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6/23/2012

Week in Pictures!

It's that time again! I've been instagram-ing like a crazy person so follow me if you like - my username is "gilliannew"!

I seem to always have something to do with music in these posts - but this is my grade ten sonata that I've been working on, and a cup of my favorite tea :)

Drinks at Boston Pizza.

My Harry Potter 3 book - I felt the need to take a picture of it this week :)

Flowers.

The most amazing pasta from Boston Pizza.

And a picture I found on StumbleUpon - it's now my iPhone background, it's so beautiful.

Review - Harmony by Belvada Lipstick Duo

I've got a quick review of a product I got in my Glymm box this month - I've stopped doing hauls on these because I've found a lot of the products in these boxes to be lackluster and I haven't done many reviews for that same reason, but I was incredibly pleased with this product and I wanted to talk about it.


So this is a double-sided product that comes with a balm on one end and a lipstick on the other. The colour I received mine in was "Natural Earth", which is a very neutral, wearable colour. This comes in three other shades.

Photo directly from the Belvada website.
The balm itself is not bad - it has no colour to it, and goes on quite smoothly. While it isn't my favorite, it is still fairly moisturizing, I don't mind it underneath the lipstick and I love how convenient it is because of the packaging.

The lipstick is almost as moisturizing as the lipbalm, and looks amazing on the lips. One thing that I love in particular is the smell of both of these lip products, though it might not be everyone's cup of tea. If you are someone who really does not like fake-smelling lip products, this might not be for you. I, however, happen to love the smell.


The packaging, though bulky, is convenient because of the fact that it has two products in one. I also love how sleek and well made it is.

In all, I do really love this lipstick duo. It retails for $20 and can be purchased on the Belvada website (linked here).

Left: balm (almost invisible) Right: lipstick

Would you invest in something like this?

Nail of the Day - 06/21/12

I've been doing a lot of these posts (and I have another coming very soon since I just painted my nails) but I absolutely love sharing my manicures with you all and I think this particular colour is amazing.

If you happened to see my recent haul blog post (if not, click here), this was the other polish that my mom purchased, which led to us receiving a free bottle of body lotion. This nail polish is OPI's Elephantastic Pink, and I love it a lot.




The colour was completely opaque in two coats, and is a bright coral-pink. In certain lights I find it pulls more pink (like in the picture below), but it can also pull more coral (as shown in the picture above). I think this is a great summer colour and I will definitely be borrowing it from my mom more often! 




What is your favorite summer polish colour right now?

6/21/2012

Project Pan - Take Two!

You read it right... I'm doing this AGAIN. To see my original Project Pan blog post, click here, and if you'd like to see my concluding post to that, click here. I didn't technically finish, but I had picked so many products initially and finished so many that I ended up just letting it go after that post!

I had been thinking and decided it was time to do this again. I feel I have too many eyeshadows, and I'm still looking to scale down the size of my collection. So, without any further ado, and in no particular order, may I present the products I am looking to finish!

1.) Wet N Wild trio in "Walking on Eggshells"


2.) Maybelline Great Lash Mascara in "Soft Black" (this is actually my only current mascara, but I want to try a new one!)


3.) Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Eraser in "Light" (you can see I have very little left of this.)


4.) L'oreal Hip cream blush in "Enamoured" (this might seem a bit familiar!)


5.) Benefit Stay Don't Stray eye primer


6.) Herbal Essences Body Envy hairspray


7.) Clinique All About Eyes eye cream (sample)


8.) Benefit Ooh La Lift eye brightener (used as a highlight as well)


9.) Covergirl trio in "Shimmering Sands"


10.) Polysporin Daily Lip Care lip balm


11.) CO Bigelow Mentha Lip Buffer


12.) Maybelline Fit Me powder in 120 "Classic Ivory"


13.) Tresemme Heat Tamer Spray


14.) Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer in "Nude" (sample)


15.) Benefit boxed powder in "Dandelion" (sample)


That rounds off my second take at the project pan! I'm actually quite surprised I'm doing this again but I figure it's for the best. If anyone else is currently doing this, be sure to leave a link to the video or blog post in the comments section - I love reading about Project Pan!

Haul - MAC, Lush, OPI, and more!

Sorry I've been MIA recently - I had my last final exam yesterday and I thought I'd catch up on my blog posts!

As the title suggests, I've got a collective haul from the past few weeks I thought I would share! This blog post has actually been sitting in my drafts for quite a while, so some items might have already been mentioned in past blog posts.


First, I got this shirt from Banana Republic. It is a navy blue colour with a looser neckline and gorgeous white crochet detailing on the back.




I also needed some makeup wipes, so my mom and I got a set of two packs of 54 wipes from Balea. This was only $12 or $13, which is an amazing deal. These are actually my very favorite makeup wipes - they're super cheap but work amazingly!


I also got the Lush No Drought dry shampoo, which I talked about in my May Favorites blog post (here!). I love this - it was definitely worth the $12 I spent.


My mom and I also each bought an OPI nail polish at a beauty supply store, so we received this hand cream for free. I honestly don't particularly like this very much - the smell isn't great and it's not very moisturizing. However, it was free, and I'll still use it!


The nail polish that I picked up I already featured in a blog post (here) - it is "Just Spotted the Lizard" from the OPI Spiderman collection. For a review and pictures of this polish, check out the blog post!


I went to MAC as well, and I picked up their eyeshadow in Omega, which is a beautiful matte light brown. I love these colours for in my crease when paired with an eyeshadow like Stila's Kitten. This is a dupe for Two Faced's Velvet Revolver from the Natural Eye palette, and I wanted to have an eyeshadow of this colour in pan form. I thought I could also use it for my eyebrows as well.



The other thing that I got from MAC was a Mineralize Skinfinish in Lightscapade - I tried Soft and Gentle and found that this one worked much better on my fair skintone. This is a gorgeous, slightly shimmery white colour and I love it as a highlight!





My friend also gave me this amazing necklace that she made - it consists of a small "&" symbol, which I love, and a little pink/brown acrylic leaf. I love the simplicity of this necklace :)


And, lastly, I found a small box of Lego hanging around my house and made this Harry Potter sorting hat set. I thought it was cute to include!

That concludes my haul! What has been your favorite purchase of late?

6/10/2012

Review - Mai Couture Social Gloss in Flirtini

I've got a quick review today of a lipgloss that I think most would skip over, just because it isn't a particularly fascinating or exciting colour. The gloss in question is Mai Couture's Social Gloss in the shade Flirtini, and it is a very light, milky pink. 



I received this in a Glymm box, full-sized, and my initial reaction was that of discontent and disappointment. However, when applied over any lipstick, it makes it appear slightly more beautiful. It's a very difficult effect to explain, but I love the way it looks.



This gloss is moisturizing, long-wearing, and only slightly sticky. I recommend checking out one of the colours in this line, if not this particular shade!


What's your favorite lip product right now?