents of some, Halifax is a university town after all and we'll all feel the impact soon enough (crazy traffic and public transit, influx of students everywhere, etc.). Brace yourself :)

I have worn this nail polish 3 times since I showed it in the Weekend finds post 2 weeks ago. Couldn't help it, it was so much fun :)

This is Claire's Splatter nail polish in Flashing Lights with beautiful mini/ medium/ large hexa and bar sky blue glitters, in the mix with small hexa white glitters.

I have fallen off indie nail polish because of shipping cost, was glad to see the Splatter line at Claire's. 7-8 shades to test the water (I heard there might be more coming), with fun colour combinations.

Since Flashing Lights has a clear base, I experimented it on top of different colours, options become endless :)

The base in the first pic is La Couleur Couture (lacc) 2011, a soft butter yellow with fine shimmers. The brand is based in Vancouver, I'll have more NOTDs of it up soon.

The second base on the left here is Sinful Colors Show Me The Way, an olive green that flashes old gold.

Both were done with 2 coats, not fully opaque to show the glitters in depth.

Check out the closeups below, 2 manis side by side and the gorgeousness of the glitters inside the bottle! I love this blue, I really do. Don't mind my nail shape and length, crappy post move condition :)


Which base do you like better? What would you pair Flashing Lights with?

So July was done, I was so busy getting the apartment cleaned out to finish the lease, didn't get around drugstores very much until this (long) weekend.

At Lawtons, I found some 50% off red tags:
- Marcelle BB trial kit (reg. $16.95) in Medium to Dark with BB cleanser (30ml), BB cream (15ml) and BB cream to powder (4g). Also available in Light to Medium, selections vary by stores
I don't need any trial to this line but the minis are great for travelling, I wouldn't mind to stock up on these.

- Marcelle Jelly Cheek Flush blushes in Rosy Tint and Flushed Coral (reg. $16.95)
Was lucky to find a display that was not fully picked over. I heard good things about them, couldn't wait to test them out.

More red tags - Milani (LE) Shadow Eyez eyeshadow pencils in Black Ink, Espresso Line, Cafe au Lait, Almond Cream and Sand Dunes (reg. $8.99).

I was really excited to see the display at Lawtons a while back but tried to hold off on these. However, they are LE, with 4 neutral matte shades (the first 4 shades in the pic) and now are cleared out, I certainly didn't want to miss out.

Sand Dunes has metallic finish but is a versatile shade to wear all the time, so I grabbed it too. Passed on the darker bronze (metallic) shade called Golden Bronze.

Last week, Shoppers had L'Oreal Youth Code skin care for $19.99, including the new Texture Perfector line. I got the serum and Day/ Night cream with beautiful pink and silver packaging. The line is supposed to help with the look of pores, fine lines and uneven skin tone. Let's hope eh?

On the far left is the L'Oreal Colour Riche eyeshadow quad in Cupa Joe, on sale then for $8.99. All matte shades, being dupes of MAC eyeshadows (Wedge, Vanilla, Omega and Charcoal Brown), that's a small price to pay right?

At Winners, I was over the moon to find 2 cute bags on clearance - Steve Madden Bidoll $36 (comparable at $128) and MMS Design Studio circle studded satchel $20 (comparable at $70).

Also bought a cute pair of oven mitts with a "Born to shop, Forced to cook" print, so me lol.

From Claire's Splatter nail polish line, I got Flashing Lights and Paparazzi, reg. $8 (15ml), BOGO1/2 (i.e. $6 each when you buy 2). Considering the Hard Candy nail polish (7.8ml for $4), these are better bargains.

There are about 7-8 shades in the line, I'm hoping for more. Claire's also has about 3 shades in the Sand (texture) line, great to see them catching up with indie trends.

Note that 10 for $10 sale is on at Claire's (at least it was in the weekend), and there is a bonus buck promo - when you spend $20 now until August 24, you'll get a bonus buck card to get $10 off a purchase of $20 or more between August 25 - September 15.

And lastly, if you didn't see my tweet already, Wet n Wild Pop Art Craze collection has arrived at Lawtons. The eyeshadow trios are $3.99 each, and there are nail polish too.

Hi guys! I checked twitter for updates before bed just now (yeah, it's night time here) and saw that Halifax is having ugly winter weather today with snow and stuff. Thought it would be the right time to post this NOTD up.

This is Claire's Cosmic from the Starstruck collection, with the square bottle. If you remember, Starstruck is comparable to Color Club Take Wing collection, except this Cosmic (a purple) while Take Wing has Daisy Does It (a yellow). I love the beautiful glass flecks both collections have, so I have to collect all shades.

Note that this collection retails CAD7.25 a piece, a little higher than Claire's regular price for nail polish.

This purple looked a lot more intense IRL than in pictures. I think I did two (or three) coats here. If you like the way glass flecks shine on the nails, and love purples, Cosmic is a must have.

What makes this NOTD weather appropriate, the icing on the "cake", are Nicole by OPI Bring on the Tinsel (on the middle finger) and Claire's Chunky Silver (on other tips).

Bring on the Tinsel has chunkier glitters but lack the fine silvery shimmer that Chunky Silver has. They are my favorite silver glittery top coats for a quick jazzing up for the nails.

You can see all three shades better here with a close up.

It is also icy out there on the roads, not just on my nails, I heard, so please stay safe over there, my friends.

I can't believe 10 days have passed since the day I left. I got some mochi ice cream at a mall here today with a bunch of flavours, one of the most exciting finds I have had lately lol. Gotta eat mochi more often as it sure brightens my lazy mood :)

Have a good day, guys.

The camera was finally charged, so I could take some pics for this post. Stay tuned till the end for an exciting promotion.

In the weekend, I went to a Shoppers with a Beauty Boutique for their Spent Your Point event.

Finally getting this Benefit Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow brightening makeup (long name huh? lol), 1oz/ 30ml, CAD42. My shade is "I'm so money" Honey, a good match right now but might be a little dark in the winter.

Based on good reviews on blogs, I have wanted to try it but didn't like price tag very much. The GWP offer certainly helped.

The gift - "Right Now... Wow!" kit - has the minis of BADgal Lash mascara (0.14oz/ 4g vs full size 0.3oz/ 8.5g), POREfessional (0.25oz/ 7.5ml vs 0.75oz/ 22.5ml) and ChachaTint (0.08oz/ 2.5ml vs. 0.42oz/ 12.5ml).

Other products that I was waiting for a sale for:
- Quo Leopard kabuki brush from the summer collection, reg. $22, 50% off
- Revlon ColorStay Whipped foundation in True Beige, $18.99 and x10 Optimum points. There was only 1 tester on the display for Nude, so this was a wild guess of shade. Hate that!
-  Sally Hansen Natural Beauty inspired by Carmindy Natural highlighter in Gold Luster, reg. around CAD11, also on clearance for 50% off. The whole line was, actually. I would assume Shoppers is clearing it out
- Marcelle eyeshadow quads in Midnight Seas and Ultraviolets, reg. $14.95, on sale for $11.99, with $2 coupons I found on the display previously. If you plan to get these, I'd suggest grabbing the coupons when you see them, as the quads are/ will be moved to the regular shelf, and the coupon stacks will be gone.

I also redeemed for a Fossil Stella black resin watch with rhinestones (ES2157). I always wanted the rose gold (ES3003) but this location didn't have it. Since I was using my points, I didn't mind it too much.

Note that the free GWP of $75 purchase on cosmetics and fragrance is still on until Friday. It did not apply with point redemption, so they didn't give it to me lol.

I had some Bonus Bucks at Claire's to use ($10 off $20). Squirt found a set of Hello Kitty Bizus on clearance, so I grabbed some nail polish with it.

The first two were from the 2 for $6 sale: Lime-tastic and Galaxy, reg. CAD5.75 a piece. Lime-tastic is a neon lime green with multi-sized silver and green glitters, looks like an indie polish. Galaxy is a black with fine silver shimmers.

The two on the right are from the Starstruck collection with square bottles - Moon Dust and Cosmic, CAD7.25 each, BOGO1/2. This collection was created by Color Club, parallel with their own Take Wing collection, except the fact that Starstruck has Cosmic (purple) and Take Wing has Daisy Does It (yellow).

Just for reference, if you are eyeing the Starstruck shades:
- Claire's Moon Dust = Color Club Sky High (blue)
- Claire's Drops of Jupiter = Color Club Metamorphosis (teal)
- Claire's Little Dipper = Color Club Sparkle and Soar (orange)
- Claire's Blast Off = Color Club Fly With Me (green), and
- Claire's Flying Saucer = Color Club Wing Fling (pink).

A quick note for locals who want to get Layla Hologram Effects (first release) and MagEffects - EDIT: and Mirror Effects, Lawtons had reduced the price from $15.99 to $9.99, a little easier on the wallet. No sign of the newer/ better Hologram Effects (second release).

Other awesome score in the weekend was the one-day $20 dress sale at Jones New York factory store. These dresses (Nine West, Evan Picone or their own JNY brand) were between $150 to $200 originally and on clearance for around $40 - $50 previously. I was able to find my size in a few style, even some Petites, really exciting.

We also did the Super Cash redemption at Old Navy. Found some cute long sleeved shirt for Squirt, a denim jacket (on sale) and pencil skirts, etc. for me. And if you haven't heard, Old Navy now has jewelry and hair accessories in stores (I haven't seen them online yet).

And while we are talking about hauls, Shoppers will be doing another 3-hour BOGO promo with coupon tomorrow for lipsticks and lip glosses. Lip balms, lip liners and prestige brands are excluded. I had fun participating in previous BOGO nail polish promo. Hope you will too.

EDIT to add: Metro has a full page ad today about "Metro Day at H&M". You show the copy of September 13 Metro (or your Metro News app) at H&M on that day to get 25% off one item.

Don't know if you remember but there was a NOTD of Claire's Cotton Candy before on the blog. Fortunately, other than the fact that they are both scented nail polish, they are totally different - the colour, finish, opacity.

So this is a newer version of Claire's Cotton Candy. The pic is under natural light. The colour is a little lighter than IRL here but is still a lovely aqua/teal. Shades like this make me so happy just by looking at it.

Like all Claire's scented nail polish, the scent in this one is not overwhelming and fades gradually. I don't mind it at all, I like it when I get a light sniff of scent when my hand is near my face. And the icing on the cake: it dries matte, which was not mentioned anywhere on the bottle. Surprise!

This pic is with flash. On the accent nail is an extra coat of China Glaze Atlantis. The two colours compliment each other really well. Summer appropriate eh?

There are some reflective shimmers (almost holographic under strong light) in the bottle, but on the nails, they look silver. I guess the matte finish makes the colour look more dreamy, to my eyes, but doesn't do much for the shimmers. A trade-off, I guess. Am I asking too much? :)

Close up, in natural light again. See what I mean with the silvery and non-holographic shimmers here? Atlantis made it all better, but I mean Claire's could have gone an extra mile to make the shimmers more holo, couldn't they?

Holo affect aside, I am loving this shade. Another travel friendly colour to add to the short list I have for that purpose.

The bad news is Claire's had a few of these scented polishes in the 10 for $10 section a while back, which means they might not be on the shelf anymore. Sorry if you can't hunt it down, but if you can, rock it!

Have a great mid week, everyone. It's going to rain here until the weekend, but I'm hoping for a drier Mother's Day Sunday.

Morning, the star of the post today is Claire's Bright Skies (pun intended lol).

I do realize that I featured Claire's Bright Skies before, on top of China Glaze Blue Sparrow. The other day, I heard that it is actually a dupe of Icing Epic Winning, thought I wanted to wear it again, just for the fun of it.

The base is Essence Colour & Go Underwater, an awesome one coater. You can see how "perfection comes in small packaging" on my pinkie where Underwater is worn by itself.

I love how Bright Skies works so well with Underwater. Its different shades of blue and green glitters shine through very well.

And let me tell you, having a base under glittery polish makes removal a lot easier and faster. I hardly wear any glitters alone on the nails anymore.

The fact that Claire's nail polishes come and go so quickly, I am not sure Bright Skies is still on the shelf (it was last time I was there). But if you do find it, check it out.

Here's the close-up to prove Bright Skies' and Underwater's awesomeness. I love them both, dearly and prefer them together than Bright Skies with Blue Sparrow.
Unfortunately, Underwater is not part of  the regular Essence's display we have in Canada, but let's hope it will get here some day.

Note that there are 2 different versions of Underwater out there. I have the new one, and heard the old one is a lot more blue and brighter, which is not necessary better.

I am going to the mall today, testing my "fate" with a pair of shoes I had my eyes on. By telling myself I didn't need it, and it was above my price range, I left it in the store last weekend. Kept thinking about it since. If it is still there and in my size today, I think it deserves to go home with me, don't you agree?

Remember my first two magnetic NOTDs - Icing Magnetix Gold/Green and Icing Magnetix Pink/Burgundy - when I said it was sure a learning curve? I since have learned a few tricks to work with magnetic nail polish from the nail blogs I read. I put them in use with this mani, hope you can see the difference.

This is Claire's Magnetix Green that I showed you in the Weekend finds post yesterday. The colour looks nothing special in the bottle but I am really happy about how it turned out when magnetized.

First off, Claire's did a much better job with the brush for their Magnetix than Icing. I had a perfect brush in this bottle, and that certainly helped with application. And also because Claire's seems to have more shades (and cheaper price) than Icing at the moment, I totally recommend Claire's for Magnetix.

Second, it did make a BIG difference to apply 2 coats of the polish before you bring in the magnet. I know Magnetix are more expensive than their regular nail polish, even with the BOGO1/2, and they are one coaters, you don't really want to do an extra coat. But the magnetic effect is a lot more intense and sharp with 2 coats. Compare this mani with the first two I did (links above) and you'll see.

This close up shows you the flaws in the mani. Every time when I couldn't keep my finger still under the magnet, the lines came out a little blurry.

Same as when I pulled the magnet out too early. Give the polish time to set the lines - I would say about 20 seconds, you will be more happy with the result. Trust me!

And there's always the issue of touching your nail to the magnet - like the spot you see on my ring finger. I just need to get better at it :)

One last thing to say about this mani, the 2 coats make it looks more 3D, you know, like cats' eyes, thanks to the strong magnetic effect. I am mesmerized. So give the Magnetix a try and let me know what you think. It is so much fun!

This tiny haul was the result of a quick stop at the mall last weekend. I missed my stores and it felt like home being in the mall again. It might sound silly but it helped my mood.

First stop was Claire's. You know I always check in when I'm around, and I did find gems this time.

Magnetix, yes, a Green Claire's Magnetix that Icing doesn't have, CAD9.75. As they are BOGO1/2, I also grabbed the Gold/Green Magnetix to compare with the Icing Gold/Green I wore last time.

Found some mood polishes in clearance for CAD2.50 each, I picked up Calm/ Wild and Happy/ Earthy.

The rest are part of the 10 for $10 sale. First row, in the middle, are Black Light neons in purple, hot pink and lime green, no individual names. Second row, on the right, are scented neons, in similar hot pink (Strawberry) and lime green (Watermelon), and an aqua (Cotton Candy). These have beautiful shimmers that I hope transfer well to the nails.

On to the Body Shop. The Chocomania line was out and I was itching to sniff test it. In the weekend, all body butters were $10, so I picked up the Chocomania body butter. It smells good, looks a little thicker than TBS's regular body butter, supposed to give you 48 hours of hydration. We'll see how well it works.

Also got a body butter duo in Floral Acai. I kinda like the idea of having a lighter body butter for normal skin areas and a thicker one for dry skin areas, housed in a split pot. This is the only scent that was not sweet.

Important note: During February, TBS is printing out "$15 off $40" coupons (it was "$10 off $40" last month) at the end of their receipts, so if you make a purchase, you'll get one to use next purchase. It is quite a good offer to pair with their constant BOGO1/2, B2G1F or B3G2F.

Yay, another magnetic shade turned out not too bad lol. Seriously guys, I love magnetic polishes but they get me nervous. It takes so much practice to bring the magnet close enough to your nails to create great prints without smudging the nail polish on the magnet at the same time.

This is the darker pink/ burgundy shade that has beautiful fuchsia glitters on top (which are hard to photograph, lol). The magnet is supposed to give wavy print, not straight one like the Icing Magnetix Gold/ Green shade I tried before, but I can't see the difference very clearly. Wavy or not, I still love the light and dark intermission, so I am not complaining :)

Application is good, I only did one coat here. Didn't have much luck with the brush though, as the one in this bottle was just as wonky as the first one I tried.

Icing did have some bottles in their regular range that come with bad brushes, but not all. I can't understand how they let beautiful magnetic colours like this come with such a horrible brush. Who wants to bet the other 2 shades I bought also have bad brushes? :)

For those who don't live near an Icing store, Claire's also has the exact same 4 shades for like 50 cents cheaper. I didn't have time to open the caps to check the brushes of those, but let's hope they aren't the same as Icing's.

This is the kind of pink colour that I can totally wear, thanks to the burgundy accent. If you are sick of magnetic nail polish, I apologize but I like a challenge and they are worth the trouble.

I am happy to get a hold of these Icing shades before the bus strike. Based on blog swatches, the China Glaze magnetics don't seem to have the beautiful shimmers/ glitters on top that get my heart sings like Icing's. However, they have more colours to choose from.

Have a great Tuesday, get out and do things when you can. I'll be missing zumba today, tres sad!

It was a peaceful Friday when I came across tweets about Icing Magnetix nail polish and I was like sitting on hot coal itching to go "fetch" them into my stash. And I did, bought all 4 shades they released.

Back in the day with L'Oreal Star Magnets, I always wanted magnetic polishes. Found some, saw some expensive ones too, then finding a magnet that work with those was another issue. Until now...

There is no individual names on these, unfortunately, I have no idea why not. So here is my first Magnetix: Icing Gold/ Green, lol. A blogger named it Tiger's Eye, which I think is very appropriate. Anyone wants to name this shade for me?

Will you look at that - the beautiful olive green (dark and light all in one shade), and the gold shimmers on top! If you only want 1 Magnetix, this is IT!

I am holding the bottle with the magnetic cap on. It has 2 raised edges where you can rest your cuticle on while trying to get the nail close enough to the magnet. When you remove the cap, you'll get to the lid with a (crappy) brush attached on the inside. The brush is the only thing I complain about with this line.

You'll notice my application was not on point with this mani. The brush was so bad, uneven and flared out weirdly. Like working with the magnet wasn't already hard enough, you see the proof on my pinky. It was not as visible on the nail, which was why I didn't fix it.

This is also a proof that working with magnetic polishes wasn't as easy as you think. I messed up bad on my right hand which luckily isn't my swatch hand. But still, I gotta say I love how it looks on the nail, finish and colour wise.

Those of you who said you weren't into crackles, what do you think of these?


The Magnetix line is sold at Icing for CAD10.25 each ($9 in the US), 0.33oz/ 9.8ml. Their cosmetics are always BOGO1/2, so I paid about CAD30 for all 4. Bonus: each bottle comes with its own (removable) magnet.

A quick comparison for you:
- Layla Magneffects: $15.50 (10ml), with individual magnet
- Nails Inc magnetic: $16 (10ml), with individual magnet
- LCN magnetic: $9.90 (8ml), magnets are sold separately
- China Glaze Magnetix: will be $10 (14ml), magnets are sold separately
- Color Club Magnetic Force: will be $12 (10ml), with individual magnet.

I'm sold on the Icing version, for price, strong shimmer finish and colour choices. Hope they'll come out with more shades like this.

So, the trip to Shoppers for their x20 point event last night didn't happen as I decided to do the redemption this weekend instead. I'm posting the weekend haul today.

Claire's was running 10 for $10 sale in the weekend, not sure if it's still going on. I found these 5 pastel nail polish shades with pretty bottle design, no individual names unfortunately. I wouldn't complain even if the colours suck on the nails, I just want to collect the bottles to tie me over until maybe one day I can grab some Ana Sui nail polish.

The rest of the loot was earrings, hair pins, Hello Kitty sun glasses (for Squirt), etc. Cheap accessories :)

Moving on to Lawtons clearance. These boxes each comes with 3 products and a $5 coupon to redeem toward a full sized product from the line. Retails CAD9.95, I paid half of that (the same value of the coupon). If I do use those coupons, I get my money worth. Good deal.

You know Marcelle AC Solution line is a staple of mine. The kit (right) has the Purifying Foaming Cleanser (50ml), Oil-free Moisturizing Balancing lotion (30ml) and Imperfections corrector (5.8ml, full size). Great for travelling.

Also wanted the Revival set as I have been enjoying the
Firming + Brightening Cream Serum, even when the line is meant for the 50+ age range. There is a Soothing Cleansing water (50ml), Intense Anti-Aging Day care (15ml) and Intense Anti-Aging Night care (15ml) in the box.

The New Age line is actually meant for my age range, the box has the Comforting Foaming cleanser (30ml), Anti-wrinkle + Firming Day cream and Night cream (15ml each). If you can't tell by now, I like the idea of these little travel sized sets.

BBW had the Home Scent even on Saturday. Squirt found the scent of her favorite ice cream - Mint Chocolate, so she begged for it. The large candles (14.5 oz) were on promotion 2 for CAD25, so I picked up Twilight Woods as well.

I'm not a big sweet scent fan, so I passed on the Halloween and Fall scents in store. But something else got me really excited about. Check out the pic below.

I had one of those $10 off $30 coupons by doing their survey, so I grabbed a few PocketBacs to make it to $30. In the pic are Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin, Orchard Leaves and Charmed Life (with duplicates), 5 for CAD5. Also got a Glow in the Dark and a swirly blue PocketBac holders, CAD.50 each.

Promotion of the day was the free Bake Shop bag and 3 mini sized (1.6 oz) candles with any home scent product purchase. I love all 3 of the candles: Marshmallow Peppermint, Candied Sugar Plum and Holiday Gumdrop, for the pretty labels and pretty scents. This holiday is going to look good in the candle department. Someone stops me from going to BBW around Christmas time, please!