favourites

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

L’Oreal Bare Naturale mascara

~ stashy ~ 21 Comments

You know a mascara is good when your coworker exclaims in a meeting, “Your EYELASHES! What mascara are you wearing?”  Or, when you are at Sephora, and the makeup artist compliments you on your eyelashes – not your eye makeup – she specifically says “I love your lashes!”  (I think she thought they were falsies?)  And by all accounts, I have dinky wimpy sparse eyelashes.  This is the magic that is L’Oreal Bare Naturale Mascara:
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But, before you proceed any further into this entry, I warn you: this wondrous miracle product is discontinued.  I’m sorry, so very sorry to do this to you. If you don’t want to suffer heartache and mental anguish, please turn back now…

But keep reading if you’re a glutton for punishment

Winter hair rescue

~ stashy ~ 11 Comments

This is the companion post to my Winter scalp rescue topic – that entry was getting long so I thought it would be good to give your eyes a break by splitting it into 2 posts.

In addition to the scalp issue, in the winter months I also battle frizzies due to the dry air, causing static and fly-aways.  My hair is wavy and cut in long layers to just past my shoulders – luckily I don’t have particularly thick or unruly hair – but it can look frizzy if I don’t use moisturizing and taming products. These are some of my tried-and-true hair styling products:winterhair1

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No Brushes Required

~ stashy ~ 15 Comments

I recently stayed overnight at a hotel and wanted to pack the most minimal amount of cosmetics with me.  I really didn’t even want to fuss with makeup brushes so I decided to pack only makeup that I can apply without the use of makeup brushes.

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My makeup case for travel – a gwp from Smashbox.

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No-Buy 2015: My true 28 Days

~ stashy ~ 6 Comments

Since restarting on January 19th with my No-Buy 2015, today is my real 28 days of no shopping.  It has been good for the most part. It was initially difficult to resist all the typical clearance sales in January. I used to spend my lunch hour browsing through shops, so I had to change how I spend my free time (mostly a lot of window shopping now). Weekends were the most difficult. I typically check the drugstore flyers on Saturday mornings and then hit up a few stores for deals.  And I would go to Winners (Canadian version of TJMaxx) or Marshalls at least once a week to see what new things they got in.  I still go to Winners to check out what they have about once a week (it’s on my way home from work) but luckily for me, January and February have been a dry spell there in terms of cosmetics stock.  I’m pretty shocked that I’ve bought absolutely nothing from Winners in 2015.

I did purchase a few items of significance during this time:

1) This Quo Mineral eye shadow palette in Downtown Brown, but for my sister!

I posted this on my Instagram – follow me @stashmatters

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PUFU: Stella by Stella McCartney

~ stashy ~ 3 Comments

Instead of another lip product for Project Use it the F*%@ Up!, or PUFU, my next candidate is a perfume.  Behold, my seemingly bottomless 30ml bottle of Stella by Stella McCartney eau de parfum:
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I bought this in 2009 and it been on rotation with a handful of other perfumes since then.  Judging by the bottle, I keep thinking it will get used up soon, “maybe another month”, I’ll think, but it just never seems to get used up!

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What alchemy is this?

Keep reading PUFU: Stella by Stella McCartney

Winter scalp rescue

~ stashy ~ 9 Comments

My hair and scalp are normally low maintenance – my primary concern is finding products that don’t weigh my hair down.  Generally, I like using clarifying shampoos and light styling products.  I don’t even use a conditioner on a daily basis.  But come winter season, all bets are off.  My scalp becomes severely irritated, dry, and itchy – especially around the temples and crown area.  It gets so bad that the area becomes visibly red with white scaly flaky patches – it’s quite unsightly.  I only started battling this problem 2 winters ago, and have experimented with several products since then to help manage the condition.
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Pretty funny

~ stashy ~ 10 Comments

I’ve been gathering some funny beauty-related comics / images online and I thought I would share:

I laugh every time I see this. Courtesy of imgur / reddit (click to enlarge)

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C.O. Bigelow Supreme 2X Lip Shine

~ stashy ~ 20 Comments

I declare this: C.O. Bigelow Supreme 2X Lip Shine is the best night time lip balm. Ever. Period.

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One balm to rule them all!

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Empties: January 2015

~ stashy ~ 10 Comments

My first ever empties post, how exciting!  This may not be a monthly occurrence since it takes some time to finish full sized products.  I’ll try to save up enough items to warrant an entry devoted to showcasing empty bottles and jars (before they go into the recycling bin!)  Likely, my empties will predominantly feature skincare, hair care, mascaras and maybe face makeup – it’ll be a unicorn sighting when I do finish up a colour makeup item (but it has been known to happen!) Personally I find empties videos / posts to be valuable because the reviewer has used up an entire product, so they have a comprehensive experience of the product’s performance

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Trash stash.

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