Month: May 2017

My First Cushion Compact Foundation: A Rant

~ stashy ~ 85 Comments

As you can see from the post title, this isn’t going to be an overly positive post. One could say it almost doesn’t matter which cushion foundation was my first victim choice, but it just so happened to be one that isn’t widely known:

The Donginbi Red Ginseng Radiance Cushion BB SPF 50 PA+++ in #23 Calm Beige.  This compact cost me $45 and includes the case, an applicator sponge, and 2 cushion refills (at 18ml each). I bought this last year during a K-Beauty haul.  I’ve been using this cushion compact on and off for the past 5 months – I’m going to use this product as a reference, but my rant is for the overall concept of cushion compacts.

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Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge vs AliExpress Dupe

~ stashy ~ 94 Comments

I ordered the AliExpress dupe to the Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge back in January last year, and it only cost me $0.70.  😀  But in order for me to truly compare how it looks and feels against the real thing… I had to get the real thing:

The price for the Real Techniques sponge ranges from $7.69 online from the RT store to $11.99 from Rexall (drugstore). I bought mine for $9.99 off NailPolishCanada.com

EDIT: Check out the follow up post here (exceptional customer service!)

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LUSH Catastrophe Cosmetic Fresh Face Mask

~ stashy ~ 75 Comments

Today is Victoria Day, a holiday here in Canada, in celebration of Queen Victoria’s birthday. Colloquially, we call it “May two four long weekend” due to the approximate date (May 24th) and to describe a case of beer (‘two four’).  The popular activity to do during this long weekend is to head up to the cottage to open it for the season and there are usually fireworks and drinking…  Me? Not doing any of that. Relaxing at home and doing some cleaning and decluttering. I’m LONG overdue for a makeup purge! 😉

Onward to a review of this LUSH Fresh Face Mask:

I picked up the Catastrophe Cosmetic mask 2 weeks ago and have been diligently using it – here are my thoughts.

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BHA Exfoliants: CosRX vs Paula’s Choice

~ stashy ~ 61 Comments

Today I’m reviewing and comparing 2 BHA exfoliants:

• CosRX BHA Blackhead Power Liquid
• Paula’s Choice Skin Perfecting 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant

I’ve been a long time devoted customer of Paula’s Choice – I just checked my account, my first order from her was in 2011!  My favourite products from her are the chemical exfoliants – they just work and are well-priced. So what prompted me to try something else?

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How I Do My Manicures

~ stashy ~ 81 Comments

I realized recently that I’ve never discussed how I do my manicures so it’s time to remedy that.

I’ll discuss the steps I take to prep my nails and show the tools that I use.

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Quickie LUSH Haul (& Mother’s Day Set)

~ stashy ~ 54 Comments

A couple of weeks ago I mentioned that I had enough empty containers to redeem for a free face mask and solicited recommendations from you. Thanks for all the suggestions! 🙂 I finally got around to a LUSH store – here’s what I walked out with:

How pretty is that shopping bag?

I ended up more than I originally planned, but what else is new? 🙄

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April 2017 No-Buy-Low-Buy Accountability

~ stashy ~ 76 Comments

This is my first Low-Buy month this year since starting the No-Low-Buy “program” for 2017. I managed to pick up quite a few things – I had some luck on my side with some great deals, plus an Optimum Points redemption event:

I had $200 in my budget, let’s see how I did…

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I Won a Giveaway! ColourPop Pressed Eye Shadows!

~ stashy ~ 82 Comments

I won a giveaway! 😀 Back in late March, I learned that I had won some ColourPop Pressed Shadows from Jess of xxoJess, and here they are:

• Know The Drill (metallic bronze)
• Silver Lining (matte dusty purple)
• Cute Alert (matte deep burgundy)
• Lost and Found (matte sky blue)
• ColourPop Empty Eyeshadow Palette (hold 4 pans)

I’m so thrilled to get my hands on these. Do you remember when I wrote about wanting to try them in my Megapost on customerizable palettes? Now I got my grubby hands on them! 😀

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Trash Stash: April 2017

~ stashy ~ 79 Comments

A couple of housecleaning items to kick off today’s post.  First: May the Fourth be with you! 😀 And second: I seem to be in spam hell once again. I’ve left a bunch of comments yesterday on various blogs and they all disappeared.  It’s so frustrating when that happens – can you please check your spam box? Click here to see where your spam is located. Thanks!

Onward to my April Trash Stash! This month turned out to be ok for empties – I thought I’d have only a few to show but I am on an ambitious plan to clear out my cabinets of items that just aren’t working for me.

It was fairly well balanced in terms of skincare, body, hair and makeup stuff, actually.

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Sephora VIB Sale April 2017 Haul

~ stashy ~ 84 Comments

It’s the start of May and normally I should have my Trash Stash up but I’m a bit delayed as this weekend was spent celebrating my SO’s birthday. So here’s my Sephora VIB Sale haul instead. 😉

As I anticipated, I didn’t haul very much for the Sephora VIB sale this time around and pretty much stuck to my shopping list.

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