Here’s a combined Trash Stash post for the last 2 months of 2017:
I initially felt that my steam dwindled a bit toward the end of the year to finish up products but once I started to list them out, I found that I did finish quite a few items in the last 2 months. I decided to do a big post instead of separating into 2 posts, so grab a cup of hot tea. ☕
Hey! I’m back. 🙂 Just in time for the Sephora sale. In a way, this is a bit of a cheat post since it was much easier to prepare than a review – ease my way back into blogging, right? 😉 If you follow me on Instagram, you’ll know that I was on vacation for a portion of my time away from the blog. Here are some more of what I did in the past month:
• Visited some cities in Alberta (Calgary, Banff / Canmore, Jasper and Edmonton) – the Canadian Rockies are truly incredible and I highly a recommend visit! ❤
• Attended my first “by invite only” L’Oreal warehouse sale – don’t get excited, since I was on a No-Buy I didn’t get makeup, but my friend went nuts for the $1 nail polishes. I got several bars of Kiehl’s Coriander exfoliating soaps which were limited edition from Christmas – yay! (Kiehl’s Coriander is one of my all time favourite scents) The most interesting part of attending the sale was seeing all of the brands that L’Oreal owns (besides L’Oreal): Maybelline, Essie, NYX, Lancôme, Shu Uemura, Urban Decay, YSL, Givenchy…
• Went to Canada’s Wonderland (amusement park) to ride the roller coasters – our favourite rides were Leviathan and Behemoth. Fall is the perfect time to visit since it wasn’t too hot and the line-ups weren’t long.
• Donated blood – it’s been years since I last donated because I almost fainted the last time. This time, everything went smoothly, although I did develop a large bruise that’s the width of my arm afterward. 
• Cleared out old mementos, photos, clothes – just stuff – from our storage locker – there were some hilarious gems… ah memories 😀 We’re doing some significant refurnishing soon so we need to make room – new couch, dining room table / chairs, shelves for the spare bedroom, etc.
• Finally finished the entire series of the Sopranos. It took us about 10 months to get through all 6 seasons (more like 7 seasons since season 6 was split into part 1 and 2). I’m not a fan of this show – I did not like the characters and the story line was only mildly interesting. I was so happy to be done with this show. Guess what? Now we can order Netflix! 😀 😀 😀
It feels great to be typing up a blog post again. At this point, I can’t promise that I’ll be posting as frequently as I was previously, but I’ll try my best! 🙂
Onward to the Sephora VIB Fall sale!
And here’s part 2 of my June and July Trash Stash:
This is the balance of what I used up in the past couple of months and includes body and hair care, plus makeup!
And here it is – as you can imagine, trying to narrow down the best items was difficult! These items are new to me but may not be new launches in 2016. Also, these items may not necessarily be my absolute “Holy Grail” of all time – they’re simply the best from the past year (I probably should do a “Holy Grail of All Time” post one of these days…) Here’s what made it into my Best of 2016 Discoveries list:
A departure from previous years, instead of doing Top 10 or “Top xx of 20xx” (ie. Top 16 of 2016), I’ll list top items within categories: makeup, skincare, nails, body care etc. This post is long but rather than breaking into several posts, I decided to do it all in one – I just hate it when they break movies into 2 parts – I don’t want to do that to you! 😛
This is not my “best of” list for 2016 yet – it’s simply my final quarterly favourites for the year. I’ll be posting my full favourites list for 2016 in January! Here’s what I’ve been enjoying from October to December:
Remember that for 2 of the past 3 months, I was essentially in makeup jail doing Project Pan! 😉
And here’s the reckoning. Truth time: I placed 3 orders online and made 1 in-store purchase. 😀
I requalified for VIB Rouge for next year again! But, not because of my own purchases, but my friends pooled their purchases with mine (I’d say the breakdown was 30% me, 70% them). At this rate, I’ll requalify for VIB Rouge every year! 😆 I’ll just showing the items I bought for myself, not ones for my friends.
Here we go again. It’s almost time for everyone to lose their minds because it’s Sephora VIB sale! I managed to achieve VIB Rouge status last year on my No-Buy ( 😆 ) so I get early access and 20% off, starting November 4th until the 7th. Then the VIB level will have 20% off from Nov 11-14th. It’s the highest discount level that Sephora offers in the whole year, so it’s the best time to stock up!
I made a stop at Sephora recently to refamiliarize myself with that store… I feel like I’m drifting away from Sephora lately!
This is the last of my catch-up posts for Project Pan. I’ll be back in sync next Monday. 🙂
Today I’m taking a closer look at an item that has made a few appearances on the blog before but never had its own limelight – the Guerlain Rouge G lipstick in 06 Garance:
While I like some higher end makeup brands, I’m by no means into “designer” makeup brands. I don’t own any “signature” lipsticks from the likes of YSL, Chanel, Dior… the Guerlain Rouge G is the most expensive lipstick I own (I also have another shade, #863 Provocative, a limited edition from 2013 in a black tube) and it cost me C$52 back in 2013 for this. They now retail for C$59 for 3.5g of product. 😮
Finally, the post that many of you requested when I received my AliExpress order back in March. Here’s the comparison between the Nars Kabuki Ita Brush and the cheaper knock-off alternative. 😉
• Nars Kabuki Ita Brush – C$70 (Sephora) Note: I paid around C$60 for mine about 5 years ago – shocking to see how the price has jumped.
• “Professionals Brand Kabuki Ita No 21 makeup brush” – C$2.74 (AliExpress)
(can you tell which one is which from the photo above?)
I prioritized this review since this concealer is launching this month here in Canada.
The official name of the concealer is Too Faced Born This Way Naturally Radiant Concealer, and is an extension to the Born This Way Foundation. I was able to purchase this in advance of the launch date during a pre-launch event. I’ve been wearing this concealer for the past 2 weeks in various conditions and trying different methods. Here are my thoughts.
stash matters 