Category Archives: Miscellaneous

Kiss Limited Edition Halloween 2015

October 5, 2015MiscellaneousHalloween, Kiss, NailsChelle

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So you may have noticed that I don’t post anything related to nails on my blog. I’m just not hugely into nail polish so it’s not really a “thing” for me. I am, however, HUGELY into Halloween, so that’s why I’m introducing you to the limited edition fake nails by Kiss (aka Broadway Nails).

With a six different options, it’s hard not to not fall in love with at least one of the designs, especially if you’re a rabid fan of Halloween like I am!

These “RIP” nails were the first ones to draw my attention. I’m going as Harley Quinn for Halloween this year (huge Batman-themed six person group costume) and these are PERFECT for it! Hell yes to a red and black ombre with glitter on top! I cannot wait to wear these with my costume.

Ghostly – A black to silver ombre with silver glitter on top.

Cauldron – Adorable jack-o-lanterns with spiders and webs.

Fright Night – Trick or Treat! With glitter and spiders.

Haunting – Ahhhh candy corn! Easily the best Halloween candy!

Broomstick – And lastly, glittery spiders and their webs.

Wearing "Broomstick" — Wearing “Broomstick”

Having never tried fake nails before, I really didn’t know what to expect. All of the limited edition Halloween themed nails are marked as “medium” length but holy crap did they ever feel long to me. I saw on someone else’s blog that you can actually file down the tip to make a shape (and length!) you want, so I may be doing that the next time I put a pair of these on. The length on these is definitely not something I’m used to at all, so there’s a bit of an adjustment factor on that.

Staying power? Man, let me tell you about the staying power… these bad boys did NOT want to come off! I was fairly impressed that the glue that’s built into the nail (it’s under a peel off tab) is so impressively strong. You do NOT have to worry about losing a nail while wearing these at all.

Each packet comes with 24 nails for your digits, so you’ll find a wide variety of sizes to pick from for each finger. I love that they have so many Halloween themed options to get us into the mood and I’m really happy I found something that’s a perfect fit for my planned Halloween costume. Woohoo!

This post features press samples sent for consideration.

My Vacation in Pictures – New York City 2015

September 23, 2015Miscellaneous, VacationChelle

I went to New York City for an extended weekend to visit some friends. Here’s a few shots from that trip!

Day 1 - Arrived in New York and headed straight out to the bar where we discovered that FORGTMENOT's mascot is actually an otter! — Day 1 – Arrived in New York and headed straight out to the bar where we discovered that FORGTMENOT’s mascot is actually an otter!

Day 2 - Got a lipstick made at the BITE Beauty Lip Lab, had amazing Mexican food at Toloache, hung out with Thida for the first time, discovered amazing Halloween cat stuff at Crate + Barrel, Escaped the Apartment in NYC and fell in love with Thida's cat. — Day 2 – Got a lipstick made at the BITE Beauty Lip Lab, had amazing Mexican food at Toloache, hung out with Thida for the first time, discovered amazing Halloween cat stuff at Crate + Barrel, Escaped the Apartment in NYC and fell in love with Thida’s cat.

Day 3 - Early morning run followed by chicken and waffles, went out to Governor's Island to... have drinks, went to a New York City FC game at Yankee Stadium. — Day 3 – Early morning run followed by chicken and waffles, went out to Governor’s Island to… have drinks, went to a New York City FC game at Yankee Stadium.

Day 4 - Visited the new World Trade Center and monument, discovered the Ghostmobile in Chinatown, fell in love with a blonde cat and shot a lot of pictures of the sculptures at 14th Street Station. — Day 4 – Visited the new World Trade Center and monument, discovered the Ghostmobile in Chinatown, fell in love with a blonde cat and shot a lot of pictures of the sculptures at 14th Street Station.

Day 5 - Flight back to Toronto, eating pumpkin spice pretzels bites and FINALLY remembering to pick up a tourist magnet from New York City. — Day 5 – Flight back to Toronto, eating pumpkin spice pretzels bites and FINALLY remembering to pick up a tourist magnet from New York City.

Travel Makeup Bag – New York City 2015

September 16, 2015Makeup, Vacationessence, Labello, MAC, Marcelle, Maybelline, Milani, Tarte, Too Faced, Wet n WildChelle

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I’m heading to New York City tomorrow to visit some friends and while I’m not bringing too much makeup (in my book anyway), I love planning out what to pack and doing so in advance even lets me post about it! (Bonus that I then figure out what the heck I’m missing from makeup bag while writing up the post too…)

Tarte Rainforest After Dark, Wet n Wild California Roll, Wet n Wild Brulee

Alright, we’ve got some new travellers on the block here! The Tarte Rainforest After Dark palette does NOT get enough love in my collection so I’m packing it so I’ll be forced to use it. It also saves me on bringing a bronzer and a highlighter, plus it comes with a blush. Perfect every day essentials in that compact disk right there.

But… of course I need some colour in my life. Wet n Wild’s California Roll has colours that I would reach for most (red) so I’m chucking that one in my bag.

And since neither of two palettes actually comes with a matte cream brow bone shade (the one in the Tarte palette veers far too pink for my tastes), I’ve got my ever so perfect Wet n Wild single shadow in Brulee thrown in for good measure. I can’t tell you how handy it is having a single shadow that’s perfect for highlighting your brows. I don’t care what brand it is, so handy!

Milani Eyeshadow Primer, essence blush in Autumn Peach, Labello Lip Butter in Coconut

Various necessities here. My Milani eyeshadow primer is the only thing keeping my eyeshadows from overly creasing lately. (It does conk out around the 12 hour mark OR slightly before that if it’s hot as hell outside.)

A Labello lip butter in Coconut because I love me some lip balm.

And, of course, I couldn’t just travel with ONE blush, so I grabbed for essence‘s Autumn Peach because it’s more orange toned than the pink shade in the Tarte palette. Stunning, STUNNING shade too.

Too Faced Melted Strawberry, MAC Barbecue and MAC Relentlessly Red

Both of those MAC lipsticks are becoming frequent travellers. Relentlessly Red is what I consider “my shade” (that’s the pinkier one) and Barbecue is that perfect orangey-red (but more orange than red) that seems to suit a lot of occasions. I brought both of these lipsticks with me to Florida back in April too.

Too Faced Melted Strawberry is in there because not only do I love the formula, but it’s also a fun red to wear. I may need, I may not – but I sure do love having options.

Marcelle Nano in Fair Ash Blonde and Maybelline Define + Fill Duo (BROWsatin) in Blonde

My NYX Micro Brow Pencil is far too close to being finished so I didn’t trust it to last the length of my five day trip. Instead, I opted for the Marcelle Nano and the Maybelline Define + Fill Duo pencils. Not super exciting I suppose, but I didn’t want to be fussing around with my potted eyebrow products while on vacation so pencils were a definite must have for me.

Clarins Aquatic Green eyeliner, Kat Von D Tattoo Liner in Trooper, MAC Prep + Prime for lips, NYX Jumbo Eyeshadow Pencil in Milk, Urban Decay Perversion mascara and Pacifica Lilac Blossom perfume

More necessities here.

The Clarins Aquatic Green waterproof eyeliner is if I want to play around with some colour amongst that neutral Tarte palette. This liner is no joke either – it stays put like nobody’s business.
The Kat Von D Tattoo Liner is there because I’m pretty sure I can’t go five days straight without doing winged liner (plus this is the absolute BEST pen for doing quick lines without fussing around).
I also can’t wear lipstick without MAC‘s Prep + Prime for lips (I get bleed out no matter what I do, but this stuff saves me!).
NYX‘s Milk because those Wet n Wild shadows need a solid base to make them pop.
Urban Decay‘s Perversion mascara because not only is it amazing, but I also have an itty bitty sample size perfect for travel!
And lastly, my rollerball perfume – Pacifica‘s Lilac Blossom. We’re at the tail end of summer so I doubt I’ll be wearing this perfume much longer, but it’s my only rollerball and fit perfectly in my makeup bag.

And that’s it! I leave Thursday and I come back midday Monday. I don’t tend to do the touristy things in New York anymore because I’ve been visiting one friend there for… well probably a decade now, but I’m excited to just hang out, eat, drink and be merry. Plus you know… visit the Bite Beauty Lip Lab! 😉

Hit Pan #4

August 19, 2015Hit Pan, Makeup, MiscellaneousJoe Fresh, MAC, NiveaChelle

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I don’t know about you guys, but it’s not empties posts that get me excited… it’s HIT PAN posts that do it for me! Empties always seem to be of the boring stuff – the stuff we use every single day and always end up repurchasing. Which I suppose is a good indicator of what we finish and actually love… but my god, there’s just never enough makeup in there to make it interesting!

So here’s a recent Hit Pan post of the items (since February) that I’ve managed to dig down deep into.

This is about one of the only products from Joe Fresh that I actually ended up liking (the cream blush made my cheeks itch, the rose balm was DISGUSTING and the lip tint tasted like acid). And clearly I REALLY liked it. This Sand Bronzer is matte and a light bronze shade, which worked out really for me during the colder months when my skin was paler. I’m hoping to finish this one up completely this winter as I have a LOT of bronzers and they need some love too!

Oh Nivea lip butters, you never do me wrong. I had previously gone through a whole Caramel Kiss one, and now I’m on to my Vanilla & Macadamia flavoured one. Unfortunately, these lip butters do produce a white cast on the lips, so I opt to apply them before bed and they last through the night. It helps keep my lips in great condition because I’m more inclined towards matte lipsticks that definitely dry out my lips.

MAC - Landscape Green pigment — MAC – Landscape Green pigment

And finally, I hit pan on my pressed MAC pigment in Landscape Green. I had mostly used this for my Gamora Halloween makeup look, but when I dipped into it recently for a makeup look I ended up hitting pan immediately. As you can see, it’s a gorgeous matte green shade, although I believe it’s a pro product.

Are you hitting pan on anything recently? Let me know!

Quick Update!

July 20, 2015MiscellaneousChelle

Hey everyone! Just a quick update to say that I’ve so far managed to recover 40% of my posts from Google Cache. I’ve still got the remaining 60% to get through, but I’m really happy that at least a chunk of my work is back online (although not all of your lovely comments 🙁 ). I know some people may be wondering why bother rebuilding the old stuff instead of just moving forward with new content, but the reality is that not everyone who reads my site comes through the front page. My blog often shows up when searched for different things (like foundation swatches, palette roundups, etc.) and that drives a ton of my traffic. Anyway, I’m getting there! New content should be up by the end of this week. Thank you so much for all of your support via comments and messages – it’s really kept me going!

If you’re looking to keep more up to date with me while I get everything back online, you can find me on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. 🙂