Surratt Artistique Cheek Brush – Review and Comparison

I mentioned in my Holy Grail Beauty Products post that I haven’t done many brush reviews so it’s time to remedy that. After quite a delayed gratification (I first spied this brush in May of 2016, when Polished and Inspired came to Toronto for a visit and we pawed at this at Sephora), I was thrilled to add this delightful brush to my collection. You’ve seen glamour shots of it already, but here’s more:

I started using this brush as soon as I bought it in late November – after washing it first – and I want to share my impressions of it here.

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Hauluary 2018 – Post-Holiday Sales

I know, I know. I just posted about makeup decluttering and here I am, showing stuff I’m adding to my hoard.ย  Never did I once say that I wasn’t shopping anymore! (I was just making room? ๐Ÿ˜† ) And, I didn’t go as crazy this year with post-holiday sales.

This is called self control in my books! ๐Ÿ˜‰

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Massive Purge

You may recall that the primary objective of this blog originally was to reduce my beauty stash. ^^’ I had a three-pronged plan:
A) Stop buying more (No-Buy / Low-Buy)
B) Use up what I have (empties aka Trash Stash)
C) Get rid of items that I no longer use (Purges / declutters)

This post is focused on plan of attack C!ย  I’ve been meaning to post this since early 2017 for “Spring cleaning”, but never got my act together to gather all of the items.ย  No time like now, right?ย  ๐Ÿ˜‰ This post will mainly consist of photos and product names listed out. It would take too long to provide a description of every single item with an explanation why it is being decluttered. Just look:

I had to stand on a step ladder to take this photo! ๐Ÿ˜†

Hold onto your hats!

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My Current Holy Grail Beauty Products

Happy New Year! โค

This post idea came up last year when I posted my yearly favourite discoveries.ย  I did discover some gems in 2017 but I thought it would be more useful for me to list out all my Holy Grail (HG) items instead.

I’m going to force myself to just name ONE item for each category.ย  I feel like embarking on this project is like choosing a favourite child. I love you all equally! โค Continue reading

Foundation Application Methods (+ Tools)

It’s been nice reading everyone’s festive holiday posts but this year I just don’t seem to have anything Christmas-y to contribute. I feel like I’ve covered all the Christmas topics in years past – if you’re wanting some festive posts from me, have a read through my Blogmas posts from 2016 and 2015. ๐Ÿ™‚ ๐ŸŽ„๐ŸŽ

When I get the question, “How do you apply your foundation?”ย  I answer, “It depends.”ย  ย I’m not trying to be difficult, because it really depends! ๐Ÿ˜›ย  It depends on the foundation that I’m using. It depends on what kind of finish I might be looking for, or the level of coverage I want that particular day.ย  Here’s an overview of methods and tools that I employ to apply foundation.

I’ll also name some foundations that work well with each method.

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Black Friday Haul 2017

I succumbed to beauty deals on Black Friday, after all. I didn’t go into Black Friday with any plans (I had taken the day off work) and wasn’t particularly keen on any of the previewed deals shown online. I woke up super early and arrived at the mall even before 7am – I was surprised that there were quite a few shoppers at the mall this year compared to last year. I keep hearing about the death of bricks and mortar stores, in addition to the decline in the enthusiasm for Black Friday sales. But based on my non-scientific observations, it was busier, especially so early in the morning.ย  Here’s what I hauled:

I’m pleased to say that the majority of the items are for replenishment purposes. Of course, some were absolute impulse buys. ๐Ÿ˜‰

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June and July 2017 No-Buy-Low-Buy Accountability

I hadn’t planned on being MIA last week but it was my final week at my old job and it was so busy!ย  I ended up having a lot of social engagements last week (goodbyes) – being out every night makes it difficult to blog! ย Things likely won’t settle down until after Labour Day weekend…

This post is a combined June and July accountability (I know, I’m so late with this!) ย June was a No-Buy month whereas July is a Low-Buy month. ย My budget for July was originally $200 but since I slightly overspent back in April, I had to subtract off $1.70 from my budget, leaving me with $198.30 to play with.

I was able to stretch my budget by supplementing with gift cards – plus, I received some birthday presents! ๐Ÿ˜€

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Trash Stash: May 2017

This month was the month of finishing up a lot of facial skincare:

I finished both my day and night creams, plus a bunch of other essential face product. So weird how that happens.

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Anastasia Beverly Hills Eye Shadow Singles: Chiffon, Comfort, Chocolate Crumble, Rosette

I remember a time when Anastasia Beverly Hills (ABH) was solely a brow product brand. ย And look at it now! ย According to Sephora, their most popular product is theirย Modern Renaissance Eye Shadow Palette. ย You know me, I can’t commit to a large scale palette so Iย was quite psyched when I learned that ABH launched single refills and a customizable palette.

I got these right before Christmas last year as gifts to myself. ๐Ÿ˜‰

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