shu uemura

Surratt Artistique Cheek Brush – Review and Comparison

~ stashy ~ 60 Comments

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.

Continue reading →

My Current Holy Grail Beauty Products

~ stashy ~ 96 Comments

Happy New Year! ❤

This post idea came up last year when I posted my yearly favourite discoveries.  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.  I feel like embarking on this project is like choosing a favourite child. I love you all equally! ❤ Continue reading →

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

~ stashy ~ 75 Comments

I remember a time when Anastasia Beverly Hills (ABH) was solely a brow product brand.  And look at it now!  According to Sephora, their most popular product is their Modern Renaissance Eye Shadow Palette.  You know me, I can’t commit to a large scale palette so I 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. 😉

Continue reading →

Megapost: Custom Palette Systems

~ stashy ~ 143 Comments

I’ve had this post brewing for months and finally dusted it off in light of the recent controversy with Z Palette. If you don’t know about it, read about it here, here, and here. Um yeah… total gong show. 😮  Z Palette is probably the most well-known of any major custom palette systems, so their social media misstep has certainly opened the door for other players to secure a larger share of the market. People are now looking for Z Palette alternatives – let’s have a look at what the options are:

I’ll be showing what I own and also list some that I know about but do not own.  All prices are shown in Canadian dollars unless otherwise noted.  Warning: long post and lots of photos! 😎

Continue reading →

Best of 2016 Discoveries

~ stashy ~ 124 Comments

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:
best_2016_1
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! 😛

Continue reading →

Sephora VIB Sale Fall 2016 Haul

~ stashy ~ 110 Comments

And here’s the reckoning. Truth time: I placed 3 orders online and made 1 in-store purchase. 😀
sephora_vib_haul_nov_2016_2
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.

Continue reading →

MyLipAddiction.com Beauty Podcast: Ménage à Trois avec Jodi

~ stashy ~ 24 Comments

This episode marks a new chapter in the MyLipAddiction.com Beauty Podcast – there were THREE of us on the podcast at once! 😮  Jodi of A Brash Attitude joins Cat and I to talk about new beauty releases, rants about public transit and the US election.
mylipaddiction_podcast_menageatrois_2
Warning: I’m super crusty on this episode. 😛

Continue reading →

Sephora VIB Rouge Shopping List Fall 2016 Edition

~ stashy ~ 69 Comments

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!

sephora_vib_nov_2016_2
I just got this in the mail – I think my SO tried to hide it from me at first… 😛

I made a stop at Sephora recently to refamiliarize myself with that store… I feel like I’m drifting away from Sephora lately!

Continue reading →

Trash Stash: September and October 2016

~ stashy ~ 47 Comments

I skipped September Trash Stash due to post-vacation lethargy and the reevaluation of my life: Why am I not on vacation still? Why is anyone even interested in looking at my beauty empties? Why am I here? Then I snapped out of it and got back into the swing of things. 😛
trash201610_2
As my punishment, I now have to root through 2 months’ worth of garbage. At least, I’m not like someone (I won’t say who) with 6 months’ worth of empties to post! 😮

Continue reading →

Favourites Lately: Late 2016

~ stashy ~ 56 Comments

This year I decided to do quarterly favourites so I’ve had lists for early 2016 (covering January to March) and mid-year (covering April to June), and now I’m showing my third quarterly favourites to cover July to September:
favourites201610_2
It’s mostly Summery products but a little bit of Autumn is creeping in… yes, I’m a bit late in posting this – it should have been up early October. 😳

Continue reading →