Month: April 2015

Eye shadow stash

~ stashy ~ 69 Comments

Here’s the motherlode.  I’ve mentioned many times that I have a lot of eye shadows – over 600 – it is the most abundant makeup category that I own.  I just love eye shadows and it’s the area of my face that I spend the most time applying makeup.  I’ll keep this introduction brief and just let the pictures do the talking.

It took me over 2 hours just to sort and photograph the whole eye shadow collection and probably another 4 to edit everything.  Usual disclaimer: this isn’t meant to show off.  It was actually quite a beneficial exercise for me to display all my eye shadows visually.   Warning: photo heavy post! (50 images)

Brace yourself, eye shadows galore this way

100 Day No-Buy

~ stashy ~ 58 Comments

Today is my official 100 days of my No-Buy! *throws confetti*
My No-Buy primarily focused on not buying makeup / skincare as per my rules (no net new items unless it’s to replenish a finished product).  To a lesser extent, I also committed to not make any unnecessary clothing purchases.  I won’t lie, it’s been difficult, especially in the early days of clearance sales and Target Canada closing (hence me breaking my No-Buy in January and having to restart 😳 ).  To mark this milestone, I’ve giving myself a badge:
nobuyachievement100days
I shared my progress report at 28 days and I plan to do milestone achievement posts to keep myself accountable.  Now that I have my 100 day No-Buy badge, if you’re contemplating on doing a No Buy or a Low Buy, I thought I’d share some tips. 😉

Continue reading →

MAC Extra Dimension Eyeshadow will be PERMANENT!

~ stashy ~ 22 Comments

I just saw on Allura Beauty that MAC is making the Extra Dimension Eyeshadows permanent!  You may recall from my Top 10 MAC eye shadows post that I love this formula and one of the shades in my top 10 is an Extra Dimension formula.
MAC-Extra-Dimension-Eyeshadow-2015-Summer
I won’t regurgitate Allura Beauty’s post here, but the pertinent details are:
• Price: $20.00 UDD / $24.00 CAD
• Availability: Online April 30th, 2015; in-stores on May 7th, 2015 (North America); May 2015 (international)
• 18 colour collection: all shades have been released as limited edition shades previously, no new shades

Keep reading for shade information and images

Need a new hairdryer

~ stashy ~ 3 Comments

I think my hairdryer is on its last legs – it makes a shrill noise when it’s first turned on, which dies down after a few seconds but it doesn’t sound good. It also sometimes smells like something is burning inside – I’ve removed the filter at the back but it keeps smelling. I’ve only had it for a few years but I do use it almost daily.  Even the bf said, “Maybe you need a new one”. I take that as encouragement to buy a new hairdryer! 😀

This is the model I currently own, which I do like:

avanti-ultra-professional-hair-dryer-gp-2000

Avanti Ultra GP-2000 Professional

What I’m looking for in a hairdryer:

  • Not too noisy (I’ve returned hairdryers before because they sound like a freight train right next to my ear!)
  • Not too heavy
  • Powerful motor / long lasting
  • Has varying heat setting plus cold shot option

Please recommend one to me!

Dumpster diving for cosmetics?!

~ stashy ~ 16 Comments

I first read about this phenomenon on reddit a month ago and I debated whether to post a discussion about it on the blog.  But I just couldn’t stop thinking about it – I know about dumpster diving as an activity for people who are looking for furniture, household items and sometimes even unopened / unspoiled food.  However, I only learned about people dumpster diving for cosmetics when I read a PSA on reddit’s makeup exchange forum, warning of a seller who was a known dumpster diver.

These are photos of some of the items this person recovered while dumpster diving:
dumpster111

dumpster91
Source

Is your jaw on the floor?

Put on your rubber gloves and keep reading about dumpster diving this way

Bloglovin made me do it

~ stashy ~ 33 Comments

I’m a sheep – I signed up for bloglovin too.

Apparently in order to claim my blog on bloglovin, I have to post this link on my blog first:
SMlogo

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Do eeeeet.

(I honestly still don’t know how bloglovin works – is it similar to WordPress’ reader?)

If you’re on bloglovin – please link in the comments!

Real Neat Blog Award

~ stashy ~ 29 Comments

I was triple nominated recently for the Real Neat Blog Award! 😀
real-neat-blog-award
The Rules!
1) Put the award logo on your blog.
2) Answer 7 questions asked by the person who nominated you.
3) Thank the person who nominated you, linking to their blog.
4) Nominate any number of bloggers you like, linking to their blogs.
5) Let them know you nominated them (by commenting on their blog etc.)

Continue reading →

Sheet mask stash

~ stashy ~ 24 Comments

I’ve amassed a lot of sheet masks.  They’re an inexpensive pick-me-up that have become more readily available in Canada in recent years.  For those of you who don’t know what sheet masks are, they’re pre-soaked disposable paper masks that delivers concentrated skincare (usually serum) to the face. After freshly cleaning the face, the sheet mask is applied for approximately 15 minutes and the remaining serum is allowed to soak into the face, followed by regular moisturizer.  They’re an Asian beauty staple, and it used to be that I purchased mine exclusively online at sasa.com, but nowadays, with The Face Shop at our local shopping malls, and even drugstores carrying sheet masks, there are endless sources.

Here’s an overview of what’s in my current sheet mask stash – I won’t go too in-depth about each:
sheetmasks2
10x Face Shop Real Nature sheet masks @ $2 each.  They’re often on some sort of volume discount so I like to stock up.

Sheet masks galore, this way please

Lemming: MAC 137 Long Blending Brush

~ stashy ~ 28 Comments

EDIT from the future – I bought this brush!  Here is the review along with comparisons to other brushes I own.  🙂

This is an emergency lemming!  This unplanned post is to ask your opinion about this new MAC brush that launched with the “MAC is Beauty” collection.  Today I had the opportunity to view and touch this brush at the store (I can’t help it, I always stop by the MAC store if there’s a new release).

This is the brush in question:

MAC137longblendingbrush
MAC 137 Long Blending Brush

I really (really) want it.  It’s so soft and feathery and it’s something different that I don’t have in my collection.  I would use it for highlighting and pigmented blushers.  My issue is that it is limited edition (typical MAC!).  And the SA said to me, “Oh this is selling out fast, I only have a few left.”  She just knows what buttons to push!

Continue reading →

Untrieds: Revlon ColorStay Bare Bones

~ stashy ~ 20 Comments

I picked this up while Revlon was clearing out the ColorStay Longwear Nail Enamel and replacing them with the ColorStay Gel Envy version. I have yet to try the Gel Envy but the bottles look nearly identical and I suspect the “new” polishes aren’t really all that different.
RevlonBareBones4
Bare Bones #300 is a slightly yellow / green (khaki?) tinged tan cream shade.  It’s a bit ugly in the bottle but what drew me was that it was an unusual but still neutral (read: work appropriate) shade.  For $3, I thought why not.

Continue reading →