Beauty Blender Battle

[I’ve had this post in draft mode for ages!  Random timing to post this but no time like the present!]

The Beauty Blender needs no introduction.  These hot pink egg shaped sponges cost a whopping $26 each and have spawned a slew of BB-like sponges.  So is a $26 sponge 26x better than a $1 one?

For years, I refused to succumb to the Beauty Blender.  I resisted and bought the dupes to satisfy my Beauty Blender curiosity.  I simply could NOT justify paying $26 for a flimsy little egg shaped piece of foam.  So I bought some off ebay, and a few from drugstores before I finally decided to get the real thing during the Spring 2013 VIB sale.  I’ve been using my stash of makeup sponges for a while now.  Let’s have a look at how they stack up the the original Beauty Blender:
beautyblender2
L to R [These are arranged from the most airy / porous (L) to the most dense / heavy (R)]:
Beauty Blender (hot pink) – $26 [note: I paid $26 for mine but I see that it’s now $28 – damn that exchange rate!] (Sephora)
MAC Pro Performance Sponge (orange) – $24 (MAC)
Quo Blending Sponge (purple) – $5 (Shoppers Drug Mart)
Sephora Airbrush Sponge mini (teal) – $12 for 2 [bought this during Black Friday sale 2014] (Sephora)
• Blending sponge from eBay (black) – $1 (shipped from China)
Kit Super Blenders (mint) – $12 for 3 (Rexall)

Continue reading

What I got for Christmas 2015

It’s fun to give and receive for gifts for Christmas! As I mentioned during blogmas, we’re pretty low-key for Christmas which also applies to gifts. I gave my SO coins from the Mint, a cookbook, a top from Roots (no socks! 😉 ), a wooden utensil set from William Sonoma, and other kitchen gadgets.  We gave his family clothes, candles, hand creams, chocolate / cookies / nuts (thank goodness for Hickory Farms!), and of course, alcohol. 😛

And here’s what I received for Christmas (thank you again for these gifts!) – sorry for all the stock photos, post-holiday laziness, ya know:
christmas2015_3
Formula X The Two in Iconic and Legend
christmas2015_4
Tocca Beauty Piccolo Tresoro Giulietta Body Scrub, Eau de Parfum, Hand Cream Set
christmas2015_6
Tarte Fanciful Favorites Deluxe Discovery Set
(my MIL / SIL definitely hit up the Sephora Black Friday sale! 😉 )
Continue reading

Blogmas Day 23: Gifts to myself – Sephora VIB 500 pt perks

I’m a hoarder of Sephora points. Their 100 pt perks are often laughable, and even their 500 pt perks are often not worth it. But recently I came across two 500 pt perks that I felt were worthwhile to finally redeem my points for:
blogmas_day23_perks2
Urban Decay Urban Vices, and Josie Maran Josie’s Best and Brightest Argan Oil Essentials. I redeemed for the UD during the VIB 20% off sale, and the Josie Maran was during the VIB coupon sale.

Continue reading

Blogmas Day 19: Stocking Stuffers

Let’s face it, after spending all your Christmas budget on presents, the last thing you want to think about is getting a bunch of little things to put into stockings. But, opening up stockings is one of the best part of Christmas morning!  Here are some last minute ideas for small ticket ($10 or less) items to include in stockings:

Beauty items

blogmas_day19_stocking3
Lip balm: EOS ($4) are fun ones to include in a stocking. May I also suggest my favourite night time lip balms, the C.O. Bigelow Supreme 2X Lip Shine ($8) – this stuff is awesome.

Continue reading

Blogmas Day 18: Christmas Tree makeup

I blame Kaily for this one. She came up with this topic and both Sharon and I scratched our collective heads as to how to interpret this.  What the heck IS Christmas Tree makeup? So I’m taking the cheater creative approach and doing a gold theme makeup look, because hey, some people have an all gold Christmas tree, ok:
blogmas_day18_gold2
This gold and diamond Christmas tree was worth $500k with five pounds of solid 18K gold and a 4.52 carat diamond set in a platinum star at the top – in 2007 it was the most valuable Christmas tree in existence (Source).

That’s how I roll. 😛

Continue reading

Blogmas Day 16: Trying out last year’s present

I received the Aloette Aloepure Restorative Enzyme Peel last  Christmas from the MIL.  And I just opened it a couple of weeks ago…
blogmas_day16_aloepure2
It’s the same concept as the Japanese cult product, Cure Natural Aqua Peeling Gel.  I had used a peeling gel product before, called O’slee Rosehip Peeling Gel, which irritated my skin due to so much manual rubbing of my skin. I was hesitant to use this enzyme peel but I read good reviews online, so I figured I should just finally give it a try.

Continue reading

Blogmas Day 13: The 12 Days of Purge-mas

I was discussing with the SO that I wanted to do a 12 Days of Christmas post today (there’s only 12 more days til Christmas omg!) and he said, “Why don’t you do 12 days of stuff you’re going to throw out?”  Half jokingly. HALF! But actually it was a fantastic idea!  So, today I present to you: The 12 Days of Purge-mas! [sung to the tune of 12 Days of Christmas]

mnote1 On the First day of Purge-mas, I may throw out these:
• A palette that’s lonely
blogmas_day13_twelve_days_purgemas1
mnote1 On the Second day of Purge-mas, I may throw out these:
• Two lash curlers
• And a palette that’s lonely
blogmas_day13_twelve_days_purgemas2
mnote1 On the Third day of Purge-mas, I may throw out these:
• Three face creams
• Two lash curlers
• And a palette that’s lonely
blogmas_day13_twelve_days_purgemas3

Continue reading

Blogmas Day 12: Received a Parcel!

Today’s post is a quick one to show an “early Christmas present” of sorts – it’s a parcel I received from the prize I won from Australian beauty blogger, Caryl Almelor!  I love getting mail! 😀
blogmas_day12_prize2

Continue reading

Sephora VIB $20 off $50

Like clockwork this offer dropped in my inbox on Tuesday. I guess Sephora is pretty regimented in their annual offers – unless they want customers to revolt!  I offered my Sephora VIB coupon to my coworker who wanted to buy some Christmas presents so we went off to the mall on Friday to shop and this is what she bought:

Marc Jacobs Decadence (will you just look at the bottle? It’s like a purse! I love it.)

Continue reading