Sparkled Beauty

It has been a while since I post a haul, so this was overdue eh? Let's get to it!

Real Techniques was not new at Winners, but I found those new individual brushes that I haven't had, so I grabbed 2.

Here are the Retractable bronzer brush (orange), $14.99 (comparable at $20) and Retractable kabuki brush (pink), $8.99 (comparable at $12).

I was a little concerned seeing the retractable kabubi not as wide/ fluffy but reviews said it was more of a travel version of the Expert face brush, which I liked. Do I need both of these brushes?

Across the street at Marshalls, I got 2 Elf 100 eyeshadow palettes on clearance for $4 - $5 each (reg. $12.99 - $14.99, comparable at $20). Love this price point a lot better :)

I think the black version is still on Elf website for $10, and the white version said "Class of 2014" on it and had more matte shades.

I loved the few marble shades that both palettes had. I know once on the eyes, the marble effect won't be visible, but they are pretty to look at.

I did place an order with Sephora 20% F&F (thanks E for getting me the code) mainly for First Aid Beauty Cheers to Fab Skin set, reg. $60 ($125 value).

Sets are awesome with undeniable savings, not a bad way to be introduced to a brand either.

The set includes:
- Face cleanser (2oz, reg. $12)
- Facial Radiance pads (28's, reg. $14)
- Ultra Repair cream (6oz, reg. $35)
- Ultra Repair Lip therapy (0.5oz, reg. $15)
- Eye Duty Triple remedy (0.34oz, reg. $45).

I wanted the eye cream for forever. With the set, after 20% off, it's like I bought the eye cream and paid $3 for the other 4 items. Even though we Canadians pay 25% more than Americans ($48), I won't complain :)

Other items I grabbed while I was at it:
- Benefit Cheeky Sweet Spot Box O' Blushes (reg. $43)
Another great valued set, and my boxed blush stash is almost complete now
- Urban Decay Anarchy Face case (available on the sale page for $23 for a split second)
- And lastly, the Hourglass Ambient blush palette (reg. $67), no explanation needed right?

I still have a few items in the cart, pending another order and kept adding things in/ taking things out. Still have about 2 days to decide. What have you been getting?

I was killing time at Superstore before my gym class and saw a few L'Oreal products on clearance for 50% off.

That were the whole lines of Magic Nude liquid powders, Infallible lip, and Colour Caresse stains, etc., not just selected shades. I don't know if the lines are being revamped or replaced.

I picked up the Magic Nude liquid powder in True Beige, around $8. I am not sure if this is my shade though.

Also grabbed a Joe Fresh Waterproof eyeshadow pencil in Taupe to try as it was 20% off this week (reg. $8). The sticker on the cap said 8 hrs, sounds promising huh?

Lastly, I thought I should include the OPI appearance at Dollarama, if you miss my Weekly Flyer deal update.


The 2 shades I got were Girl Color (a sheer pink jelly with beautiful green shimmer) and Stir-fried Eggplant (dark plum with multi-coloured shimmers). These are rebottled shades so you won't be able to find them in OPI listing, but that does not bother me. Have fun browsing your Dollarama for more.

A small update for Maybelline creamy matte lipsticks: my Target had 3x8 slots (still empty at the time), with a price sticker of $8.99. This might mean we only get 8 shades in the line (3 tubes each) and sadly confirm a reader's comment about not seeing Divine Wine and Craving Coral at her Walmart.

Ok, dollar stores. Isn't it an exciting topic in beauty blogs? About 2 months ago, I was in a constant hunt for some eyeshadows at... yep, you guessed it ... Dolarama. Yikes!!! I know lots of you are going to say I was silly looking for makeup at Dolarama. I know I shouldn't expect much with stuff from a dollar store. Now, lots of stuff found at dollar stores in the US are discontinued or overstocked at big box stores and got shoved over for quick sale. For that reason, people have done some great dollar store hauls for makeup, nail polish, you name it, of well known drugstore brands. At this corner of Canada, I did find some fun stuff in the past, but nothing amazing, especially beauty products.

What you see in the picture is a combination of a few hauls, CAD1 a piece. I went to 3 different Dollaramas for the shadows, as stocks weren't the same among stores, I found, and I insisted to find all shades that were available.

On the left are Disney's Hannah Montana hand soaps and body scrub, still sold at drugstores for around CAD5 each. At the top is a Princess bath fun set for Squirt, with bath gel held in fun shapes of princess, castle, etc. On the bottom right is Bonne Belle Lip Lite in Champagne Frost and Smackers Flip gloss in Sweet Sugar. I can't tell why they ended up there except for the reason I already mentioned.

In the center are the babies that I was hunting around for, Aziza shadow palettes. I was just hanging out at Dollarama one day when I saw about 3 different palettes of these, and I wondered whether they were any good. I don't know how many shades there are for the palettes (as there's no website for this brand), but I found 8. They are named after US cities - rrom the top, L-R: New York, Vegas, Santa Fe, Denver, Nashville, Memphis, Miami and Phoenix (not featured in the pic). The package had the price printed on it - $2.95, distributed by Jean Phillippe Fragrances, NY, but I don't know where else they sell them at that price.
I went online to do a bit of research. Makeupalley gave these 4.8/5 and all 8 reviewers said they would buy them again. I also found that the brand also has shadow quads, lip gloss, foundation, nail polish, etc. My camera didn't seem to pick up the shades very well, so check out the close-ups of the most colourful ones: Miami and Nasville (top pic), Denver and Phoenix (bottom pic). Miami is the most diversified palette, as the shades aren't in the same family at all, just right for summer. Nashville is fun for a smoky look, as half of the shades are dark with a fierce red on the side. Denver and Phoenix have some shimmer, would be fun to use on a night out. They have a strong basic colour and others would work around it.
The rest are basic neutral/light colours, I plan to use them for touch up at work. Most of the shades are matte (except for the Denver and Phoenix, as mentioned). I tried Miami, the staying power is ok, nothing amazing but I have to say at $1, these are fun stuff to play around with, especially when you first start out with makeup. They don't break the bank and have variety of colours to keep you busy for a while.

As a bonus, I found this Canadian Dollar store makeup haul video on youtube that might help you with some visual image of the palettes.

Ingredients wise though, there are talc, methylparaben and propylparaben listed on the package. So if you worry about the effects of these on your skin, please refrain from trying these shadows. Makeup is supposed to be fun, so explore these with caution, lol.

Thanks for stopping by.