I almost feel like I should be tagging this as “Steals and Deals” as well, with that sale NARS lip gloss (All Night Long)! Ah, well.
P.S. How craaazy is that DiorShow 360 wand?! Has anyone tried it out yet?
- e.l.f. has a “buy one get one 50% off” sale now through the 3rd of January; code is BCGDEAL50. Max discount is $100. {e.l.f.}
- Free Canadian shipping at the online MAC site with BOX {MAC}
- An extra 20% off online sale items at Sephora (US only; Canucks can head in-store to pick up some sale items, though! Code is EXTRA. {Sephora}
- Rotating deals today at Well.ca; the deal changes every few hours but you can keep an eye on their Twitter for updates. {Well.ca}
About the seller
Nicholette, the blending brains behind this whole op (har har, Opulent… sorry. I’ll stop.) is such a wonderful seller — the customer service is great, she’s really accommodating, and the samples all look divine! You can really tell that everything’s been filled, labelled, and packed with care; my samples came super-full and carefully labelled. Plus, they arrived bundled safety in four or five perfectly-wrapped pieces of tissue and a bubble mailer. No cracks, leaks, or other packaging mishaps here!
Unlike a lot of sellers who promise “carefully chosen” extra samples “if available,” Nicholette actually pays attention to her customers. I had asked her to switch out L’Artisan Parfumeur Tea For Two for a sample of Annick Goutal Petite Cherie at the last moment, and was disappointed when I opened up the package to find Tea For Two… until I saw that she had included both! My other surprise sample was a dupe of Serge Lutens Un Bois Vanille, and I’m guessing it’s because (even I had to sort through old emails to figure this one out,) I had mentioned my budding vanilla addiction when I first asked about samples.
Now that, my dears, is dedication.
About the dupes
This section is long. I know, and I’m sorry. The really important stuff’s bolded, though, so you could always just read those bits!
Coco (Chanel) smells absolutely nothing like Coco, if you ask me! This was the first dupe I tried on, and I was horrified — it’s not sophisticated, and it’s not spicy. Which is not to say that some people wouldn’t like it, but on my skin, at least, it just smelled like a mess of soapy essential oils! It was far enough off the mark that I almost burst into tears. What can I say: I had my hopes up, and I was having a really awful day!
Chinatown (Bond No. 9). Everyone describes Chinatown as one of the most entrancing things they’ve ever tried; something that never gets boring. Now, I haven’t smelled the Bond No. 9, but this was pretty much what I was expecting. It opens as a very sweet, very bold “big white flor(ient)al,” and while it is definitely not a scent for the timid, it’s quite well-blended. The first few minutes are a bit overwhelming for me, but would be heaven for a lover of white florals and warm, sweet scents! As the top notes evaporate, Chinatown’s peach blossom accords, smooth, woody notes, and light spiciness are revealed. However, as to the claim that it is one of the most complex, fascinating scents around? For this dupe, at least: it isn’t, in my opinion.
(Also, it makes me think of an Anthropologie shop. I think it might be the bergamot-sandalwood blend, which is common in a lot of the candles and body lotions throughout the store. *shrugs* I don’t know. It kinda smells like a really pretty room spray or something, rather than a perfume.)
Un Bois Vanille (Serge Lutens) was a sample I didn’t end up ordering, because I thought I’d hate it! (Hint: I did not.) I’ve sampled the actual Serge UBV before, and it has a very specific note that I don’t care for — “animalic” would be the proper term to use, but honestly, it’s just icky and body-odour-ish. (Most people don’t find a lot of b.o. in UBV, but even the smallest amounts of it drive my sensitive nose nuts.) Opulent Alchemy’s dupe, however, has much less of an animalic note, delivering instead a very smooth, carmelized vanilla — incredibly sweet, yes, but if you’re a lover of sweet vanillas (and especially if you love Serge’s Un Bois Vanille,) this is a great one!
Hello, my dearlings! (That’s right, “dearlings” is totally a word.) A bit of an open thread idea today — I want to hear all about your favourite products of the year! What was good? More importantly, what was great? (And, of course: what was terrible?)
Just as a bit of a pre-emptive note, my apologies for the awful lighting and hair. As I’m sure you all know by now, I’m terribly lazy with my hair, and the sun sets *really* early in Edmonton during the winter. Unfortunately, I haven’t a will to change the former, and I haven’t a way to change the latter!
That’s it for me! This is a bit early (I had planned on posting this on New Year’s but I’m superimpatient), but please do tell us what you loved, liked, and totally hated this year! Alternately, feel free to ask more about the products mentioned in the video — I know, it was really fast, but I’d love to link you to the reviews or answer questions. I was totally obsessed with each product at some point in the year, so I’m totally up for blabbing about ’em :P
MAC Cham-Pale and Stylishly Yours are now online at Nordstrom.com! Thought I’d give you the heads up right now, but I’ll see if I can’t update this post later today (or tomorrow) to add some Boxing Day beauty deals :) Updated!
A few codes:
And, finally, some Steals and Deals:
P.S. The Clinique Chubby Sticks post from earlier this week has been updated as well!
Haven’t actually given this one a thorough test yet (so no review), but my lord is she ever gorgeous! For all of you out there who didn’t get what you wanted for Christmas, perhaps you could console yourselves with this shadow trio ;) I bet the gold would make a gorgeous New Year’s lid colour…
But alas! Ladies and gents, please prepare yourselves for the upcoming photo onslaught.
Wearing: MAC Blanc Type and a touch of Urban Decay Primer Potion in Sin on the eyes, a touch of MAC Harmony and Lancome Rose Fresque on the cheeks, Hard Candy Glamoflauge and Marcelle Loose Powder as needed. Boring for the holidays? But of course!
[Insert different PC-approved phrase as is appropriate. Whether you celebrate Christmas or Hanukkah, something else entirely, or nothing at all, happy holidays my dear!]
P.S. I don’t really understand the word “holiday,” so I don’t expect there’ll be one. See you tomorrow!
What it is: Clinique Chubby Stick Moisturizing Lip Colour Balm in Super Strawberry
The background: Feeling a bit of deja vu? Don’t worry; you’re not the only one — Chubby Sticks existed until a few years ago, when they were discontinued. By the sounds of it, I believe Clinique has fine-tuned the product and decided it was time to bring ’em back!
The product: Despite the pencil format, these really do act like lip balm. Packed with shea butter, mango seed butter, and jojoba seed oil, these fragrance-free sticks feel moisturizing and smooth, and are neither too tacky nor too slippery (as many jumbo lip pencils can be). Super Strawberry is a fantastic MLBB shade (“my lips but better”) on me; it’s about a shade darker than my natural lip colour, and a bit brighter. It’s great for applying in a rush or without a mirror, and looks really natural when on. The satiny finish looks and feels awesome, and the pigmentation’s good — Clinique calls it sheer, but I’d place it more at medium-sheer.
swatched heavily / swatched lightly and blended
The packaging: The cute, playful packaging’s been revamped too, which I think is going to be a big hit! Chubby Sticks now have a twistable base, so you won’t have to find an enormous sharpener (or deal with a stubby little Chubby.) (And yes, I’ve been waiting the whole review to say that.)
The ingredients:
Castor seed oil, caprylic/capric triglyceride, vegetable oil, candelilla wax, beeswax, ozokerite, shea butter, hydrogenated vegetable oil, jojoba seed oil, tocopherol, mango seed butter, meadowfoam seed oil, hydrogenated olive oil, sunflower seed oil. [+/- pigments, which are a bit of a wordy mess so I’m not going to list them all!]
The verdict? Colour these approved! I like the formula, the packaging’s awesome, and Super Strawberry is a really lovely shade. The only thing I’m not huge on is the price up here in Canada ($15USD/$19CAD per stick), but I think I’d be able to justify it by waiting for a GWP.
Availability: these will be released on Boxing Day, so keep an eye out for them when you go deal hunting! I’ll be sure to update this post with availability links then. Clinique, Lord & Taylor, Dillard’s.
I attempted all day to finish a review for you lovely ladies, but I just couldn’t do it. I have been so wiped all day, and I guess my mental functions were just not up to thinking about products!
Instead, I figure now’s a good time to share some red lipstick and gloss swatches with you. These aren’t all the reds in my collection (ack, I have way too many reds) but they’re some of the ones I reach for the most often. Which shade’s your favourite? :o) Oh, and don’t forget that you can enlarge all our photos by clicking on ’em!
From left to right, these lovely reds are: Annabelle Volumelip in Cherryoké, MAC Tinted Lip Conditioner in Plum Perfect, Annabelle Le Gloss in Bitten, Ellis Faas 201, Marcelle Rouge Vitality in Vintage Red, Clarins Rouge Prodige in Barocco, MAC Lipstick in Dubonnet, and Annabelle Rouge Velours in Adrenaline.
I’ve tried to arrange them in terms of opacity, so the swatches start with the more sheer glosses/balms, then the more pigmented glosses, and finally, the lipsticks. My favourite? Um… if I could pick one, do you really think I’d have this many? :P
It’s still obscenely early, but I think I might try to turn in for the night… or watch some more Fringe. Ugh, let’s hope I’m feeling better tomorrow — I still have so much that I want to share with you before the new year! In the meantime, a question: what do you do when you’re really tired (but can’t sleep)?
Somewhere between falling in love with paint swatches (CIL Autumnal Equinox, you complete me) and attempting to pick out new sheets (still hasn’t happened), I became obsessed with champagne tones. Gold-pinks, oyster white, white golds… everything.
Of course, in typical Rae fashion, I had to put together a small assortment of some truly gorgeous gold and champagne items! Aren’t they wonderful?
But then! Hark!
(I’m sorry. For some craaazy reason, I’ve been really giddy and ridiculous recently.)
Ahem, but then, not in my typical fashion, I felt badly about it and decided to share some more reasonably-priced items, too. While I love the Badgley Mischka pumps above, let’s be honest: the Kelly & Katie ones are definitely more my style. And my budget.
P.S. I caved and bought the Sin Primer Potion. Cross your fingers; I hope it doesn’t crease! Review and swatches soon, I promise.
The fact that this exists (and is selling in stores rather than just online) surprises and stuns me. The liberal-minded side of me feels like she should be in support of it or something, but the rest of my brain is going “at a Sephora? Really?” and also, “inappropriate! INAPPROPRIATE!”
*shrugs* Thoughts?