Small Collective Beauty Haul. {{Quick Review ft. Rimmel's Vinyl Lip Gloss}}

Hey everyone,

So I know when it comes to collective hauls, most people/bloggers usually post it right before the month ends, to show what they got throughout the month, but I'm going to do something different, and just show what I got recently.

And the reasoning behind it is that I left my retail job, in order to focus more on school. Now that I don't have any source of income, I probably won't spending as much money anymore on beauty related items or clothing for a quite a while. >-<

I was going to review the majority of items in this post, but I decided against it since if I did, it would be really quick and rushed reviews. I rather be thorough whenever I'm reviewing any products that I'm about to use. Besides, I actually haven't used and opened some of them yet.

However, I will be reviewing one of the products, which is Rimmel's Vinyl Lipgloss, as I did use it and worn it out already.

Anyways, I present you guys my haul, and just for a heads up this post is going to be very picture-heavy,  so enjoy or not.

But first, some closeups ^-^

Now let's go into detail and by store:

THE FACE SHOP

What I got:

1. Pomegranate Cleansing Cream

2. Rice Water Bright Cleansing Milk

3. Raspberry Roots Sleeping Mask

4. Black Label Lipstick in #11 Lovely Pink

Closeups of the products.

#11 Lovely Pink Lipstick

I was so excited when Metrotown reopened another Face Shop, I love the skincare products they sell there! Plus, it means that it's less travelling for me to go all the way to Richmond Centre's Face Shop. As you can see, I haven't used any of the products that I bought from the Face Shop, yet.

However, a few of my friends who work there, showed me how each product works, and I'm excited to use the Rice Water Cleanser soon! My friend demonstrated to me that its good enough to cleanse dark/deep eyeliner off your skin.

You can be sure/expect that I will do a detailed review on all these products in the near future! c:

♕

SEPHORA

Sample sizes, samples sizes, everywhere!

What I got:

1. VIP Pass Eyeshadow Palette

2. Living Proof: Perfect Hair Day Collection Sample Size

I bought and had these...wow, xD since Black Friday, which was months ago. I really, really like the Living Proof hair products, it's one of the few hair products that make my dry hair actually smooth. I haven't gotten around to using the palette yet, but what I like about it, is the size of the palette, very travel friendly.

♕

DAISO

Sorry for the out of focus.

What I got:

1. Makeup Brush Cleaner

2. Daiso Winmax Slim Lipsticks in Cherry Blossom & Raspberry

From my previous post and my username (hahaha), I love the store Daiso. In fact, if people ever bought me gift cards from there, I would be so happy! :D That being said, this is actually my first time buying cosmetics from there. I don't tend to buy makeup from there because I don't trust products that will eventually go on my face that is sold so cheaply.

Although, one of my friends who does, advocated Daiso's cosmetics to me. I remember her telling me that the quality is really good. So I gave in and plus the packaging for the lipsticks were really adorable.

I bought the makeup brush cleaner because I searched up other reviews and the majority was positive. I also wanted to try it out myself for comparison as I've been using warm water and baby shampoo to clean my brushes.

♕

WALMART + YESSTYLE

Out of focus, yet again. ._.

What I got:

1. Rimmel's Vinyl Lipgloss in Starlet

2. Skin79 BB Cream Miniature Set

A few weeks ago Yesstyle was having their annual Christmas sale, which I took advantage of, since I always wanted to try the miniature set of the BB creams. I haven't quite opened it yet, but I promise I will do a review and swatches on the BB creams so be sure to look out for that.

Now with everything finally out of the way...this brings me to my Rimmel's Vinyl Lipgloss review!

||Review||

From all the types of cosmetics products, I enjoy using and buying lip products or as I like to call it, "Lippies" the most. So it's no surprise that the moment I saw the price of this gloss I had to get it. Luckily for me, I got lipgloss for a good price for only a $1.50 from Walmart!

Rimmel's vinyl lipgloss states that it is a voluptuously shiny lipgloss, which rings true. With one coat, I already noticed that my lips were a bit plumper, however, with two coats, it's a lot more noticeable. 

The shade that I selected is called Starlet, it's colour is a slightly light shade of cerise, with shimmer within it. The shade is very subtle, with only one coat, the shimmer or sparkles is more of the focal point, although, with two coats, the colour shade is exposed more. The pigmentation for me, is both a good and bad thing, it can go both ways. I like the subtleness of it, though, at the same time I like bold colours, that will make my lips stand out.

The application of the gloss is very easy, it's smooth and buttery, and it's not as sticky in comparison of other glosses that I owe. The wand stick is firm which I love.

A feature that I have to point out is the duration. Like most glosses, the duration is not too great. At maximum, the duration is at least between 1 and a half-2 hours, without eating. By when after eating or drinking anything, the coats disappear right away.

The last thing that I have to state of the gloss is the smell. Personally, I absolutely hated it. The smell of my gloss reminded me the smell of CHERRY COUGH SYRUP. Which brings me back to my childhood, and I really hated drinking and smelling cherry cough syrup when I was sick.

The worse medicine, ever.

PROS:

-The price

-The subtlety of pigmentation

-Easy application

-Generous amount of lip gloss

 -Texture is smooth and not sticky

-Makes your lips plumper and shiny

-The shimmer is not overwhelming

CONS:

-The smell

-Hardly any pigmentation

-Duration is short

Would I BUY the Product Again?

Yes and no. I would most likely buy another shade of gloss as I read on other blogs, that different shades have different smells. Though, I would not buy the exact gloss, as I hated the smell.

Would I RECOMMEND this Product?

 Yes, I would. It does it's job well, and it comes in many shades. Unless you don't like too much shimmer or you want a bolder lip gloss, than this product is not for you.

OVERALL RATING:

❤❤❤♡♡

I would like to give this product a higher rating, except I detest the smell.

Wow, ._. this was a long post, I applaud to those of you guys who actually read and stuck through the whole entire thing. For me, I absolutely love writing long posts, its something I enjoy, so most likely in the future expect more or even longer posts than this one.

And for sure, I will be writing upcoming reviews for the products you saw above and in the photos.

Thanks for reading,

Courtney ♡.

[Review]: Daiso False Eyelashes

As you can tell by my username, I love the store Daiso! In fact, it's one of my favourite stores to shop at, since it sells about almost everything you need from home supplies, DIYs items, food, to makeup. The majority of these items priced at only $2, which is a great deal!

But what is Daiso?

If you're unsure or unfamiliar, Daiso is a company from Japan, and is well-known to be an unique store, as it functions to serve as both a convenient and higher-quality dollar store. They carry various and numerous items, that are in great quality considering the price they sell it for.

In Vancouver, there's an official Daiso store in Richmond, specifically in Aberdeen centre. As well, there's a smaller, but sister store of Daiso, located at Tinseltown, called Yoko Yaya.

Both of these stores, which sell similar items, are known to be popular as the products they carry are very affordable to the public.

And today, I would like to review fake eyelashes AKA falsies, that I bought from Daiso a while ago. That being said, I'm still relatively new to applying fake eyelashes, I have not ventured out as much in trying new brands, the only ones besides Daiso eyelashes that I have tried is the brand Eyelure, which Target sells.

For the price that I got the eyelashes for from Daiso, it is safe to say, for those who are new and want to play or practice around with the lashes, Daiso would be your store to go to, this way, you won't be splurging or wasting that much of your money. It has various selections for different styles of eyelashes and a lot of choices of different 'brands' of eyelashes within the store.

Isn't the packaging adorable and girly? 

The pair of eyelashes that I picked up, did not have a specific brand name, it was simply called Eyelash, which is kind of boring if you ask me, but it does get points for packaging, since its cute and all.

From the selection, I chose this pair because I liked how the length of the lashes and its appeal looked more similar to an animated character, which I was going for. If you recall, during Halloween, I dressed up as Louise Belcher from Bob's Burgers, and these eyelashes were the perfect fit, since it looked almost the same as Louise's.

However, by that time, I wasn't able to use the eyelashes, as I really sucked and wasn't use to putting them on. >=<

A closeup and more detailed picture.

By comparison to other styles of eyelashes, this pair does not have that many individual lashes, meaning your eyelashes will not look fuller. 

Also, unlike other false eyelashes, the band is not invisible, so it does not create a natural look. Instead the lashes has a black band, which can be blended in with eyeliner, if used, or if not, can be used as your eyeliner.  

Here are some example pictures with the lashes:

I'm already wearing eyeliner with the lashes, but with it, it creates the illusion of a thicker eyeliner look

Noticed how long the lashes extend.

While they don't give a natural look, they do their job, by creating longer lashes.

♚[Overall Thoughts]♚

The packaging was simple, but girly and cute.

❤❤❤♡♡

The comfort of the lashes, was not so great.

❤❤♡♡♡

The quality was average at best.

❤❤❤♡♡

The price is great, very reasonable.

❤❤❤❤❤

The overall rating for these lashes are:

❤❤❤♡♡

For the price I paid for these lashes, I could not be happier, knowing that I bought it from Daiso, I know at least I did not spend a lot of money compare to buying name brand lashes. As well, the selection I was given to choose from was vast, so if you're picky with your lash styles, Daiso provides a number of different styles, from full, natural, long, etc. 

However, there were two things that do make me question and deter me if I should buy the exact lashes again. One reason is the comfort of the lashes. As I was wearing the lashes, part of the thick band poked out, which led to the band touching and poking my eyelid. The band was also thick, and not too flexible.

The second reason that made me question the pair of eyelashes is the quality of the lashes. While more higher-quality and expensive brands of lashes are softer and closer to natural hair, the Daiso lashes, quite obviously, were plastic. Another problem, was when, even though I carefully removed the lashes, the longer lashes had already split in half, making it look like split ends.

♛[[Recommendation]]♛

Would I recommend this pair of lashes?

Yes, I would, if you're looking and going for more of animated appearance or want your lashes to appear longer. 

 For the price you pay, you are getting a deal! 

In fact, in general, I would recommend beginners in buying false eyelashes from Daiso. You won't be spending a whole lot of money and you also have a wide range of different styles to choose from. For those who want play around and create new makeup looks, Daiso lashes are highly recommended as well. The lashes sold at the store are great for those who need more practice with the application of the eyelashes.Lastly, if you're looking for inexpensive lashes, Daiso is and should be your go-to store.

I would just note, to be weary of the quality and comfort, and don't expect too much of it, especially the quality. 

Thats going to be it for now, hopefully this review is somewhat insightful and thorough enough for you guys to decide whether or not to buy from Daiso ^-^

Thanks for reading,

Courtney ♡.

Maybelline Smokes Palette Swatches

Before I head back to school (ew) and still have some free time left, I wanted to share with you guys the swatches of Maybelline's new Smokes palette! :D

When the Nudes Palette came out, I really wanted it, since when it comes to eyeshadow for me, I tend to go for more of the natural colours. Unfortunately for me, by the time I was searching for the said palette, it was all sold out T_T. 

However, luckily when I was browsing at Shoppers Drug Mart, I spotted the Smokes palette on sale, and I was able to pick it up! ^^ While these are the not the colours I would usually use, I thought I might as well try and play around with it, and teach myself how to do different looks, after all it is a new year!

What I like about the palette is the numerous eyeshadows it comes with, in total it comes to twelve. Another plus, is that there is an illustration at the back of the palette that shows you how you can use the eyeshadows, and there are three ways either in: quads, trios and duos.

A closeup of the palette.

With the palette, you get different and numerous shades that are matted, shimmery, metallic and gunmetal. The colours you get are various forms of silver, grey, black, pink, purple, brown and a few neutral shades as well.

These swatches are from the very top row, from left to right.

These ones are from the bottom row, from left to right, as well.

I have to say, there are some shades that are very pigmented, while others are not so pigmented, at all. The most pigmented ones are the gunmetal and metallic ones, the lighter ones, such as the neutral shades and the pink one do not show up as well. 

This is going to be all for now regarding the palette, I'm not going into a thorough/detailed review as I have not played around with the palette as much, as I should have. >_<

And to end this short post (I'll write a longer post next time!), here's a picture of my dog, Tobi! :D

Tobi is a Lhasa Apso, and he also has an instagram account! :)

http://instagram.com/tobithelhasaapso

Thanks for reading,

Courtney ♡.

Merry (Late) Christmas + Happy New Year! {{Swatches, Ootds & Quick Review ft. Dr. BrandDt BB Cream }}

First things first, (and late as well):

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Hope you guys had a great and fun Christmas this year!

For me, it was family dinner after dinner, which was good, I got to eat a lot of food! :D Although, nowadays, when I get older, I'm starting to find myself thinking that Christmas, goes slowly by. I remember when I was really little, the day, went so fast, since I was very excited about receiving and opening gifts. I like to think it's a sign that I'm growing up, hahaha.

One of the gifts that I received this year, was a small makeup haul, (woot!) from Sephora.

In detail:

-Silver Sephora brand nail polish 

-Sephora eyeshadow [in Western Leather No. 20]

-Tarte lipglosses 

-Laura Mercier lipstick [in Passion Fruit]

-Dr Brandt bb cream [in light to medium]

I've never bought a single/separate Sephora eyeshadow myself, so I was pleasantly surprised that when I applied it to my lids, it was very smooth. Oh, and it was also very pigmented, another plus! Although I shouldn't be too surprised since I reviewed about sephora 4 eye look book palette previously.

On the picture, the darker lip gloss is actually, a dark pink and not red, as it is depicted on the photo. Both glosses are very shiny and very bold when put on. The lip glosses itself, don't have a specific name, as I believe they are sample sizes.

Ahh, when I saw this lipstick, I was so excited, after all, its my first Laura Mercier product! :D The colour of the lipstick is called Passion Fruit. The lipstick itself is very light and shimmery, its a very nice colour, although I recommend, its best use over another lipstick colour.



||Review||

I'll be the first to say, that I heard of numerous BB cream brands, but when I recieved this one as a gift, I was quite intrigued and excited, as I never heard of Dr. BranDt, before. 

As soon as I could, I tried the BB cream out, and let me say there are some pros and cons about it:

Sadly, it does not smooth out well.

The colour could be a bit better, it really depends on your skin tone. The one I received was 'light to medium' which was way too dark for my skin, but if it fits/matches with your skin, then you have a winner!
❤❤❤♡♡

The coverage was average at best, it did cover some imperfections of my face, but for some it did not do its job.
❤❤♡♡♡

The application was confusing to me, O-O. While I put it on, I had no problem, it was silky and smooth. Yet, when it came to blending, thats when the problem arise. I blended the BB cream as best I could, but it still came out patchy.
❤❤♡♡♡

My overall thoughts/rating:
❤❤♡♡♡

[{Outfits}]

Here are a couple of shots of my outfits for Christmas dinners.

***Sorry for the quality of the pictures, I no longer have a camera at the moment, so I have to use my samsung S2's camera instead.

Dress: Free People
Cardigan: American Eagle
Shoes: DSW Shoes
Necklace: Forever 21

Dress: Urban Outfitters
Socks: Forever 21
Shoes: DSW Shoes

Sweater: YesStyle
Skirt: Urban Planet
Socks: Forever 21

And finally, I can say this with pleasure and somewhat proudness (as I am going to post a post on the actual event on the actual day :p)

I hope the new year brings you guys happiness and fulfillment. Hopefully, I will be able to achieve all my new resolutions for this year, especially when it comes to school and my career choice, and personally, for this blog, to write more!

Thanks for reading,

Courtney ♡.

Ootd #2: 'Red'-dy to Say Hello and Goodbye {Food Snaps, Thoughts + More}

It's been quite a while, since I last posted an outfit of the day, which is weird considering that I love taking pictures of my outfits and its something that I do constantly. However, my house has really no nice backgrounds to take pictures, which makes it difficult since I'm extremely picky. 

So the majority of my outfits taken at home, will have a door in the background, because honestly outside or inside my room is sadly, one of the best backgrounds in my house. ;A;

The outfit that I  styled is what I creatively (HAHAHA) called, "'Red-'dy to Say Hello and Goodbye." And this is only because the tank top I'm wearing has the french words for 'hello' (bonjour) and 'good-bye' (tristesse). Plus the fact that the colour red is the primary scheme of colour that is in focus.

The outfit:

Hat from: Forever 21

Cardigan from: American Eagle

Tank top from: H&M

Skirt from: Brandy Melville

Taking a closer look:

I'm the not a hat person, at all. But when I saw this one, I knew I wanted to buy it. There was also the factor that it was on a promotional sale, so it was a good deal. I would have preferred a black coloured one, however, by the time I decided to buy it, they were all sold out, so I had to settle for wine-red coloured one instead. The thing about it, is that I love the floppiness. It makes any of the outfits styled with it, cute and quirky, especially (in my opinion) when girls curl their hair.

The length and colour of the cardigan is what drew me in and ultimately led me to buy it. As you know, I'm not a tall person, ._., my height is exactly 5'0", and usually the problem for me when searching for cardigans is that they lend to be long and go right past my knees, x_x. However, this one, stops right above the knees, which I love about it. The beige colour makes it also easier to match with other clothing as well.

The one thing that I didn't appreciate about the item was the price, which I believe was around $35, which is insane, considering that you can find similar ones that are cheaper, in H&M or Forever 21. All in all, in a positive light, I got 15% off since American Eagle's card allows me to, as it is my birthday month.

I`ll be the first to say and admit H&M is not one of my favourite stores, I can hardly find anything that I like when I browse around. That being said, their store is probably one of the best when it comes to their sale items. The Bonjour|Tristesse tank was originally sold for $14, but I got it for $5, talk about a good deal! The tank top itself is very comfortable and soft, and the fact that it has a heart image on it, makes it cutesy, which I love.

It may not look like it, but, the red skirt is actually made entirely from velvet, which I appreciate since it`s soothing and super soft. I bought it at Vancouver`s only Brandy Melville at Granville, and I have to say, I was very excited since it was my first official purchase from the store (....I'm such a dork :p). The store also carried a black version of it, though, I thought the red one looked classier and more feminine. The one thing that I don't enjoy about the skirt is, it`s really, really thin.

☼[[Additional Shots]]☽

{Thoughts} 

This is going to be a quick ramble, you could say. Lately, I've been thinking of what I wanted to do in life and what my career would be, and as of now, the field that I'm currently studying for, is something that I`m not enjoying. I thought I did, until I realize I only enjoyed learning different aspects of it, but other than that, I don't enjoy it as a whole

Just recently I attended an info session about hair design and skin and makeup at VCC, a field that always piqued my interest. The info session was enjoyable, however, I had to say, before going into it, I was more excited about the field, but when the session was over, I wasn't as excited, which surprised me.

I`m at the point in life that I want to study and learn something that I will enjoy and eventually make a career out of.

Seriously, deciding what my career path and to be more talkative during large group hangouts should be my upcoming New Years Resolution :/

I found this quote, and I think it applies to me:

"Just because you took longer than others, doesn't mean you failed."

||Food Snaps||

I like to take pictures of my food. So enjoy (or not)!

Breakfast special at Kyle's.

Niku Udon from Sekai!!!

Coffebar's matcha latte.

Assorted sushi from Cho Sun.

Korean BBQ!

{[Music Mania]}

Do you ever get bored of the music you play constantly?

If you are, I have a few artists and songs I would like to recommend, so hopefully, if you like the songs that I'm putting up, then thats great!

WALK THE MOON - Anna Sun

(an oldie, but a goodie!)

Scavenger Hunt - Dreamers

(heard this on a virgin mobile commercial, and I literally had to memorize the lyrics to find it.)

Jason Zerbin - In Your Arms

(Another oldie song. I love supporting Canadian artists, who should be more well known.)

DJ Okawari - Luv Letter

(Completely instrumental, but very beautiful.)

Well, thats it for this post, I'm hoping to blog more, but it will be a few days when I update, since I'm going to Whistler!!! Knowing me, I'm going to take a lot of pictures when I get there!

Thanks for reading,
Courtney ♡.