Untrieds: BITE Beauty Lush Fruit Lip Gloss

~ stashy ~ 16 Comments

Funny, when I started this series on Untrieds, I thought it would mostly be nail polishes but it looks like I’ve got a lot of other things I need to try out too!

I bought this BITE Beauty Lush Lip Trio during Black Friday, for $12.  Ever since Black Friday started being a bigger event here in Canada, I’ve engaged in risky shopping behaviour on Black Friday mornings.  (Side note, in Canada, our Thanksgiving occurs much earlier than in the US, for example, in 2014 it was on October 13th.  So Black Friday happens on a random Friday in late November – to us it has no associations with turkey, and we don’t have the day off – it’s just a manufactured day for shopping).
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Back to this BITE Beauty Lush Fruit Lip Gloss – BITE Beauty is a Canadian brand solely focused on producing high quality food-grade lip products without the use of parabens, sulfates or phthalates.  The full size lip gloss is $25 each, available exclusively at Sephora. This kit contains 3 shades: Strawberry, Currant and Rambutan –  1.7ml each (versus the full sized of 3.27g)  The clean lines of the tubes with its matte rubberized cap look very sleek.
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Here are the shade descriptions from Sephora:
Strawberry – sheer carnation pink
Currant – sheer plum
Rambutan – peachy nude

Keep reading for swatches and review of BITE Beauty Lush Fruit Lip Gloss

The Liebster Award

~ stashy ~ 9 Comments

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::blushes:: Aw shucks, I got nominated for The Leibster Award twice last week!  Huge thanks to Bree and Ryane for the nominations!  Bree has been so active on my blog: reading and commenting regularly, it’s great to have such participation.  Plus, she is the most prolific blogger I know, posting multiple entries per day – and did I mention that she’s a new mom? Thanks Bree, for your support!  Ryane I’m just starting to get to know more, but her blog is all things girly and lovely – lots of fun and positive vibes from her.  Thanks!

I wasn’t familiar with this award so I googled it and this blog has some background information it.  Essentially it’s a fantastic way to discover new blogs and recognize the work of up-and-coming bloggers.

The Rules
1. Thank and acknowledge the person who nominated you.
2. Answer the questions the blogger gave you.
3. Give 11 facts about yourself.
4. Nominate 7-11 bloggers with less than 200 followers.
5. Notify the people you nominated.
6. Give approximately 7 to 11 questions for nominees to answer.

Keep reading for my answers

What’s in my makeup bag

~ stashy ~ 10 Comments

“What’s in my makeup bag” is a popular youtube / blog topic, it’s fascinating to see what other people find to be so essential that they need to carry it with them at all times.

Here’s the makeup bag I carry in my purse:

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It’s an Inglot bag I got as a purchase with purchase for $5 at the now defunct Inglot store in Montreal. It’s made of sturdy nylon, quite similar to the MAC Softsac.

Keep reading to see what’s inside my makeup bag

Shiseido Sheer and Perfect Foundation (& comparison to other fluid foundations)

~ stashy ~ 19 Comments

I love the Shiseido Sheer and Perfect Foundation SPF 18 – $39 for 30ml (department stores) – it is my ideal everyday foundation.  I alternate between this and BB creams for a typical weekday when I don’t need high coverage or a super long wearing foundation.
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Keep reading for review and comparison

My top 10 MAC eye shadows

~ stashy ~ 21 Comments

This is a popular Youtube topic and I can understand why.  MAC is a very accessible line that is a bit of a “gateway” makeup brand for many people, myself included.  MAC offers high quality cosmetics in a wide variety of colours and finishes, at a reasonable price point (compared to department store or Sephora brands).  My makeup collection began with essentials from MAC, including lots of their eye shadows.  I now own 89 MAC eye shadow shades, which is roughly 15% of my total eye shadow collection.

These are my top 10 MAC eye shadows – unfortunately I can’t guarantee that all of these are in the permanent collection (in fact, one shade was in their permanent collection but now discontinued!)  Note that these are only MAC’s powder eye shadows, I will do a separate post on Paints / Paint Pots and Pigments.
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  1. Satin Taupe* (frost) – permanent
  2. Patina* (frost) – permanent
  3. Wedge (matte) – permanent
  4. Romp* (frost) – permanent (discontinued in 2012)
  5. Stolen Moment* (Extra Dimension) – limited edition (LE)
  6. Twinks (Veluxe Pearl) – permanent
  7. Style Snob (Starflash) – LE
  8. All That Glitters (Veluxe Pearl) – permanent
  9. Smoke & Diamonds (Starflash) – LE
  10. Vex (frost) – permanent

They’re roughly in the order of my preference and usage – the ones with the asterisk mean I own a back-up of them.
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I purchase most of my MAC eye shadows in the refill pans – the ones in the individual packaging are usually from limited edition collections (I debate back and forth whether I should depot them or not).  Below are swatches of each and more detailed descriptions.

Continue reading →

Empties: February 2015

~ stashy ~ 13 Comments

I didn’t expect to accumulate enough empties for another post so soon, but it does seem like things get used up in groups.  Here’s what I used up in February, and mini reviews on each:empties2015Feb1

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Nail polish stash

~ stashy ~ 27 Comments

All right, here’s the stash that started it all.  If it wasn’t for my growing nail polish collection, I would have never tracked any of my makeup in a spreadsheet. And out of everything I hoard, I would say that buying nail polish is the most compulsive for me.  They’re just so much fun!  No guilt. No commitment. And nail polishes don’t go “bad” per se – they can ALL be revived with thinner even if they thicken over time.  The oldest polishes in my collection are from the 90’s!  I’ve done a lot of purging over the years of duplicate shades or formulas that I don’t care for.  My current collection stands at 498 but if I count all of the ones I’ve given away (yes I track those too so I don’t repurchase by accident), the number would be closer to 570.

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I keep them sorted by colour in clear airtight bins.
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The larger bin measures approx 12″ x 8″ x 4″ and the smaller one is an inch shorter.
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Overhead view of a bin – one bin holds approx 60 nail polishes
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I have a few smaller bins for random colours.

Keep reading for more pictures of my nail polish stash

Swatching products

~ stashy ~ 9 Comments

Along a similar vein as how I photograph products, I thought I would do quick post about how I swatch products for this blog.  I’m not sure if people enjoy these “how I do things” entries, but I personally enjoy taking a peek behind the scenes on other blogs / youtube channels.howiswatch1This isn’t meant to be a how-to guide, it’s just to show you what I use to achieve the swatches you see on this blog.

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Untrieds: Kiehl’s Creme de Corps Coriander Whipped Body Butter

~ stashy ~ 11 Comments

This was a limited edition item from winter 2013… and just over a year later, I finally get around to opening it up!  This whipped body butter features one of my all time favourite fragrances: Kiehl’s Coriander Essence Oil (which is now discontinued.  Of course it is.  Everything I love gets discontinued…!)

I was quite excited to see the Coriander scent released in the form a body butter.  I had never tried Kiehl’s Creme de Corps lotion or body butter before, but I got over the initial sticker shock ($46 for body butter?!) and bought this during the Friends and Family sale (20% off).KiehlsCremedeCorpsCoriander1

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NeoStrata Hydra-Infusion 24 Hr Hydrating Serum

~ stashy ~ 10 Comments

This product has already been mentioned a couple of times on this blog in its short existence (my best 2014 discoveries and empties January posts) – I figured I should provide a more thorough review to explain why I enjoy this product so much.
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NeoStrata Hydra-Infusion 24 Hr Hydrating Serum $38 CAD for 30ml (available at Shoppers Drug Mart and Rexall)
This serum is a lightweight milky gel that I use in the mornings underneath my moisturizer – I use 2-3 pumps to cover my face; 1 dot per cheek and the rest spread over my t-zone where I require less hydration.

Read more about NeoStrata Hydra-Infusion 24 Hr Hydrating Serum