Zulutastic :) NARS Zulu : Review and Swatches

IT'S HERE.

It took a while (thanks Canada Post).

I tried using substitute products.

And I complained about missing it for a while now.

NARS ZULU ^____^

Look how pretty it is.  NARS packaging, always sexy and ever so modern.

It does give me a case of lobster hands, but I don't give a s***.  It's just that unique a shade.  

It's jelly.

It's almost black so very flattering on paler skin tones.

It's green in the sun.  

Three coats is perfection.  

Don't you just LOVE this?

I do.

If you want to share the love, you can order it directly from NARS, which is much cheaper than the 50$+ I've seen on ebay.  NARS cosmetics ships to Canada and it took about a week for me to receive my package.  I paid 32$ (shipping included) for this little gem.  A little much, yes, but when you've loved a nail polish for more than three months, you know you're going to wear it a lot.

Now only if they could re-release Midnight Express.... 

January's Luxe Box

Can I just say WOW?

Friday evening at like 8 pm, my doorbell rang.  It was Canada Post delivering my Luxe Box, without me even receiving a tracking number o__O.  The box was also different than usual and I couldn't for the life of me figure out why it was so big....

...until I opened my box.  And can I say OMG.

First, there was two boxes.  The regular black box and a bonus white box.  TWO BOXES, SCORE!

The white box had two items.  A Schick 5 blade razor, which itself retails for 13.99$ and a Fekkai Advanced Glossing Shampoo and Conditioner.  This couldn't have been better, honestly.  I was just contemplating changing my razor blade because of its ineffectiveness and bang a new razor to use, yay!  I also love glossing products for hair and can't wait to try that shampoo and conditioner to alternate with my regular hair products.

Now onto the regular black Luxe box.  

Let me tell you, it. was. PACKED.

The first product I noticed is the one I had picked when they sent out the ''reserve a product in your next Luxe Box email''.  BENEFIT POWDA WOWZA.  WOWZA, SERIOUSLY.  This product is awesome.  It contains three best sellers from BeneFit : Coralista (a coral blush), Bella Bamba (a pink watermelon shimmery blush) and Hoola (a matte bronzer that a lot of paler ladies have been using as a contour powder - again, SCORE!).

I'll put up a separate review for that one, it totally deserves it!

The second product I noticed was the lipstick.  I love lipsticks way more than I do glosses so I was very excited about that one as well.  I didn't know the brand at all and found out that it's from Yves Rocher and retails for only 5$.  That's really inexpensive, as even most drugstore lipsticks sell for 6-7$.  

The packaging is also super cute and girly and I really like it.  The color I received is La Gacilly no 66, which is a pale raspberry pink with shimmer in it.  

The texture is really creamy and it sorts of reminds me of the creaminess of lip butters.  I doesn't have amazing staying power though, but that doesn't irk me at all.  For the price, it's great value and I will definitely look at other shades at their stores.

The third item in the box was a Biosilk silk therapy hair treatment.  It is meant to be used before styling your hair with heat.  I'll definitely use that one up but at the 55$ price point, I probably won't be repurchasing.

The extra item this month was coffee.  I won't talk about that one because I don't know a thing about coffee and I don't drink it.  That will be gifted to someone who can appreciate it more than I do! 

I also received a note from Loose Button telling me that I had been selected to review several fragrances for their MyScent program.  I received 6 samples total, with one being the Lady Million Paco Rabanne I had received the month before.  I really loved L'Elixir by Nina Ricci and L'Infusion Iris by Prada.  I will alternate these two with my favorite perfume, which currently is the one I received in December's Glymm box, YSL La Parisienne.  My boyfriend liked the Paco Rabanne Black XS one best, although we wasn't wowed by any of them.

All in all, great box!  It sure made up for last month's box which was average and in my mind it even makes up for next month's box if it ends up being average as well.  This was definitely something unexpected, Loose Button did an AWESOME job.

January Glymm Box Review

I finally received my Glymm box (thanks Canada Post) after it going back and forth between Montreal and Richmond.  

The thing with delays with the post is that you're left restless - very anxious to receive your goodies.  So when I opened my box, my expectations were higher than usual, because I had been waiting for that baby for like 10 days.  

Needless to say, I was a *little* disappointed.

Added after writing full review : In the end, I'm pretty excited about two of the five products in the box so saying I'm disappointed is a little harsh!  

The first thing I noticed - and many people did too - was ''but where are my jelly beans?''.  I loooove Jelly Bellys and I always ate them while opening my box and have kept all the little jars for storage - they're great for bobby pins or to carry Advil in your purse ;).  I've read somewhere that Glymm had problems with jars breaking in the shipping process so they're trying to figure out another way to send them.  I hope that's the case, because that was really one of the elements that differentiate them from Luxe Box.

The box contained 5 items + a coupon for a free RMS lip shine if you order something on the Glymm store.  Because I had already placed an order on the Glymm store about a week ago, there is currently nothing I'm feeling like purchasing, so I'll probably skip on that offer.  Still very nice of them though. :)

The first product I noticed was the brow gel.  Now this is a product I would be REALLY excited about if I was the average women.  Shaped brows can do wonders for your face structure, slimming your features and enhancing your eyes in a very natural way.  

But I'm not the average women in regards to my brows.  I have LOTS of other features that need enhancing, but brows isn't one of them because I was blessed with naturally nicely shaped brows.  But I'll say it again... GREAT product and GREAT idea to put it out there.

The other item I normally would be super excited about is the Kara facial cloth.  I love facial cloths that you can use as makeup removers (see my previous rave about the Neutrogena ones).  Why am I not as excited about this product as I should be?  It's only one cloth, which hardly gives me enough product to figure out whether I like it or not.  For these types of product, I feel 3 cloths would have been better to evaluate the general quality of the product.  I'll review that one for sure when I get around to trying it for removal of a full face of makeup.

One of the other three items is the Vasanti cleanser, which has micro crystals in it.  My usual cleansing routine is done with my Clarisonic and you can't use cleansers with micro beads in them because they can damage the mechanism of your Clarisonic.  So yeah, it might be nice and everything, but again, that's not something I can include in my daily routine.  

Then there's the Burt's Bees nourishing body lotion with milk and honey.  I looove Burt's Bees product, as I use my cuticle balm regularly for manicures.  I can't wait to use that lotion when I get out of the shower.  Plus, this product is really one that I would definitely repurchase if I end up loving it because it's easily accessible.

Lastly, we have another black pencil.  Loose Button had a black pencil in its December box and now Glymm has one in their January box.  Like I said for my Luxe Box review, I really wish they had picked a color more original that just plain old black.

Here is a little follow up on my black eyeliner swatch post, where you can see the Cargo black eyeliner.  This time I sticked to pencil eyeliners for greater comparability.

The one on the left is the Cargo pencil and it's a really matte black with no glossy or shimmery finish at all.  I noticed that the pencil was a lot harder than the other two so while it will give a greater staying power, it's virtually unsmudgeable so forget using it for a smokey eye.

In the center I've used the NYX pencil I've received in last's month Luxe box.  Out of the three this has the glossiest finish.  Texture-wise it's a lot softer than Cargo's pencil, but not as creamy as the one on the right, which is UD 24/7 eyeliner pencil in Zero.  

The UD 24/7 pencil is really easy to work with for smudging and glides like a charm on the skin.  The only downside is that you need to have your sharpener with you at all times because of its creaminess.  

So yeah, all in all, a good month, that has been a little bit darkened by my adventures with Canada Post, but that's not Glymm's fault at all.  I looked around for reviews (after I had received my box of course) and it seems everybody got the same box this month.  I still think it's well worth the 10$ a month, especially when you factor in the points awarded for reviews and purchases and the availability of certain high quality products on their online store.  I'll definitely stay a customer for a while :).

If you'd like to register for a Glymm box, here's my referral link.  Disclaimer : I do get 50 points to redeem on their store if you use my referral link to subscribe so if that's not your thing, you can subscribe by going directly on Glymm's website here.

Dear Canada Post, why don't you love me anymore?

Now, you're probably wondering why I haven't posted my review of January's Glymm box yet.  

Me too.

I live near Glymm's shipping center.  So each time they give me a tracking number, within two days max, I get my package and can review the awesomeness of that little pink box.  

Well... not this time.  

I have been having the shittiest luck with Canada Post lately.  I'm currently expecting, as we speak, three packages:

1) January Glymm box (shipped on the 16th)

2) One high end nail polish (ordered on the 15th)

3) Amazon order for 3 nail polishes (ordered on the 10th) 

Each of these things are LATE.  Let's break them down separately.

1) January Glymm box

When this first shipped on the 16th I thought to myself ''yaaaay I'll receive it tomorrow or in two days at the latest''.  WRONG.  The delivery estimate was the 17th indeed so I should've received it a day after it shipped, like usual.  But the 17th came and still no box.  And the 18th and no box either.  On the 19th, I was impatient and since there had been no activity on my tracking number for two days I decided to contact Glymm's customer service via email.  They replied quickly enough and very kindly, but said that I had to wait a while longer before they could do anything since the package could still be on its way.

..............................

.....Yeah, I live like 30 minutes from you guys so 3 days to ship doesn't seem right... 

Anyways, I decided to wait still.

Then, on the 20th, I saw activity on my tracking number... in RICHMOND.  Which is in British Columbia.  Why the hell did my package travel all the way to the West Coast is beyond me.  Somebody must've screwed up at Canada Post.

Now it's the 25th and still nothing.  I don't know whether they'll be sending it back to Montreal or if the package is lost in Richmondland 'til it's destroyed.  Now Glymm won't send me a replacement box until they know what happens with my package, which I get but still find a little irritating.  

You see, all packages that have express shipping have an insurance of 100$, which is way more than the actual value of the box.  If my box is lost, Glymm can claim 100$ to Canada Post which they will get.  The second option is that they send me a replacement box, which I would receive within a day.  But if I do get a second box, it's like I've stolen 10$ from them.  Obviously I could refuse the original package, but I guess nobody is counting on the kindness and honesty of strangers anymore and I can't really blame them about that.  It's just a really frustrating situation because I don't know what the outcome will be yet.

And I kinda want my box, y'know?

2) Order I placed for nail polish on the 15th

I placed an order recently for one nail polish and it came up to 32$ with shipping.  Pricey I know, but when you'll see which one it is you'll see why!

When I browsed through the website I saw that orders are processed within 24-48 hours business days.  So because I placed my order on a Sunday I was expecting for it to be shipped either on Tuesday or Wednesday and receive it around Friday or even Monday at the latest.

Friday I still hadn't received my tracking number.  I emailed the company asking them if the item I had ordered was out of stock or if the delay was longer for Canadian orders.  They replied about five hours later with a tracking number and a delivery estimate, which was Monday the 23rd.  I was happy, I was finally getting a package next week.

So Monday I checked compulsively on the Canada Post website to see the updates on my tracking number.  I saw that my order was still in Ontario and that meant I would be getting it a day late.  I was a little angry because the delivery estimate was wrong once again and it had been delayed one day but I didn't think too much about it. 

The following day I checked again to see if my order was out of delivery and to my great surprise, I found that it was STILL IN ONTARIO and that the delivery date had been delayed ONCE AGAIN.  The package has been in Ontario for 5 days now (counting the weekend) and they still aren't forwarding it here.  If the delivery date changes once again I'm going to send a letter to Canada Post asking why they don't love me.  I seriously will.

3) Amazon order for 3 nail polishes

Like I said here and here before, I've often ordered from Nail Polish Supplies inc on Amazon.  The only thing that irks me is that they don't provide a shipping number because the packages are sent through regular mail so it's always a surprise to see when the packages actually arrive.

Amazon does provide a shipping estimate and I usually receive my order the first or second day within that estimate.

But guess what??

NOT THIS TIME.

The delivery estimate was between Friday January 20th and Monday January 30th.  So normally, I would've received my package either Friday or Monday.  But it's Wednesday morning now and still no package.  Why?  Because Canada Post hates me.  

This actually scares me a little because this package is sent from the US and it has to clear customs to make it to my house.  It's a 15$ order but still, I don't want it to go to waste.  

So yeah, that's about it.  I sure hope Canada Post finds a way to love me back like it did before because I'm going to be really angry if it messes with the shipping of my January's Luxe Box as well.  AND THEY DON'T WANT TO FEEL THE WRATH OF A WOMAN RIPPED FROM HER GOODIES - GOODIES SHE'S PAID FOR AND IS ENTITLED TO.

/rant

Well that felt good.

Revlon Starry Pink/Popular : Story, Review and Swatches

Now, here is a little story I like to call ''How I went crazy about three Revlon nail polishes''.  It started innocently enough, I was browsing my favorite blogs when I stumbled upon swatches of Revlon's Expressionists collection.  I saw Facets of Fuchsia, Starry Pink and Blue Mosaic and fell in love with Starry Pink immediately.  I took a photo of the swatch with my iPhone and proceeded to the drugstore on my lunch break to buy that shade.  

Yeah right.

At first I was baffled.  Why didn't my two regular drugstores didn't have it?  They're downtown and they get a lot of stuff so why didn't they have this.  Would they receive it later on?  I was confused.  

I then started to do some research online, only to find out that these had come and gone at most drugstores.  The displays had been there for a mere week or two and then poof, gone.  

Obviously, being as bone-headed as I am, I went on a quest.  Last saturday during my lunch break I pillaged three drugstores, with no luck.  I braved very cold temperature (like -20 degrees people...) and lots of wind (so -25 degrees in reality), but came back empty-handed. 

The next day, I visited another drugstore during my break, still not finding these precious.  I then decided that after my work shift, I was going to take the bus and get off twenty minutes before my real stop, so that I could pillage two other drugstores.

The first one was a disappointment.  Not only didn't they have my pretties, but their nail polish selection was the worst.  I was starting to get annoyed with the whole thing and almost decided to go back home, thinking that this was a lost cause.  But if I've learned one thing from watching my boyfriend play countless hours of Skyrim, it's that you need to persevere even if it takes AGES TO DO THE SIMPLEST THING.  

So I started walking to go to the second drugstore on my route, which was a few blocks away.  But while getting there I saw another drugstore, which I hadn't thought of - because they usually don't have ANYTHING.  (Honestly it's amazing they're still in business because their inventory and deco really need to be spruced up.... anyways that's besides the point.)

And to my surprise, there they were.  The whole Expressionists display UNTOUCHED.  Actually it even had a little dust on it.  All shades were there.  So I picked up Starry Pink, Facets of Fuchsia, Blue Mosaic and Carbonite (only because it's a Chanel dupe - I don't even like the foil look anyway.... yeah that's marketing and branding right there).

So here is the beloved Starry Pink : 

This is with a flash indoors.  It's three coats over two coats of Essie Mademoiselle which is so sheer I honestly don't know why I thought of using it under Starry Pink.  Must've been some bubble to go through my brain at that point.  But isn't it prettyyyy?

This one is outside and honestly it makes me think of clouds.  When I was a kid I thought that clouds looked yummy, because I thought they were giant cotton candy in the sky.  So yeah cotton candy cloudy nails with glitter to boot, what better things in life can you ask for?  

Well that's easy.  My CPA title.  A Range Rover.  A trip to Egypt, India, Italy and Thailand.  A Miu Miu or Marc Jacobs handbag.  And the list goes on...

But still, a nice nail polish does it's job once in a while...

If you like those too you'll be happy to know that Revlon has added them to their permanent line.  The names will change though.

Starry Pink will become Popular

Facets of Fuchsia will become Scandalous

Blue Mosaic will become Radiant

Now only if I could find Whimsical...

U JELLY? Sally Hansen Purple Pizzazz : Review and Swatches

Being a fan of creme finishes for their glossiness it was only a matter of time before I gave into nail polishes with a jelly finish.  You know, those super glossy nail polish that you HAVE to put three coats on because the first one is almost clear.  

The first jelly nail polish I ever set my eyes on was NARS Zulu.  The once elusive now not so elusive Zulu, but more on that later.  

In the more accessible range, here is Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Purple Pizzazz, which I paid 2.99$ at Shoppers Drug Mart.  It seems nowadays that they're getting rid of A LOT of nail polishes because every drugstore has some brand on clearance.  Usually it's mostly duds that are left, but once in a while you see a little gem like this one.  

What you see up here is three coats in natural sunlight, well, it was cloudy but... you get the idea.  It's a jelly base that has some shimmer to it which makes it fascinating to look at.  I literally couldn't stop looking at it the other night and kept telling my boyfriend ''isn't it pretty?'', which obviously he didn't see LOL.

I know some people have trouble with jelly nail polishes because they tend to be streaky if applied incorrectly but this one was a breeze.  Very high quality for the price and definitely an unusual color.

Now here's a shot with the flash so you can see the shimmer I'm talking about.  I just loooove it.  It's very subtle and that's what makes it so lovely.  I hate shimmer that leans towards frosty or foil looks and this obviously isn't that.  

It's definitely one of my favorite right now and I'm sure I'll be wearing a lot this winter.  Do you like jelly finishes?  What are your favorite shades?

Essie Size Matters : Review and Swatches

A little while ago I picked up Essie's Winter 2011 collection mini set.  The 4 shades in this set were : Size Matters, Cocktail Bling, Bangle Jangle and Bobbing For Baubles.  It was really a great deal since the set was 13.99$ on clearance whereas the individual shades were 9.99$.

The first shade I tried was Size Matters.  I wasn't feeling too adventurous with my nails the other day so that classic red shade was the perfect choice for me.  Also ''Size Matters''?  What a cool name.  And so true ;P... but that's another subject! 

I have to say... Essie is probably my favorite brand of nail polish.  I'm just so in love with their formulas and their color range because I'm a cream finish loverrrr.  Also, I find the brush is easier to work with, but that's just personal preference.  

Isn't this shade dreamy?  It's a very pink-toned red that is definitely on the cool side and it just looks awesome on my nails.  What I expected to be a normal red nail polish is definitely one of my favorite classic looks.

I'm a little sad I didn't purchase this full size actually.  But I'm sure if I ever run out I'll figure out a way to find it somewhere or Essie will end up repromoting it someday lol.  

I'll post swatches of Bobbing For Baubles - which was a little disappointing :(... - and of Bangle Jangle and Cocktail Bling too so you can get a feeling of the whole collection.  

Doctor Flakie or How I Learned To Stop Wanting and Love the Dupes.

Let me preface this post by saying that I'm bad.  Like REALLY bad.  At a lot of things.  Things that require a lot of coordination like basketball (double dribble anyone?) or that require precision or arm strength (yeah I throw like a girl) or memorizing tax reliefs conditions for exams.  

But the thing I'm the worst at is willpower.  When I want something, I want it.  Badly.  You might argue that this is good because it drives me to accomplish stuff, well yeah, that too, but it does account for some STUPID DECISIONS.

A while ago flakies started popping up several places in swatches online.  With Finger Paints releasing a collection of flakies, they were all the rage.  Thing is though... they're only available at Sally's.  And not online, in store ONLY.  And guess what?  There are no Sally's here.  

So I ventured on ebay to try and find those precious Finger Paints flakies.  Yeah, bad idea.  The whole pack of them was 70$+shipping, when they retail for 5.49$ each.  If I had bought them - and I almost did, several times - I would have overspent by like at least 45$.  Like I said... STUPID DECISIONS.

Gladly, someone mentioned that Inglot had flakies as well... And I purchased two of them, which were 12$ each.  I picked the green one (203) and blue one (204), because I don't really care for multicoloured flakies or orange-toned ones (scandalous, I know).

Here are the results :  

Now.. isn't that GORGEOUS?  I must've looked at my nails all day that day LOL.  I layered it over Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Black Out, which is my go to black as seen here.  Even though it is mostly a green flakie, you can definitely see some blue flakies in there :).  

Oh and this is one coat of flakies only, so it's a lot more pigmented than the Finger Paints flakies from what I've seen/heard.

A little pet peeve though.. can you see how SMALL this bottle is.  It's really halfway between a regular Essie bottle and a mini Essie.  That's how small the thing is.  But honestly, I've never EVER finished a nail polish (except blacks, base/top coats and treatments) so it's not like I think I will run out of this someday.  But still, for 12$ it's a little infuriating.

Lastly a close up pick to show the prettiness in all its glory.   

I'll try and post a matte flakies look 'cause those are GORGEOUS as well.  Much less tacky also imo... because let's face it, when you've been rocking these for 2-3 days, you do start to see them like a trend that you will look back on someday and say WHAT THE F*** WAS I THINKING?

What are your thoughts on flakies?

OPI Suzi Says Feng Shui and China Glaze High Hopes: Review and Swatches

Urgh. So sorry. I've been a bad blogger lately.  You know, the Holidays and all that.  Another semester at school (will I ever be done with these?).  Anyways, no excuses!

Now, here to the good stuff.  Nail polish *___*

I've mentioned before on this post that I've ordered a few nail polishes from Nail Polish Supplies inc because they're one of the few sellers that deliver to Canada without ridiculous shipping prices.  I've played with my cart a few times and noticed that if I ordered 3 nail polishes I could get away with a 5.95$ shipping fee, which is very reasonable imo.

Here's two of the polishes I bought and tried : 

The first one is Suzi Says Feng Shui by OPI.  I can't remember the exact price, but it ranged from 4$-4.50$, which is very cheap compared to the 9$-9.450$ I usually pay in hair salons here.

This is two coats.  A lot of people love this shade so I was expecting to fall head over heels for this one, because I love blue nail polish so much.  But this color is really muted.  It does make it very fascinating and different, but when it just sits there with bad lighting (which is like 95% of the time) it's kinda bleeeh.  Also, I wouldn't try it on my toes as I feel it can give the dead feet look quite easily.

The second shade is High Hopes by China Glaze, which I paid 3.15$, yay!  It's a very pretty coral color and it does look prettier in the pictures than it does in real life.  I don't know if it's just me, but I'm always drawn to corals but they just don't go with my skin tone.  I feel Sally Hansen Instra-Dri Sonic Bloom - which I also have - might be a dupe for it and that one surely is easier to find in Canadian drugstores.  All in all it's a pretty shade, but I'm sure I won't be trying it again before I get a little tan (well... what I can get that is).

I'm really glad I found this seller because I've been mesmerized by the Up and Away China Glaze collection and their beautiful pastel and creamy shades and I've been able to get ahold of them real cheap!