Untrieds: Essie Cashmere Mattes

This post was prompted by a review of the Doves and Roses’ review of Essie Spun in Lux in which she talked about how quickly the polish chipped.  I had purchased 3 polishes from the Cashmere Matte collection from my birthday haul but I had yet to try them.  After reading Anne’s review, I was a bit apprehensive about the formula.  The Cashmere Matte collection came out earlier this year with 6 shades ranging from ivory all the way to a deep blackened navy – I bought the mid-range shades (as I’m wont to do!):
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I’m not a fan of matte finish polishes but I bought these with the intent to apply a topcoat over them to bring out the neat blue shimmer.

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Untrieds: Illamasqua Purity nail varnish

It’s been a while since I’ve done an Untrieds nail polish post! Today I bring you Illamasqua Purity.
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It is described on Illamasqua’s site as:

Peach.

Uh, ok. Short and sweet.  To add to this, I’d say this not a soft peach, it’s a bold peach if there’s such a thing. Almost a neon peach.

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Yves Rocher Tradition de Hammam Oriental Soap with Argan and Olive Oil

I just finished up another ill-gotten bar of hotel soap (L’Occitane Shea Butter soap in Milk, my fav) and decided to open up a full sized soap next.  The Yves Rocher Tradition de Hammam Oriental Soap with Argan and Olive Oil was something I bought on a whim, in order to qualify for free shipping on an online order.
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It’s listed as $17 for a 5.3 oz. / 150 g bar, but I know that I paid less than half that price when I bought mine. That’s the thing to always keep in mind with Yves Rocher (YR): never ever pay full price for anything from there.  They constantly have sales and all the products go on sale in rotation.

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Guerlain Terra Azzurra Collection by Emilio Pucci

Don’t get too excited, this isn’t a new Guerlain Terra Azzurra Collection by Emilio Pucci. This is from the Summer 2012 collection. I’m only 3 years too late on this. But I guess better later than never!  I bought the Terra Azzurra Bronzing Powder & Blush, and the Meteorites Perles d’Azur last December as a last hurrah before my yearlong No-Buy. These items, especially the Meteorites, have been on my wish list for, well, almost 3 years.

The Terra Azzurra Collection features the distinctive Pucci print, in tones of blues and greens, here’s a promotional image:
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Untrieds: Revlon ColorStay Bare Bones

I picked this up while Revlon was clearing out the ColorStay Longwear Nail Enamel and replacing them with the ColorStay Gel Envy version. I have yet to try the Gel Envy but the bottles look nearly identical and I suspect the “new” polishes aren’t really all that different.
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Bare Bones #300 is a slightly yellow / green (khaki?) tinged tan cream shade.  It’s a bit ugly in the bottle but what drew me was that it was an unusual but still neutral (read: work appropriate) shade.  For $3, I thought why not.

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Untrieds: Hello Kitty An Apple A Day Trio Lip Balm Set

I bought this set on clearance at Sephora last December, and I’m just getting around to opening it up to try – story of my life!  Imagine if I was actively purchasing new makeup – this probably wouldn’t get opened until next Christmas.  I paid $13 for this set, half price of the regular $26.
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From Sephora:

A tasty trio of adorable Hello Kitty apple lip balms that nourish and hydrate while delivering intense color. What it does: Bring intense color and kissable flavor to lips with these apple lip balms. Featuring three vibrant shades in hot pink, natural nude, and candy apple red, each lip balm is infused with extracts of lemon, strawberry, vanilla, apple, and coconut oil for intense hydration. Portable and covetable, a tiny mirror is tucked into each lip balm so that easy application is at your fingertips. What it it – 3 x 0.13 oz Lip Balms in Think Pink (hot pink), Natural (nude), Red Delicious (candy apple red)  What it is formulated WITHOUT:- Parabens- Sulfates – Phthalates

It’s super cute, but how does it perform? Hello Kitty knows, an Apple a day, keeps your lips yummy! Keep reading…

Untrieds: Illamasqua Poke nail polish

I may have mentioned on this blog that I have a lot of nail polishes.  I may also have mentioned that many of my nail polishes are unworn, or as I call them: Untrieds.  And many of my Untrieds are Illamasqua.  Today I bring you Illamasqua Poke.
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It is described on Illamasqua’s site as:

Bright violet purple, shimmer finish.

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Untrieds: Pixi Endless Silky Eye Pen

Today, I’m reviewing a recently acquired item – you may recall that I bought this during Targetgate™, along with a few Sonia Kashuk goodies.  The Pixi Endless Silky Eye Pen retails for $12.00 (1.2g) and is a Target exclusive brand here in Canada.  Once Target stores closes here, I’m not sure if Pixi will be available in a bricks and mortar store here anymore.
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This liner comes in a fancy box.  I don’t think I’ve seen another drugstore brand that sells pencil eyeliners in boxes.

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Untrieds: BITE Beauty Lush Fruit Lip Gloss

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

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

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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